tôn giáo
Vietnamese
Alternative forms
Etymology
Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 宗教 (SV: tông giáo), from Japanese 宗教 (shūkyō), from two of the five Buddhist principles for interpreting sutras, 五重玄義 (literally “five-fold black reading”), namely 名 (myō, “name; title”), 体 (tai, “form”), 宗 (shū, “sect”), 用 (yū, “use”) and 教 (kyō, “teaching”). The literal interpretation is ambiguous, either 宗と教 (literally “sect and teaching”) or 宗の教 (literally “sectarian teaching”). Used as a translation of the western Christocentric concept of English religion in response to Western encroachment as well as in efforts to modernize Japan. Earlier alternative translations included 宗法 (shūhō), 宗旨 (shūshi) and 法教 (hōkyō).
Intentionally misread to avoid Emperor Thiệu Trị's taboo name, Nguyễn Phúc Miên Tông (some sources miscite his predecessor Emperor Minh Mạng's name which is not related). The etymologically accurate form, tông giáo, seems to be currently in use primarily as an unintentional misspelling alongside tôn giáo, sometimes in the same piece of writing. Compare Tôn Thất and Tôn Nữ.