priestcraft

American  

[preest-kraft, -krahft] / ˈpristˌkræft, -ˌkrɑft /

noun

1. the training, knowledge, and abilities necessary to a priest.

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priestcraft British  

/ ˈpriːstˌkrɑːft /

noun

1. the art and skills involved in the work of a priest

2. derogatory the influence of priests upon politics or the use by them of secular power

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Etymology

Origin of priestcraft

First recorded in 1475–85; priest + craft

Example Sentences

In the 1820s and '30s, there was the Workingmen's Movement, pitted against the evils of "kingcraft, priestcraft and lawyercraft."

From Time Magazine Archive

The relics of exploded priestcraft which I had just contemplated in the adjoining garden, led me into an amusing train of thought on the origin and progress of superstition.

From A Morning's Walk from London to Kew by Phillips, Richard

Here, where there was such excellent opportunity for raillery, Voltaire shows he had a genuine admiration for their simplicity of life, the courage of their convictions, their freedom from priestcraft, and their distaste for warfare.

From Voltaire: A Sketch of his Life and Works by Foote, G. W. (George William)

Kingcraft and priestcraft have always been in close alliance.

From The Eliminator; or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by Westbrook, Richard B.

"He would never have done," says Goethe, "with degrading religion and the sacred books, for the sake of injuring priestcraft, as they called it."

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 16 by Various