heathenism

Etymology

From heathen + -ism, coined in the 17th century in place of the then-obsolete heathendom. First attested in Francis Bacon's Of the advancement of learning (1605), II. xiv. §9: "The heresy of the Anthropomorphites … and the opinion of Epicurus, answerable to the same in heathenism, who supposed the gods to be in human shape" (OED).

noun

1. paganism, heathendom
   Meanwhile the Christian Church from these speculations has kept itself severely apart - as of course representing a unique and divine revelation little concerned or interested in such heathenisms[.] 1920, Edward Carpenter, Pagan and Christian Creeds, New York: Harcourt, Brace and Co., published 1921, page 11
   […] they urge all followers of the Prophet to return to an authentic Islam, devoid of heathenism and innovations. 2009, Adeline Masquelier, Women and Islamic Revival in a West African Town, Page 88