Ancient religion
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Many or most of the faith traditions outside the Abrahamic monotheistic group of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. This group may include the Dharmic religions, which technically incorporate pagan characteristics like nature-worship, polytheism and reverence of female deities, and are thus diametrically opposite to the Abrahamic faiths. "Pagan" is the usual translation of the Islamic term mushrik, which refers to 'one who worships something other than The God of Abraham'. Ethnologists avoid the term "paganism," with its uncertain and varied meanings, in referring to traditional or historic faiths, preferring more precise categories such as shamanism, polytheism or animism. The term is also used to describe earth-based Native American religions and mythologies.
