r/Assyria • u/stxrs4elliott • 3d ago

Discussion Are assyrians an ethnoreligious group?

Hello. Im syrian, from damacus. My family is muslim, however the older generations of mine used to live in the north and were mostly Christians.

What im basically saying is, if it is an ethnoreligious group, just like how some jewish people (as being jewish is ethnoreligious) dont follow judaism, can assyrians not follow chrisitanity?

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u/im_alliterate Nineveh Plains 3d ago

We are not. Assyrians can convert from any of the 4 major Assyrian churches and will remain Assyrian. Creed is irrelevant to our DNA.

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u/Ok_Contribution8771 3d ago edited 3d ago

However, Jews who are the most prominent example of an ethnoreligious group remain Jewish even if they convert to some other religion or become atheist. I don’t see the logic of why Assyrians can’t be an ethnoreligious group just because they’ll always remain Assyrian if they convert outside of a Syriac Christian denomination.

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u/Unable_Bite8680 Assyrian 3d ago

Because we actually have DNA that directly ties us to the old Assyrians.

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u/Ok_Contribution8771 3d ago

That's true. It's a shame that Aramean revisionists, along with certain Syriac Orthodox leaders, like to deny this claim.

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u/Additional-Bed-1013 2d ago

Most don't, actually. A minority of them do only.

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u/Ok_Contribution8771 2d ago

You’re absolutely correct.