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«IZVESTIYA IRKUTSKOGO GOSUDARSTVENNOGO UNIVERSITETA». SERIYA «POLITOLOGIYA. RELIGIOVEDENIE»
«THE BULLETIN OF IRKUTSK STATE UNIVERSITY». SERIES «POLITICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION STUDIES»
ISSN 2073-3380 (Print)

List of issues > Series «Political Science and Religion Studies». 2026. Vol 57

Endogamy as a Mechanism for Maintaining Group Identity in the Jewish Tradition: A Religious Studies Analysis

Author(s)

A. K. Pogasiy

Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Kazan, Russian Federation

Abstract
This article presents a religious studies analysis of endogamy as a sociocultural mechanism for maintaining group identity in the Jewish tradition. The aim of the study is to determine what functions endogamy performed in the processes of Jewish ethno- and cultural genesis, and how it was related to the concept of chosenness in the Biblical, early Jewish, and Rabbinic traditions. The methodological framework comprises historical-critical analysis of Biblical texts and other sources, a comparative-historical approach, and ethnic boundary theory. The article demonstrates that endogamy in the Jewish tradition cannot be interpreted as evidence of biological exclusivity or superiority. Its primary function was to maintain the normative boundaries of the community, preserve the cult, transmit the law, collective memory, and mechanisms of social solidarity. The concept of chosenness is examined not as a scientifically verifiable claim about the properties of a particular ethnic group, but as a religious self-description that legitimizes the community's special status – its covenant with God – and the norms of conduct associated with it. The article further shows that Jewish identity was historically formed at the intersection of descent, religious practice, law, and procedures for admission into the community, most notably through conversion (giyur). Contemporary population genetics data are considered not as a basis for theological or axiological conclusions, but solely within the scope of demographic and medical-genetic inquiry.
About the Authors
Pogasiy Anatoly Kirillovich Doctor of Philosophy, Professor, Department of Religious Studies Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University 35, Kremlevskaya st., Kazan, 420008, Russian Federation e-mail: kazan_prihod@mail.ru
For citation
Pogasiy A.K. Endogamy as a Mechanism for Maintaining Group Identity in the Jewish Tradition: a Religious Studies Analysis. The Bulletin of Irkutsk State University. Series Political Science and Religion Studies, 2026, vol. 57, pp. 106- 116. https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2026.57.106 (in Russian)
Keywords
Jews, Judaism, ethnogenesis, ethno-religious identity, endogamy, mixed marriages, chosenness, religious studies.
UDC
296.1
DOI
https://doi.org/10.26516/2073-3380.2026.57.106
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