The Hebrew term lashon hara is the halakhic term for derogatory speech about another person.[131] Lashon hara differs from defamation in that its focus is on the use of true speech for a wrongful purpose, rather than falsehood and harm arising. By contrast, hotzaat shem ra ("spreading a bad name"), also called hotzaat diba, consists of untrue remarks, and is best translated as "slander" or "defamation". Hotzaat shem ra is worse, and consequently a graver sin, than lashon hara.[131]
In Roman Catholic theology there are seen to be two sins, that of lying and that of impinging on a person's right to a reputation.[132] It is considered to be closed to detraction, the sin of revealing previously unknown faults or sins of another person to a third person