Paganism is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. In the time of the Roman Empire, individuals fell into the pagan class either because they were increasingly rural and provincial relative to the Christian population, or because they were not milites Christi. Alternative terms used in Christian texts were hellene, gentile, and heathen. Ritual sacrifice was an integral part of ancient Graeco-Roman religion and was regarded as an indication of whether a person was pagan or Christian. Paganism has broadly connoted the "religion of the peasantry".

बुतपरस्ती एक शब्द है जिसका उपयोग पहली बार चौथी सदी में पूर्वकालीन ईसाई लोगों ने रोमन साम्राज्य के बहुदेववादी धर्म को मानने वालों के लिये किया था।