paganism

Definition

Any indigenous polytheistic religion.

Etymology

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.

Example Sentences

• "Most people in that region practise their own form of paganism."
• "Various neopagan movements have arisen, each advancing its own form of paganism. Some are monotheist."

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