From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishalong religious/ethnic/party etc linesalong religious/ethnic/party etc linesif people divide along religious, party etc lines, they divide according to the religion, political party, or other group they belong to The committee was split along party lines. The community remains divided along religious lines. → line
Examples from the Corpus
along religious/ethnic/party etc lines• The committee voted 21-16, along party lines, to empower Burton.• The Council, said the author, should not be reported as if it was divided along party lines.• It comes as no surprise that the caricatures are extended along ethnic lines.• On Capitol Hill, reactions to Bush's proposals fell predictably along party lines.• The vote was 35 to 24, almost strictly along party lines.• In Moldavia there was a marked division of voting along ethnic lines.• In the specific conditions of post-colonial underdevelopment it is not unusual to find conflict within the bourgeoisie working along ethnic lines. 