The aim of this study is twofold: first, to enlarge upon the understanding of race and ethnicity through a culturalist-comparative focus, as opposed to the common reliance on quantitative or political-economy discourses. Secondly, to highlight the religious constitution of sociocultural life.In the first part of the book, ethnic and race relations are examined in reference to the cultural system of the society, understood in terms of three interrelated aspects: cultural assimilation, concerning dominant-minority cultural relations; psychosocial assimilation, concerning the question of identity; and biological assimilation, concerning intermarriage. The US and Brazilian cultural systems are contrasted as ideal types of 'cultural separatism' and 'cultural integration,' respectively. Against current thinking, it is argued that the former type crystallizes interethnic conflict and inequality, while the latter is a prerequisite for the social inclusion of all of society's members. In the second part, the dominant religion of the society is systematically addressed as the critical structuring force of social/intergroup life.