'Pagan' meant 'country-dweller' — Christianity spread through Roman cities while the countryside kept the old gods.
A person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions; historically, one who follows a polytheistic or nature-based religion, especially in the context of the Roman Empire's Christianization.
From Latin 'pāgānus' (country-dweller, villager, civilian), derived from 'pāgus' (country district, village), from PIE *peh₂ǵ- (to fix, fasten — referring to a fixed boundary marker). In classical Latin, 'pāgānus' simply meant a rural civilian as opposed to a soldier. The religious sense arose in the fourth century CE as Christianity spread through Roman cities first; rural people retained the old polytheistic worship longer