dogma
an official system of principles or tenets concerning faith, morals, behavior, etc., as of a church.
a specific tenet or doctrine authoritatively laid down, as by a church: the dogma of the Assumption;the recently defined dogma of papal infallibility.
prescribed doctrine proclaimed as unquestionably true by a particular group: the difficulty of resisting political dogma.
a settled or established opinion, belief, or principle: the classic dogma of objectivity in scientific observation.
Origin of dogma
1word story For dogma
The origin of the word dogma acts as a reminder to English speakers that now established principles and doctrines were once simply thoughts and opinions of ordinary people that gained popularity and eventually found their way into the universal consciousness of society. Twentieth-century American academic and aphorist Mason Cooley concisely observed that “Under attack, sentiments harden into dogma,” suggesting that dogma is spawned as a defensive act. This idea implies that for every dogma that exists, there is a counter dogma. With so many “truths” out there, there is sure to be a dogma to conveniently fit every set of beliefs.
popular references For dogma
— Dogma: A film written and directed by Kevin Smith, released in 1999.
—Dogma 95: A movement in cinema started by Danish director Lars von Trier in 1995, which established filmmaking constraints such as no use of special effects.
Other words for dogma
1 | doctrine, teachings, set of beliefs, philosophy |
2 | tenet, canon, law |
4 | conviction, certainty |
Words Nearby dogma
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use dogma in a sentence
The dogma that a plant cell wall is a thick, more or less permanent barrier “basically disappears with this study.”
Plant Cells of Different Species Can Swap Organelles | Viviane Callier | January 20, 2021 | Quanta MagazineWe’ve let our intuition and dogma kind of bias us to the point where we might be missing a lot of important biology.
Scientists Find Vital Genes Evolving in Genome’s Junkyard | Viviane Callier | November 16, 2020 | Quanta MagazineMichel and Nonardo were discriminated against by society and the dictatorship that governs the country and represses anyone who does not agree with its dogmas.
A non-binary Cuban artist is born again in Spain | Yariel Valdés González | October 16, 2020 | Washington BladeFor Japan, part of the protective dogma has been the idea that the virus is spread most perniciously when people speak loudly or shout.
Andrew Yang agrees with this diagnosis — but not with the rest of the economic dogma.
Why Is This Man Running for President? (Ep. 362 Update) | Stephen J. Dubner | December 19, 2019 | Freakonomics
Satirists occupy a perilous position—to skewer dogma and cant, and to antagonize the establishment while needing its protection.
Had Herx said “this dogma is sexist,” that would be well beyond the reach of the courts.
Catholic Church: Religious Freedom Trumps Civil Rights | Jay Michaelson | November 23, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Liberal Democrats believe drugs policy should be based on evidence, not dogma or the desire to sound tough.
Democrats and independents who oppose their dogma are infidels.
The Tea Party Isn’t a Political Movement, It’s a Religious One | Jack Schwartz | July 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe says she was released when she feigned acceptance of their dogma.
Such are the ideas which the dogma of gratuitous predestination gives of Divinity!
Superstition In All Ages (1732) | Jean MeslierThe fear of ceasing to be is but an evil for the imagination, which alone brought forth the dogma of another life.
Superstition In All Ages (1732) | Jean MeslierIt must be made perfectly clear, said the bishop, that Christianity was a religion, and not a dietetic dogma.
Love's Pilgrimage | Upton SinclairHow do they reason upon a dogma, and quarrel with acrimony about a system of which even themselves can comprehend nothing?
Letters To Eugenia | Paul Henri Thiry HolbachThe dogma of the immortality of the soul, or of a future life, presents nothing consoling in the Christian religion.
Letters To Eugenia | Paul Henri Thiry Holbach
British Dictionary definitions for dogma
/ (ˈdɒɡmə) /
a religious doctrine or system of doctrines proclaimed by ecclesiastical authority as true
a belief, principle, or doctrine or a code of beliefs, principles, or doctrines: Marxist dogma
Origin of dogma
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for dogma
A teaching or set of teachings laid down by a religious group, usually as part of the essential beliefs of the group.
Notes for dogma
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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