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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George Gross, an expert on theology and the monarchy at King’s College London, said Monday's meeting was historic, particularly given the Vatican doesn't recognize the female priesthood.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
27 Apr. 2026
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For someone who studied political science and theology, that shift has been disorienting.—
Nicole Russell,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
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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
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Stasevska was born in 1984, the same year that Glass’ hypnotic, ritualistic opera, about an Egyptian pharaoh who dared to push monotheism onto his polytheistic culture, debuted in Stuttgart, Germany.—
Tim Greiving,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Feb. 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
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If anyone is wondering, stoicism and pantheism are my preferred lenses through to view the world.—
Christa Allen,
Allure,
28 May 2021
Noun
-
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
-
The democratization of drone warfare complicates traditional counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations, requiring new doctrines, technologies, and legislative frameworks to confront the evolving threat landscape.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
8 May 2026
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Under the doctrine, federal judges should refrain from entertaining constitutional challenges to a state’s action when there are ongoing state proceedings.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
8 May 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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Keith Lockhart’s Pops are pretty accustomed to disrupting dogma (see recent performances with jazz saxophonist Branford Marsalis and Jerry Garcia keyboardist Melvin Seals).—
Jed Gottlieb,
Boston Herald,
9 May 2026
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After moving to the University of California, San Diego, in the late 1960s, Braunwald challenged the then-prevailing dogma that development of a blood clot in one of the coronary arteries feeding the heart instantly acted like a light switch to destroy the organ’s muscle.—
Lawrence K. Altman,
STAT,
7 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Paganism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/paganism. Accessed 14 May. 2026.
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