臺灣的戒嚴時期，還是在1996年政府決定鎮壓幾個團體的時候，還是在中國大陸，當局不認可的宗教和心靈團體都被貼上了 #邪教 的標籤。這個說法在英文中常被翻譯成 “cult(異端的宗教信仰或崇拜)”，或 “xie jiao(邪教)”，但翻譯並不準確，而且有些不合時宜。
There is, however, another possibility. Both in Taiwan, during the Martial Law period and when the government decided to crack down on several groups in 1996, and in Mainland China, religious and spiritual movements the authorities do not approve of are labeled xie jiao. The expression is often translated in English as “cults,” or “evil cults,” but the translation is not precise and somewhat anachronistic.
倫敦大學研究員吳俊卿發表了多篇關於邪教概念歷史的研究，包括《曼達林與異端》（Leiden：Brill，2017）一書。其他學者將邪教作為一個政治和法律範疇可以追溯到明代，而吳曉波則表明，它最早出現在 #唐代 要求消滅佛教的傅毅（554-639）的著作中，具有 “異教 “的含義。此後的宋（960-1279年）、元（1279-1368年）兩朝，則以「白蓮教」為 #共同標籤，呼籲消滅被禁止的新宗教運動。到了明朝（1368-1644年），邪教成為一個法律概念，並開始編制邪教名單，清朝（1644-1912年）、民國、共產黨都延續了這一做法，也影響了臺灣。
Wu Junqing, a research fellow at London University, has published several studies on the history of the notion of xie jiao, including the book Mandarins and Heretics (Leiden: Brill, 2017). While other scholars date the introduction of xie jiao as a political and legal category to the Ming era, Wu shows that it first appeared, with the meaning of “heterodox teachings,” in the writings of Fu Yi (554–639), who called for the eradication of Buddhism during the Tang dynasty. In the subsequent Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1279–1368) dynasties, xie jiao was used to call for the destruction of new religious movements banned under the common label of “White Lotus.” With the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), xie jiao became a legal concept, and lists of xie jiao started being compiled, a practice continued by the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), Republican, and Communist China, and which also influenced Taiwan.
https://act1219.org/raising-goblins-a-bizarre-accusation-against-asian-spiritual-minorities/
