Demonization

On the contrary, they claim some of the other gods are not worthy of worship and in actuality are demons who mislead followers from proper belief or practice.

Christian missionaries often employed demonization tactics when converting pagans, although Judaism, Islam, and other religions have similar histories.

[3] Especially in the earlier books of the Hebrew Bible, foreign deities are portrayed as existing and corrupting entities rather than being mere powerless idols.

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 Moriscos.

[10][11] In colloquial usage, the term demonization is used metaphorically to refer to propaganda or moral panic directed against any individual or group, for the purpose of defamation, character assassination and/or dehumanization.