[ noun ] any of various religions other than Christianity or Judaism or Islamism <noun.cognition>
Paganism \Pa"gan*ism\ (-[i^]z'm), n. [L. paganismus: cf. F. paganisme. See {Pagan}, and cf. {Painim}.] The state of being pagan; pagan characteristics; esp., the worship of idols or false gods, or the system of religious opinions and worship maintained by pagans; heathenism.
This was a purely pragmatic move, designed to accommodate the manifold oriental heathens who were used to saluting the nativity of the sun on December 25. The compromise with paganism has not stopped there, of course.
If you ask me, paganism could be very big news again by - strictly a guesstimate - 2100. None of which means that I don't enjoy Christmas.
That is, until parents of one student read and reread the script, carefully annotating what they saw as references to voodoo, paganism and devil worship.