as in heathenism
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Recent Examples of paganism
Groups like the English Puritans deemed the holiday as satanic due to its relations with paganism and witchcraft.
—
Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 31 Oct. 2025
In all of the courses, the pedagogy is an awkward pastiche of traditions, combining Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Slavic paganism, Siberian shamanism, and Asian spiritual practices, spiked with elements of Jungian and American pop psychology.
—Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Raphael envisioned his design as a series of murals depicting the triumph of Christianity over paganism: The Vision of the Cross, The Battle of the Milvian Bridge, The Baptism of Constantine and The Donation of Rome.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2025
The songs molded a claustrophobic, atmospheric universe out of blast beats, buzz-saw guitars and strangled shrieking, with misanthropic lyrics that explored bleakness, despair, paganism and coldness (both metaphorical and literal).
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paganism
Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 31 Oct. 2025
In all of the courses, the pedagogy is an awkward pastiche of traditions, combining Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Slavic paganism, Siberian shamanism, and Asian spiritual practices, spiked with elements of Jungian and American pop psychology.
—Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Raphael envisioned his design as a series of murals depicting the triumph of Christianity over paganism: The Vision of the Cross, The Battle of the Milvian Bridge, The Baptism of Constantine and The Donation of Rome.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 July 2025
The songs molded a claustrophobic, atmospheric universe out of blast beats, buzz-saw guitars and strangled shrieking, with misanthropic lyrics that explored bleakness, despair, paganism and coldness (both metaphorical and literal).
—Elisabeth Vincentelli, New York Times, 22 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for paganism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for paganism
Noun
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Although Americans are rarely asked to weigh in on polytheism, surveys consistently show that not believing in God is among the biggest political liabilities—more electorally costly than being gay, Black, Jewish, Muslim, or female.—
Manvir Singh,
New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2026
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The opera ends with Akhnaten’s son, presumably Tutankhamun, restoring polytheism, and then, once the staging jumps millennia into the future, it’s rediscovered by modern-day tourists.—
Classical Music Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Or, truer to the inequity of the moment, deliverance for the faithful few; woe to us nonbelievers (ultimately this is a tax-bracket theology—the wealthier always seem to be more devout).—
Jonathan Odden,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
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The painting reflects artistic traditions that symbolize the theology behind the Immaculate Conception.—
Bridget Retzloff,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
Noun
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To truly understand why the heartbreak outside the mosque quickly turned to anger, city leaders must look past political optics and grasp a foundational concept in Islam, which also parallels the monotheism tradition: the absolute oneness of our community.—
Ammar Qadan,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 May 2026
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For all its moral and political weight, monotheism is surprisingly hard to pin down.—
Manvir Singh,
New Yorker,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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In 1809, Friedrich’s budding pantheism landed him in hot water.—
Zachary Fine,
The New Yorker,
28 June 2024
-
If anyone is wondering, stoicism and pantheism are my preferred lenses through to view the world.—
Christa Allen,
Allure,
28 May 2021
Noun
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But the revered text affirmed a generic theism – belief in a creator god – without mentioning Jesus or Christianity.—
Thomas Tweed,
The Conversation,
24 Apr. 2026
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And that’s just for starters on theism of some Founding Fathers.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The doctrine reached its peak with shareholder primacy.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2026
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The appeal for young people, experts say, seems to be twofold — a disenchantment with other institutions and with the growing loneliness of life lived on social media, together with a church that, starting with Pope Francis, has focused less on doctrine and more on social justice.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Noun
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This vague gesture in the direction of deism has no antecedent in the book, no moral or theological trajectory to make Bambi’s insight meaningful or satisfying.—
Kathryn Schulz,
The New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2022
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Those intuitions usually commended a staid deism and scorn for those whose beliefs extended any further.—
Jeffrey Collins,
WSJ,
12 Mar. 2021
Noun
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This was seven years before the dogma was defined by the pope, pointing to the popularity of this devotion even before official recognition.—
Bridget Retzloff,
The Conversation,
2 June 2026
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Warren’s position aligned with Lynn’s neo-Brandeisian dogma, which maintains that bringing down the price of housing cannot be achieved by enabling the construction of more private homes, as most housing analysts believe.—
Jonathan Chait,
The Atlantic,
26 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Paganism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paganism. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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