- Key People:
- Saʿd al-Dīn Ibrāhīm
Minority
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What does the term 'minority' mean in sociology?
In sociology, a minority group is a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group. Subordinacy is the key defining characteristic, not population size.
Minority groups often face social separation or segregation, limiting their involvement and access to societal rewards. The role of minority groups varies depending on the social system and their relative power. A minority may disappear through assimilation, replacing their traditions with those of the dominant culture, though acculturation, where groups exchange cultural traits, is more common.
Efforts to eliminate minorities range from expulsion to genocide, with severe negative impacts on both victims and the majority population.
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How is a minority group different from a majority group?
In sociology, a minority group is distinct from a majority group because it exists alongside a more dominant group, to which it is subordinate. This subordinacy is the key defining characteristic. A minority group is a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group.
Minority status doesn't always relate to population size; a minority group can be larger than the dominant group. Social separation from the dominant society often cuts minority group members off from full involvement and equal rewards. Minority groups may disappear through assimilation, adopting the dominant culture's traditions, or acculturation, where groups exchange cultural traits.
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What are some examples of minority groups in society?
In sociology, a minority group is a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group.
Examples of minority groups include:
* Ethnoclasses are physically or culturally distinct groups, often descendants of slaves or immigrants, who typically engage in specific economic activities, usually at the lower end of the economic hierarchy.
* Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants, or descendants of the original inhabitants, of a colonized territory.
* Religious sects are ethnic groups distinguished from the rest of society primarily by their religious beliefs and related cultural practices.
* National minorities are groups with relatives in a neighboring state but who are a minority in the state where they live.
* Hispanics (Latinos) make up a sizable portion of the U.S. population and form the country’s largest ethnic minority.4 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
How might minority groups experience discrimination or inequality?
Minority groups often face discrimination and inequality due to their cultural, ethnic, or racial distinctiveness from a dominant group. This can manifest as differential treatment in various forms, including racism, sexism, and other biases.
Socially constructed notions of race can lead to systemic racism, where minorities experience unjust treatment in public and private spheres, such as housing, employment, and healthcare. They may also face microaggressions that reflect implicit biases and contribute to psychological harm.
Institutional discrimination, through explicit policies, and structural discrimination, via seemingly neutral policies, further perpetuate inequality. While some societies strive for pluralism and tolerance, efforts to eliminate minorities have historically resulted in expulsion, violence, and genocide.
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How can being part of a minority group affect a person’s opportunities in life?
Being part of a minority group can significantly impact a person’s opportunities in life because of social separation from a society's dominant forces. This separation can result in unequal access to resources and rewards. Discrimination, whether intentional or structural, further harms minority groups by denying access to opportunities and reinforcing negative stereotypes. For instance, racial and ethnic minorities may face barriers in education, employment, and even healthcare, leading to poorer outcomes. While societies may strive for pluralism and tolerance, minorities often experience prejudice, microaggressions, and systemic disadvantages that limit their potential and overall well-being.
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What are some ways societies can promote equality for minority groups?
Societies can promote equality for minority groups through various measures. Implementing institutional policies that counteract discrimination can ensure equal opportunities. Promoting social justice through movements and legal reforms can address inequalities and protect vulnerable groups.
Increasing access to education, while respecting cultural heritage, can enhance social and economic opportunities. Civil rights movements have historically fought discriminatory practices, leading to landmark changes and protections for minority groups. By fostering pluralism and embracing diversity, societies can evolve to become more inclusive and equitable.
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Minority, a culturally, ethnically, or racially distinct group that coexists with but is subordinate to a more dominant group. As the term is used in the social sciences, this subordinacy is the chief defining characteristic of a minority group. As such, minority status does not necessarily correlate to population. In some cases one or more so-called minority groups may have a population many times the size of the dominating group, as was the case in South Africa under apartheid (c. 1950–91).
The lack of significant distinguishing characteristics keeps certain groups from being classified as minorities. For instance, while Freemasons subscribe to some beliefs that are different from those of other groups, they lack external behaviours or other features that would distinguish them from the general population and thus cannot be considered a minority. Likewise, a group that is assembled for primarily economic reasons, such as a trade union, is seldom considered a minority. However, some minorities have, by custom or force, come to occupy distinctive economic niches in a society.
Because they are socially separated or segregated from the dominant forces of a society, members of a minority group usually are cut off from a full involvement in the workings of the society and from an equal share in the society’s rewards. Thus, the role of minority groups varies from society to society depending on the structure of the social system and the relative power of the minority group. For instance, the degree of social mobility of a member of a minority group depends on whether the society in which he lives is closed or open. A closed society is one in which an individual’s role and function can theoretically never be changed, as in the traditional Hindu caste system. An open society, on the other hand, allows the individual to change his role and to benefit from corresponding changes in status. Unlike a closed society, which stresses hierarchical cooperation between social groups, an open society permits different social groups to vie for the same resources, so their relations are competitive. In an open society the rank that the individual attains for himself is more important than the ranking of his social group.
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Pluralism occurs when one or more minority groups are accepted within the context of a larger society. The dominant forces in such societies typically opt for amity or tolerance for one of two reasons. On the one hand, the dominant majority may see no reason to rid themselves of the minority. On the other hand, there may be political, ideological, or moral impediments to the elimination of a minority, even if it is disliked. For instance, the commercial trade of certain European countries in the 12th and 13th centuries depended on Jewish merchants, a circumstance that (for a time) prevented the anti-Semitic aristocracy and clergy from driving the Jews into exile. Another example of begrudging toleration can be seen in Britain in the 20-year period following 1950, which saw an influx of immigrants from the Caribbean, Pakistan, and India. Many British people did not like these new minority groups, but the nation’s prevailing democratic ideology overcame attempts to eject them.
A minority may disappear from a society via assimilation, a process through which a minority group replaces its traditions with those of the dominant culture. However, complete assimilation is very rare. More frequent is the process of acculturation, in which two or more groups exchange culture traits. A society in which internal groups make a practice of acculturation usually evolves through this inherent give and take, causing the minority culture to become more like the dominant group and the dominant culture to become increasingly eclectic and accepting of difference.
Efforts to forcibly eliminate a minority from a society have ranged from expulsion to mob violence, ethnic cleansing, and genocide. These forms of oppression obviously have immediate and long-term negative effects on those who are victimized. They typically devastate the economic, political, and mental health of the majority population as well. Many examples of minority expulsion exist, as with the British deportation of the French population of Acadia, a group that became known as Cajuns, in 1755. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw widespread mob violence against minorities, including pogroms against Jews (in Russia) and lynchings of blacks, Roman Catholics, immigrants, and others (in the United States; see Ku Klux Klan). The mid-20th-century Holocaust, in which Nazis exterminated more than six million Jews and an equal number of other “undesirables” (notably Roma, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and homosexuals), is recognized as the most egregious example of genocide in the modern era. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, ethnic cleansing and genocide in the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Sudan, and elsewhere provided tragic evidence that the forcible elimination of minorities continued to appeal to some sectors of society.