paganism
n. uncountablen. the belief in many gods or spirits, often connected to nature. It is usually used to describe religions that existed before the major world religions like Christianity or Islam.
n. the worship of multiple deities or spirits, typically associated with nature and pre-modern religious traditions. Often used as a broad term for non-Abrahamic or polytheistic belief systems.
The ancient people practiced a form of paganism.
Scholars study the remnants of paganism in modern folklore and seasonal festivals.
The transition from paganism to monotheism often involved the systematic suppression of traditional rituals and the reclassification of local spirits as demonic entities.
From Latin pāgānismus (“heathenism”), from pāgānus (“peasant, rural, rustic”). The term was used pejoratively by local Orthodox Christian Demonyms to belittle what remained of alternative native ideas and ideals. By surface analysis, pagan + -ism.