Dogma
Dogma, in its broadest sense, is any belief held unquestioningly and with undefended certainty. It may be in the form of an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism,[1] or Islam, as well as the positions of a philosopher or of a philosophical school, such as Stoicism.
This article is about established beliefs, doctrines or sets of theological or philosophical tenets. For other uses, see Dogma (disambiguation).
It may also be found in political belief systems such as fascism, progressivism, liberalism, and conservatism.[2][3]
In the pejorative sense, dogma refers to enforced decisions, such as those of aggressive political interests or authorities.[4][5] More generally, it is applied to some strong belief that its adherents are not willing to discuss rationally. This attitude is named as a dogmatic one, or dogmatism, and is often used to refer to matters related to religion. However, it is not limited to theistic attitudes alone and is often used with respect to political or philosophical dogmas.
In religion[edit]
Christianity[edit]
In Christianity, a dogma is a belief communicated by divine revelation and defined by the Church,[8] The organization's formal religious positions may be taught to new members or simply communicated to those who choose to become members. It is rare for agreement with an organization's formal positions to be a requirement for attendance, though membership may be required for some church activities.[8]
In the narrower sense of the church's official interpretation of divine revelation,[9] theologians distinguish between defined and non-defined dogmas, the former being those set out by authoritative bodies such as the Roman Curia for the Catholic Church, the latter being those which are universally held but have not been officially defined, the nature of Christ as universal redeemer being an example.[10] The term originated in late Greek philosophy legal usage, in which it meant a decree or command, and came to be used in the same sense in early Christian theology.[11] Protestants to differing degrees are less formal about doctrine, and often rely on denomination-specific beliefs, but seldom refer to these beliefs as dogmata. The first unofficial institution of dogma in the Christian church was by Saint Irenaeus in his Demonstration of Apostolic Teaching, which provides a 'manual of essentials' constituting the 'body of truth'.