The terms "deisidaimonia" and its Latin equivalent "superstitio," initially coined to denote the attribution of negative qualities to others, were originally employed by the intellectual elite as a means of delineating themselves from the common populace (Plutarch, de superstitione). They served to distinguish Greek and Roman cultural and religious practices from those of non-Greek and non-Roman origins. Over time, these terms evolved into weapons in the inter-religious conflicts among Greeks/Romans, Jews, and Christians. Greek and Roman intellectuals wielded these terms against Jews (Acts 25:19) and Christians (Tacitus; Plinius Minor, Ep. 10.96; Maximinus Daia in Eusebius, H.e. 9,9,5; cf. Gregory of Nazianzus, Or. 4.5). Conversely, Christians employed them against Greco-Romans (Clemens of Alexandria, Prot. 2, GCS 12:18, 22; Str. 7.4, GCS 17:16; Origen, Cels. 4.5, SC 136:200; Eusebius, H.e. 8.14.8, GCS 9/2:782, concerning Maximinus; John Chrysostom, Hom. Act. 42,2, PG 60:299; Sokrates, H.e. 3.17, regarding Julian the Apostate; Ps.-Cyprian, Idol. 7, CSEL 3/1:25; Augustine, Doctr. Christ. 2,30, CCSL 32:54), and also against Jews (Diogn. 1; Origen, Cels. 7.41; Gregory of Nyssa, Or. Catech. 18; Ambrose, In Lc. III 26, CCSL 14, 89). Christians defended themselves against such accusations by pointing to the ethical improvement of the masses (Origen, Cels. 3.79, SC 136:178). Nevertheless, there were also admonitions within Christianity against "deisidaimonia," emphasizing Christianity's self-distinction from non-Christian religions and the purity of the Christian faith (Ambrosius, Hex. IV 8/33, CSEL 32/1:138). At times, warnings against magic could be issued without employing the terms "deisidaimonia" or "superstitio" (John Chrysostom, Hom. 1Tim. 10.3, PG 62, 552; Ps.-John Chrysostom, Pseud. 7, PG 59:561–62; Augustine, Ep. 138.19, CSEL 44:147; Zeno of Verona, Tract. 1.25.11, CCSL 22:75). The Christian self-conception as a religious elite continued to be a means of self-differentiation from the Greco-Roman world but also became a topic for internal Christian discourse, aimed at reinforcing this distinction. Social-psychological theories by Henri Tajfel can provide insight into this process.