A principle of social classification that creates groups on the basis of a set of distinctive cultural criteria that people in the group are believed to share is referred to as ethnicity.
Step-by-step explanation:
Ethnicity, the term that explains a shared culture - group practices, values and beliefs. This may include a common language, religion and tradition. Like race, the concept of ethnicity is hard to explain, and its meaning varies over time.
Like a race, individuals can identify with ethnic groups in a complex or even contradictory manner. For example, ethnic groups such as Irish, Italians, Russians, Jews and Serbs may be groups whose members are for the most part a "white" race. So, the given definition referred the term ethnicity.