dogma

[ dawg-muh, dog- ]
/ ˈdɔg mə, ˈdɒg- /

noun, plural dog·mas or (Rare) dog·ma·ta [dawg-muh-tuh] /ˈdɔg mə tə/.

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

1590–1600; < Latin < Greek, equivalent to dok(eîn) to seem, think, seem good + -ma noun suffix

historical usage of dogma

At the turn of the 17th century, dogma entered English from the Latin term meaning “philosophical tenet.” The Greek word from which it is borrowed means “that which one thinks is true,” and comes ultimately from the Greek dokeîn, which means “to seem good” or “think.”
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.

Quotations related to dogma

  • "Let it be understood once for all that Catholic dogma does not fix a limit to the operations of reason in dealing with divine truth."
    -A. N. Littlejohn Catholic Dogma: Its Nature and Obligations Catholic Dogma (1892)
  • "Since the time of Moses Mendelssohn (1728–1786), the chief Jewish dogma has been that Judaism has no dogmas."
    -Israel Abrahams Judaism (1907)
  • "To me there was no question so important as the emancipation of women from the dogmas of the past, political, religious, and social."
    -Elizabeth Cady Stanton Eighty years and more: Reminiscences 1815-1897 (1898)
  • "Don't be trapped by dogma—which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice."
    -Steve Jobs Commencement Address at Stanford University American Rhetoric (delivered June 12, 2005)

Words nearby dogma

doghouse, dogie, dogleg, dogleg fence, doglike, dogma, dogman, dogmatic, dogmatics, dogmatism, dogmatist

Words related to dogmata

credo, creed, tenet, precept, doctrine, gospel, teachings, conviction, canon, rule, article, opinion, persuasion, view, credenda

Example sentences from the Web for dogmata

British Dictionary definitions for dogmata

dogma
/ (ˈdɒɡmə) /

noun plural -mas or -mata (-mətə)

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

Word Origin for dogma

C17: via Latin from Greek: opinion, belief, from dokein to seem good

Cultural definitions for dogmata

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 term dogma is often applied to statements put forward by someone who thinks, inappropriately, that they should be accepted without proof.