paganism

See also: păgânism

English

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpeɪɡənɪzm̩/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: pa‧gan‧ism

Noun

paganism (countable and uncountable, plural paganisms)

1. Any indigenous polytheistic religion.

   Most people in that region practise their own form of paganism.

2. Any of a class of religions often associated with nature rituals.

   Various neopagan movements have arisen, each advancing its own form of paganism. Some are monotheist.

Coordinate terms

religionsedit

• agnosticism
• Asatru
• atheism
• Ayyavazhi
• Baháʼí Faith
• Bon
• Buddhism
• Cao Dai
• Cheondoism
• Christianity
• deism
• Druidry
• Druze
• Eckankar
• Heathenry
• Hinduism
• Islam
• Jainism
• Jediism
• Judaism
• Kimbanguism
• Odinism
• paganism
• Pastafarianism
• Raëlism
• Rastafarianism
• Rodnovery
• Romuva
• Samaritanism
• Sanamahism
• Shinto
• Sikhism
• Taoism
• Tengrism
• Thelema
• Unitarian Universalism
• Wicca
• Yahwism
• Yazidism
• Yoruba
• Zoroastrianism

Derived terms

• atheopaganism
• Christopaganism
• neopaganism
• technopaganism

Related terms

• pagan
• neo-paganism

Translations

local religions practiced before the introduction of Christianity

• Albanian: idhujtari (sq) f
• Arabic: وَثَنِيَّة f (waṯaniyya)
• Armenian: հեթանոսություն (hy) (hetʻanosutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: bütpərəstlik (az)
• Bashkir: мәжүсилек (məjüsilek)
• Belarusian: язы́чніцтва n (jazýčnictva)
• Breton: paganiezh f
• Bulgarian: ези́чество m (ezíčestvo)
• Carpathian Rusyn: пога́нство n (pohánstvo)
• Catalan: paganisme m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 異教 / 异教 (ji⁶ gaau³)

  Mandarin: 異教 / 异教 (zh) (yìjiào)

• Cornish: paganieth f
• Czech: pohanství n
• Danish: hedenskab (da) n
• Dutch: heidendom (nl) n, paganisme (nl) n
• Esperanto: paganismo
• Finnish: pakanuus (fi)
• French: paganisme (fr) m
• Galician: paganismo (gl) m
• Georgian: წარმართობა (c̣armartoba)
• German: Heidentum (de) n, Paganismus m
• Greek: ειδωλολατρία (el) f (eidololatría), παγανισμός (el) m (paganismós)

  Ancient Greek: εἰδωλολατρία f (eidōlolatría)

• Hebrew: פָּגָנִיּוּת (he) f (pagániut)
• Hungarian: pogányság (hu)
• Icelandic: heiðni f
• Irish: págántacht f
• Italian: paganesimo (it) m
• Japanese: ペイガニズム (ja) (peiganizumu), 異教 (ja) (いきょう, ikyō)
• Korean: 이교(異敎) (igyo)
• Latvian: pagānisms m
• Lithuanian: pagonybė f
• Polish: pogaństwo (pl) n
• Portuguese: paganismo (pt) m
• Romanian: păgânism (ro), păgânătate (ro)
• Russian: язы́чество (ru) n (jazýčestvo)
• Samogitian: paguonībė f
• Spanish: paganismo (es) m
• Swedish: hedendom (sv) c
• Tatar: мәҗүсилек (tt) (mäcüsilek)
• Turkish: paganlık, paganizm (tr)
• Ukrainian: язи́чництво (uk) n (jazýčnyctvo)
• Urdu: پاگانیت m (pāgāniyat)
• Uzbek: paganizm
• Welsh: paganiaeth f

See also

• Christianity
• heathen
• heathendom
• heathenism
• gentile

Romanian

Etymology

Borrowed from French paganisme.

Noun

paganism n (uncountable)

1. paganism

   Synonym: păgânism

Declension

singular only	indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	paganism	paganismul
genitive-dative	paganism	paganismului
vocative	paganismule

References

• paganism in Academia Română, Micul dicționar academic, ediția a II-a, Bucharest: Univers Enciclopedic, 2010. →ISBN