Considering evidence from a range of contemporary societies this book explores themes such as whether there is an emergence of new forms of identification based on ethnicity and religion. It also explores the ways in which wider processes of change generate problems for modern societies, and undermine the frameworks through which people relate to institutions, each other and themselves. At a time when Britain and America, amongst other countries, are experiencing intense anxieties about managing social and cultural diversity in a multiethnic society, this book will make particularly compelling reading. It will appeal to students and scholars across the social sciences, particularly those with interests in race and ethnicity, social inequalities, community and identity.