paganism
noun
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The Uses and Origins of Heathen and Pagan
Heathen is a dated term used primarily of someone who is not religious, or whose religion is not Judaism, Islam, or especially Christianity. It is also sometimes used disapprovingly of someone who is not cultured; this use is also dated.
In current use, pagan is most commonly used of someone who practices a contemporary form of paganism, such as Wicca, making the word synonymous with neo-pagan. But pagan also has meanings identical to those of heathen; in those uses it too is dated. Additionally, pagan has literary use referring to a nonreligious person who delights in sensual pleasures and material goods.
The origins of heathen and pagan are semantically similar. Heathen likely comes from a term for a country inhabitant—in particular, a “heath dweller.” The Latin source of pagan, paganus, originally meant “country dweller” or “civilian;” it was used at the end of the Roman Empire to refer to people who practiced a religion other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, and especially to those who worshiped multiple deities. It’s believed that the religious meanings of paganus developed either from the enduring non-Christian religious practices of those who lived far from the Roman cities where Christianity was more quickly adopted, or from the fact that early Christians referred to themselves as “soldiers of Christ,” making nonbelievers “civilians.”
Examples of paganism in a Sentence
Emma Cieslik, Them, 1 Nov. 2024
The defense, meanwhile, is hoping to use the placement of the sticks as evidence of their theory the girls were killed not by Allen, but rather in a ritualistic murder, perhaps as part of Odinism, a branch of Norse paganism with a far-right strain.
—Zoe Sottile, CNN, 28 Oct. 2024
But while the prosecution is arguing that Allen kidnapped and murdered the girls, hiding them in the woods to cover his tracks, Allen’s defense claims that the girls were ritually murdered as a part of a practice of Norse paganism called Odinism.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 25 Oct. 2024
Delphi Suspect Claims White Nationalist Pagans Killed 2 Teens — Despite Allegedly Confessing to Wife
Allen’s attorneys have since argued that the girls were murdered by Odinists, who practice a form of Norse paganism and are linked to White nationalism.
—Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 6 Aug. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Paganism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paganism. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.
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