# 異教 : Origin and etymology



## Rainbowlight

Hello everyone, 

I would like to know if the word 異教 has an English translation. I would also like to know if the word has a known etymology.

Thanks for your help and kindness. : )


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## gengo

It just means a religion that is different from your own.  It can also be used disparagingly, in the sense of "heathen."

Ex.
あの人は異教の地にキリスト教を広めるべく、海を渡った。
He went overseas to spread Christianity in heathen lands.
Se fue al extranjero para difundir el cristianismo en tierras paganas.

More neutrally, it just means some other religion.  So, if you are a Muslim, you could use it to refer to non-Muslim religions.

As for the etymology, it seems pretty obvious to me:  異教 = 異なる[宗]教.


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## Rainbowlight

gengo said:


> It just means a religion that is different from your own.  It can also be used disparagingly, in the sense of "heathen."
> 
> Ex.
> あの人は異教の地にキリスト教を広めるべく、海を渡った。
> He went overseas to spread Christianity in heathen lands.
> Se fue al extranjero para difundir el cristianismo en tierras paganas.
> 
> More neutrally, it just means some other religion.  So, if you are a Muslim, could use it to refer to non-Muslim religions.
> 
> As for the etymology, it seems pretty obvious to me:  異教 = 異なる[宗]教.


Thank you so much for your answer. : )

As you yourself have used the word "heathen", I would like to know if you know of one (or several) native Japanese words that refer to this state.


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## gengo

Rainbowlight said:


> As you yourself have used the word "heathen", I would like to know if you know of one (or several) native Japanese words that refer to this state.



The history of religion in Japan is very different from that in Europe and the Middle East, where religions have warred against each other for millennia.  In Japan, religion has historically been much more homogeneous, so the concept of "heathen" is not as applicable in that culture.  Therefore, Japanese speakers rarely felt the need to express this concept in the past.

At least that's how I see it.  Let's see what others say.


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## Rainbowlight

gengo said:


> The history of religion in Japan is very different from that in Europe and the Middle East, where religions have warred against each other for millennia.  In Japan, religion has historically been much more homogeneous, so the concept of "heathen" is not as applicable in that culture.  Therefore, Japanese speakers rarely felt the need to express this concept in the past.
> 
> At least that's how I see it.  Let's see what others say.


Thank you.


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## Flaminius

As religion has usually been subjugated by politics in the Japanese history, many religious groups have experienced oppression in one form or another.  The word 邪教 (evil religion) was used by magistrates of the Shogunate to describe persecuted religions, including Christianity, but also denominations of Buddhism and Shintoism.  It's still in use to disparage religious cults.


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## Rainbowlight

Flaminius said:


> As religion has usually been subjugated by politics in the Japanese history, many religious groups have experienced oppression in one form or another.  The word 邪教 (evil religion) was used by magistrates of the Shogunate to describe persecuted religions, including Christianity, but also denominations of Buddhism and Shintoism.  It's still in use to disparage religious cults.


Thank you so much. : )


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## Rainbowlight

Flaminius said:


> As religion has usually been subjugated by politics in the Japanese history, many religious groups have experienced oppression in one form or another.  The word 邪教 (evil religion) was used by magistrates of the Shogunate to describe persecuted religions, including Christianity, but also denominations of Buddhism and Shintoism.  It's still in use to disparage religious cults.


By the way, could you please tell me if the words 異教 are in anyway linked in Japanese to Japanese words such as "a heath or a heathland" or "a moor or a moorland"?

Thanks for your help.


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## gengo

Rainbowlight said:


> By the way, could you please tell me if the words 異教 are in anyway linked in Japanese to Japanese words such as "a heath or a heathland" or "a moor or a moorland"?



No connection whatsoever.  What makes you think there would be?


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## Rainbowlight

gengo said:


> No connection whatsoever.  What makes you think there would be?


Well, in several European languages, there seems to be a connection between heathland, moorland and other kinds of barren landscapes with pagans and heathens. Notice the link between _heather_ and _heathen_ (another word for pagan). I really have no idea why this has happened. This is just conjecture, but maybe pagans were came to be seen as outcasts with the advent of Christianity and were forced (or maybe they decided?) to live outside the city walls and occupy deserted places.

I somehow thought that this phenomenon could might as well happen in Japanese society too. : )


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## Rainbowlight

gengo said:


> No connection whatsoever.  What makes you think there would be?


By the way, I don't know if you know that "heather" is also the name of a fabric that has a characteristically blurred motif. Two yarns, one grey and one white, are generally used to obtain a mottled grey visual effect. It has had a long-lasting association with clothes made and used for sports during the last century.

I think this is the right Japanese expression: ヘザー生地

Please, do correct me if you think I'm wrong. : )


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