heathenism

[ hee-th uh-niz-uh m ]

/ ˈhi ðəˌnɪz əm /

a belief or practice of heathens; idolatry.

barbaric morals or behavior; barbarism.

Origin of heathenism

First recorded in 1595–1605; heathen + -ism

Then follow earnest admonitions to shun the vices of their former state of heathenism, and cultivate all the graces of the Spirit.

Companion to the Bible |E. P. Barrows
Mr. Taylor laughs cheerfully over Alfred Challis's heathenism.

It Never Can Happen Again |William De Morgan
We have seen how heathenism, with its unreasonable and wild vagaries, gave way to the early Christian Church.

A Danish Parsonage |John Fulford Vicary
They might begin to think meanly of others, even of their own husbands, if they were still content to abide in heathenism.

The Expositor's Bible: The Epistles of St. Peter |J. Rawson Lumby

On the hypothesis that these descriptions had come down from the days of English heathenism all is easily explicable.

The Heroic Age |H. Munro Chadwick