Religion may be a starting point to examine issues of ethnic identity formation and the construction of ethnic identity Geographers studying the negotiations of religious identity within various communities are often concerned with the overt articulation of religious identity, for example, how adherents in different locations establish their distinctive (religious and cultural) identities through their own understandings of the religion, and how they externally present their religious adherence (in terms of religious practice, ritual and behaviour).
Religion can be a starting point for exploring ethnic identity formation and the construction of ethnic identity. Geographers studying religious identity within various communities often concentrate on the explicit expression of religious identity, including how adherents in different locations define their unique (religious and cultural) identities based on their own interpretations of the religion, and how they publicly demonstrate their adherence to that religion (through practices, rituals, and behaviors).