Editing Demonization (section)

== Religion ==
Religions, even those that are radically monotheistic, do not necessarily deny the existence of other gods or spiritual beings. On the contrary, they claim some of the other [[deity|gods]] are not worthy of worship and in actuality are demons who mislead followers from proper belief or practice. [[Christianity|Christian]] [[missionaries]] often employed demonization tactics when converting [[pagan]]s, although [[Judaism]], [[Islam]], and other religions have similar histories. Demonization is not limited to focusing on other religions but can also be directed inward to condemn various schools of thought or movements.

From a secular viewpoint, demonization can be used to denigrate an opposed individual or group, making adherents to one's own religion or viewpoint less inclined to do business with them (and possibly convert) and more inclined to fight against them. If foreigners are evil and corrupted by demonic influence, then any means of self-defense is easily portrayed as legitimate. The portrayal of almost all pagans in the Middle East as [[Baal]] worshippers in the [[Hebrew Bible]] is an example of this.<ref>"Ye shall destroy their [[altar]]s, and break in pieces their pillars, and ye shall cut down their groves, and the [[Idolatry|graven images]] of their gods ye shall burn with fire." [[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 34:13</ref><ref>"And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and [[donkey|ass]], with the edge of the sword." [[Joshua]] 6:21</ref> If pagans are corrupted by the demon "god" Baal, then clearly they must be fought or at least oppressed.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Demons in the Old Testament|first=Dennis|last=Bratcher|date=2006|url=http://www.crivoice.org/demonsot.html|access-date=2023-01-02|website=www.crivoice.org}}</ref> Especially in the earlier books of the Hebrew Bible, foreign deities are portrayed as existing and corrupting entities rather than being mere powerless [[idolatry|idols]]. Some would argue this later transferred to Christianity after [[Constantine I]]'s ascension in its [[persecution of pagans in the late Roman Empire|suppression of Roman paganism]].<ref name="jerome"/> Some of the most known of these demonizations are [[Lucifer]], [[Beelzebub]] and [[Baphomet]] up to the extent that they became [[synonym]]ous with the [[devil]]/[[satan]] of [[Abrahamic religions]]. Later, the language of demonization would be invoked with the rise in [[Antisemitism in Iberia]], leading to the [[Expulsion of Jews from Spain]] including the [[Morisco]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Edict of Expulsion of the Jews - 1492 Spain|url=http://www.sephardicstudies.org/decree.html|access-date=2023-01-02|website=www.sephardicstudies.org}}</ref>

The view of early Judaism treating foreign deities as devils and later Judaism treating them as nonexistent is not universal. Psalms 96:5, for example, is alternately translated as, "For all the Gods of the gentiles are nothing," "For all the Gods of the gentiles are devils" ([[Vulgate]]), and "For all the gods of the peoples are idols." ([[NRSV]]) The Greek [[Septuagint]] translation of that passage, used by the early Christian Church, used the "devils" version.<ref name="jerome">"The Greek [[Septuagint]] translated into English", Psalm 95:5, translated by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, 1851.</ref> [[Jerome]] would follow the Greek text rather than the Hebrew when he translated the [[Latin]] [[Vulgate]] edition of the Bible. The "devils" epithet would still appear in Bibles up until the end of the 20th century when the consensus reverted to the original Hebrew text for modern translations.

Analogs to demonization exist outside monotheistic religions, as well. [[Polytheism]] easily accepts foreign gods in general, and in times of conflict, a foreign nation's gods would sometimes be portrayed as evil. Less commonly, it would be applied to other religions as well. For example, Buddha's portrayal in Hinduism varies: Some strains of [[Hinduism]] consider the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]] an [[Gautama Buddha in Hinduism|incarnation of Vishnu]]<ref>[http://www.srcf.ucam.org/cuhcs/info.faq.php Cambridge University Hindu Cultural Society] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080203192324/http://www.srcf.ucam.org/cuhcs/info.faq.php |date=3 February 2008 }}</ref> while in some texts such as the [[Puranas]], he is portrayed as an avatar born to mislead those who deny the Vedic knowledge.<ref name="Holt2008p18">{{cite book|author=John Clifford Holt|title=The Buddhist Viṣṇu: Religious Transformation, Politics, and Culture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RvuDlhpvvHwC&pg=PA18 |year=2008|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-3269-5|pages=18–21}}</ref><ref name="JonesRyan2006p96">{{cite book|author1=Constance Jones|author2=James D. Ryan|title=Encyclopedia of Hinduism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OgMmceadQ3gC&pg=PA96|year=2006|publisher=Infobase |isbn=978-0-8160-7564-5|page=96}}</ref>{{refn|group=note|The reverse is found in Buddhist texts which similarly caricature Hindu sacred figures. According to Alf Hiltebeitel and other scholars, some of the stories in Buddha-related Jataka tales found in Pali texts seem slanderous distortions of Hindu legends, but these may reflect the ancient local traditions and the complexities of early interaction between the two Indian religions.<ref name="Hiltebeitel1990p64">{{cite book|author=Alf Hiltebeitel|title=The Ritual of Battle: Krishna in the Mahabharata|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=vwWGX08JAx8C|year=1990|publisher=State University of New York Press|isbn=978-0-7914-0250-4|pages=64–68}}</ref>}}

=== Political conflicts ===
Demonization is sometimes used against what are arguably political opponents rather than religious ones. The [[Knights Templar]] were destroyed by accusations that they worshipped [[Baphomet]] from King [[Philip IV of France|Philip the Fair]]. Baphomet, often thought to be [[Beelzebub]], may have been used because of the likeness of this [[horn (anatomy)|horned]] deity with the Christian images of [[Satan]].<ref>[http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_pent.htm " Pentacles and Pentagrams", Religious Tolerance, Retrieved 6 May 2007]</ref><ref>{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Baphomet |volume=3 |page=363}}</ref>