Egypt is the land of the pyramids and is famous for several of the best-known tales from the Old Testament. It’s one of the oldest countries that has many ancient stories and tales that originated from it. The country has residents from different religions, which interests many historians.
The Copts are considered an Ethnoreligious community (a group of people unified by common religious, beliefs, and ethnic background) of Christians originating from North Africa as they’ve inhabited the modern area of Sudan and Egypt since ancient times. The term Copt was used to indicate either the members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian community in Egypt, or the generic term for the Egyptian Christians.
The Copts are described as the descendants of pre-Islamic Egyptians, and the late form of the Egyptian language they spoke is considered Coptic. The Coptic Egyptian population is roughly 5-20 percent of the Egyptian population, although the exact percentage is still unknown. Copts have their own distinct ethnic identity, thus denying an Arab identity.
Egypt’s Religious and Ethnic Diversity
Egyptians have several religions and that makes them different. There’re about 84-90% of Muslim Egyptians, 10-15% of Christian adherents (Coptic Christians), and 1% of other Christian Sects. Coptic Christians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church and Egyptians are adherents of Sunni and Shia. Copts claim that they have their own distinct identity and reject the Arab identity, while most Egyptians have a Muslim or Arab identity.
Copts have played a prominent role in the Arab Renaissance, the modernization of Egypt, and the Arab world. It’s said that the Copts also contributed in many aspects, for instance, proper governance, social life, political life, educational reform, and democracy. Moreover, they’ve also been historically flourishing in business affairs. The Copts attain higher education, a stronger wealth index, and a higher representation in white-collar jobs. However, they’re quite limited in many other aspects, such as military and security agencies.
Here is a video that explains in-depth who Copts are.
Egyptians are an ethnic community that originates from the country of Egypt. The Egyptian language is a collection of local Arabic, but the most famous are Egyptian Arabic or Masri. A minority of Egyptians who live in Upper Egypt speak Saudi Arabic. Mostly, Egyptians are adherents of Sunni Islam, and a minority of Shia. Moreover, a sizeable proportion follows the Sufi orders. There are about 92.1 million Egyptians, most of whom are native to Egypt.
Keep reading to know more.
Are Copts and Egyptians the same?
The term Copt is used to refer to either the members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian group in Egypt, and the generic term for the Christian Egyptians.
Copts reject the Arab identity and claim they have their own ethnic identity, which makes them different from the other Egyptians. There are 84-90% of Muslim Egyptians and only 10-15% of Coptic Christians.
Is Ancient Egyptian Coptic?
It’s believed that Ancient Egypt was the one that gave the rise to the religion Christianity and today Coptic Christianity is flourishing in many parts of Egypt.
Ancient Egypt was considered one of the region’s most influential and powerful civilizations from 30 B.C. to 3100 B.C., which is about 3,000 years. Ancient Egypt was connected to many parts of the world; goods and foods were exported. Although the civilization’s rulers, writing, language, and religion have changed, Egypt is still considered a modern-day country.
It can get quite complicated if we talk about what religion ancient Egyptians followed. According to the Coptic tradition, the Christian church in Egypt was founded in Alexandria by St. Mark in the mid-first century A.D. He started spreading the teachings of Jesus. It’s quite interesting to historians how fast Christianity gained strong roots in Egypt.
What’s the difference between Coptic Egyptian and Egyptian?
Coptic Christians are the members of Coptic Orthodox Church and Egyptians are adherents of Sunni and Shia. Although it’s believed that the origin of Copts is described as the descendants of pre-Islamic Egyptians, Copts reject the Arab identity and claim their own distinct identity. Egyptians who aren’t Copts have a Muslim or Arab identity.
In Egypt, there are several religions, but most are Muslim or Coptic Christians. About 84-90% of Muslim Egyptians and 10-15% of Coptic Christians.
The Copts are an Ethnoreligious community of Christians that originate from North Africa. They’ve inhabited the modern areas of Sudan and Egypt since ancient times. The term Copt is used to describe either the members of the Coptic Orthodox Church, the largest Christian community in Egypt or as the generic term for the Egyptian Christians. The Coptic Egyptian population is about 5-20% of the total Egyptian population. However, the exact percentage is yet to be evaluated.
There isn’t much difference between the two communities, but they’re still quite different.
Here is a table for the difference between Coptic Egyptians and Egyptians.
| Coptic Egyptian | Egyptian |
| Coptic Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church | Egyptians are Muslim adherents |
| Coptic Egyptians reject the Arab identity | The population of Egyptians is about 84-90% |
| The Coptic Egyptian population is 5-20% | Coptic Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church |
What did Ancient Egyptians look like?
Modern scholars have studied ancient Egyptian culture as well as their population history. They’ve responded in various ways to the controversy over the ancient Egyptian race and how they may have looked.
- At the UNESCO (Symposium on the Peopling of Ancient Egypt and the Deciphering of the Meroitic Script) in 1974 in Cairo. None of the scholars supported the postulation that the Egyptians were “white with dark or black pigmentation.” Most scholars concluded that the ancient Egyptian population originated from the Nile Valley, so they were made up of people from the north and south of the Sahara with various skin colors.
- Frank J. Yurco wrote in a 1989 article: “In short, ancient Egypt, like modern Egypt, consisted of a very heterogeneous population.”
- Bernard R. Ortiz De Montellano wrote 1993: “The claim that all Egyptians, even all the pharaohs, were black, is not valid. Many scholars believe that the Egyptians in antiquity looked the same as today, with a gradation of darker shades toward Sudan”.
- Barbara Mertz wrote in 2011: “Egyptian civilization was not Mediterranean or African, Semitic or Hamitic, black or white, but all of them. It was, in short, Egyptian.”
Several other Scholars don’t support that Egyptians were black, white, Semitic, or Hamitic but claim that Egyptians are Egyptian.
Who are the descendants of Ancient Egypt?
Coptic Christians are believed to be the direct descendants of the Ancient Egyptians.
Dr. Aidan Dodson, senior research fellow of the University of Bristol, answered this question by saying that a significant proportion of the present population is indeed descended from the builders of the pyramids and temples of ancient Egypt.
To Conclude
- Egypt is renowned for its pyramids and ancient history. It is a land of diverse religious and ethnic communities.
- Copts are an Ethnoreligious group of Christians who have inhabited Egypt and Sudan. They have been there since ancient times. They are representing about 5-20% of the Egyptian population.
- “Copt” refers to members of the Coptic Orthodox Church. It serves as a generic term for Egyptian Christians.
- Copts emphasize their distinct ethnic identity and reject the Arab identity. This particular belief sets them apart from the Muslim majority.
- On the other hand, Egyptians are primarily adherents of Sunni Islam, only with a minority following Shia Islam and Sufi orders.
- Ancient Egypt played a pivotal role in the rise of Christianity. St. Mark spread its teachings in Alexandria during the mid-first century A.D.
- The debate over the appearance of ancient Egyptians continues. Scholars suggest that the old Egyptian population had a mix of skin colors.
- Coptic Christians are considered the direct descendants of ancient Egyptians. At the same time, some scholars affirm that some of the modern population can trace its roots to the builders of Egypt’s iconic temples.