paganism
- 01 C1 Advanced
religious beliefs that involve many gods, especially those from ancient times or local cultures.
any of various polytheistic or indigenous religions, particularly those of ancient Europe or the Near East that predated Christianity.
Simple“The historian studied the transition from ancient paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire.”
In context“Scholars often debate the extent to which elements of Germanic paganism were absorbed into the local folklore of the Middle Ages.”
UsageOften used as an uncountable noun when referring to the general concept, but countable when referring to specific traditions.
SynonymspolytheismheathenismAntonymsmonotheism
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.