dogma
Authority's sacred truths
Dogma is a set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.
Religious dogma comprises official doctrines that believers must accept: the dogma of papal infallibility.
Outside religion, dogma often carries a negative connotation—rigid beliefs held without evidence or openness to question: economic dogma, political dogma.
Someone who clings to dogma is dogmatic.
Established body of teachings
- creedStatement of belief
- tenetHeld principle or doctrine
- catechismReligious teaching guide
- canonAccepted authoritative works
theology · orthodoxy · heresy · papal · ecclesiastical · sacrament · scripture · revelation
Structured belief framework
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
- communismCollective ownership system
- socialismCommunal economic control
nationalism · liberalism · conservatism · totalitarianism · propaganda · manifesto · orthodoxy · party line
Unable to bend
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- unquestioningAccepting without challenge
- blind faithTrust without requiring proof
- closed-mindedUnreceptive to new ideas
intransigent · hardline · unbending · uncompromising · obstinate · immutable · fixed · doctrinaire
Self-evident starting principle
- first principleFoundational assumption for reasoning
- presuppositionImplicit prior assumption
- a prioriIndependent of experience
- foundationalismKnowledge rests on basics
rationalism · empiricism · absolutism · relativism · skepticism · essentialism · determinism · deontology
doctrine
Established body of teachings
canon · theology · orthodoxy · heresy · papal · ecclesiastical · sacrament · scripture · revelation · apostolic
ideology
Structured belief framework
- doctrineEstablished body of teachings
- capitalismPrivate profit-based economy
- communismCollective ownership system
socialism · nationalism · liberalism · conservatism · totalitarianism · propaganda · manifesto · orthodoxy · party line · indoctrination
inflexible
Unable to bend
- unyieldingRefusing to give way
- unquestioningAccepting without challenge
- blind faithTrust without requiring proof
closed-minded · intransigent · hardline · unbending · uncompromising · obstinate · immutable · fixed · doctrinaire · hidebound
axiom
Self-evident starting principle
- first principleFoundational assumption for reasoning
- presuppositionImplicit prior assumption
- a prioriIndependent of experience
foundationalism · rationalism · empiricism · absolutism · relativism · skepticism · essentialism · determinism · deontology · categorical
- cultismcult, sect, brainwashing, indoctrination, fanaticism
- religious educationreligious education, Bible college, Bible stories, religious instruction, Sunday school
- sectarianismsectarianism, sectarian, sect, schism, schismatic
- Catholic textsmissal, missals, catechism, catechisms, breviaries
- church lawcanon law, church court, papal bull, papal bulls, papal decree
- indoctrinationbrainwashing, mind control, indoctrination, thought control, reeducation
dogmaopen-mindedness
Acceptance of differing viewpoints
flexibility · freethinking · free thought · conjecture · working theory
dogmascience
Systematic study through observation
empiricism · scientific method · evidence · reason · rationalism
dogmadoubt
Lack of firm belief
uncertainty · questioning · skepticism · agnosticism · unbelief
- Central dogma
- religious dogmaFixed spiritual beliefs
- Christian dogmaOfficial church teachings
- Catholic dogmaInfallible religious teaching
- church dogmaOfficial religious doctrine
- dogmatic beliefAssertion accepted as absolute truth
dogmatic, dogmatism, dogmas, dogmatize, undogmatic, dogmatically, dogmatized, dogmatizing, dogmata