Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

The most important issue in any society and intellectual school — especially in monotheistic societies — is its beliefs and cultural matters. Each of these two areas is based on cognitive and non-cognitive causes and factors, including philosophical arguments as well as psychological, social, and cultural backgrounds. This article addresses one of the critical threats to doctrinal beliefs and the culture derived from them: the translation. The aim of this article has been to highlight the fact that certain issues, which often do not attract much attention from individuals and policymakers, provide a highly suitable ground for endangering the beliefs and culture of a religious society. Undoubtedly, given that translation is a normative activity carried out through thought rather than military force — and therefore has a long-term impact — it plays a significant role as a non-cognitive factor in transferring foreign cultures into the target society and transforming its culture. Using a descriptive-analytical method, this article examines how the translation of foreign texts affects the beliefs and culture of theists, as well as the facilitating factors of such effects, such as the world of communications, globalization. In the end, it presents various examples of how translation has contributed to the distortion of religious beliefs in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic societies.