Religion is a central defining trait of many cultural groups and a highly territorial phenomenon, with strong links to place, ethnicity and nationality. It is firmly interwoven in the fabric of culture, a bright hue in the human mosaic, for religions vary greatly from one area to another, creating a regional diversity.
Religion often lies at the root of conflict between different cultural groups.
People are less willing to tolerate or accept differences in religious matters than in any other aspect of culture. Religion can be defined as a set of beliefs and practices, through which people seek mental and physical harmony with the powers of the universe, through which they attempt to influence and accommodate the awesome forces of nature, life, and death. The most important cultural glue is language that component of human cultures that binds like-speakers together. At the same time, a great variety of languages can serve to keep groups of people distinct and separate from other groups using a different language. Language is the most common variable by which cultural groups are identified.