-ˌnizəm noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English paganysme, from Late Latin paganismus, from paganus pagan + Latin -ismus -ism
1.
a. : pagan beliefs or practices : heathenism
its conflict with modern paganism — C.J.C.Bergendoff
the rites of paganism
powers which they had ascribed to the gods of paganism — K.S.Latourette
b. : a particular pagan religion
ancient paganisms were all polytheistic, with dozens of gods arranged in complex pantheons — John Bright b.1908
2. : the quality or state of being a pagan (as in attitude or outlook)
the natural, joyous paganism of the Greeks — Hunter Mead