Belief(s) accepted by members of a group without question
This article is about established beliefs, doctrines or sets of theological or philosophical tenets. For other uses, see
Dogma (disambiguation)
.
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
.
It may also be found in political belief systems such as
fascism
,
socialism
,
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.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The word
dogma
was adopted in the 17th century from
Latin
:
dogma
, derived from the
Ancient Greek
:
δ?γμα
,
romanized
:
dogma
,
lit.
'opinion, belief, judgement' from the
Ancient Greek
:
δοκε?
,
romanized
:
dokei
,
lit.
'it seems that...'. The plural is based on the
Latin
:
dogmata
, though
dogmas
may be more commonly used in English.
In philosophy
[
edit
]
Pyrrhonism
[
edit
]
In
Pyrrhonism
, "dogma" refers to assent to a proposition about a non-evident matter.
[6]
The main principle of Pyrrhonism is expressed by the word
acatalepsia
, which connotes the ability to withhold assent from doctrines regarding the truth of
things in their own nature
; against every statement its contradiction may be advanced with equal justification. Consequently, Pyrrhonists withhold assent with regard to non-evident propositions, i.e., dogmas.
[7]
Pyrrhonists argue that dogmatists, such as the
Stoics
,
Epicureans
, and
Peripatetics
, have failed to demonstrate that their doctrines regarding non-evident matters are true.
In religion
[
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]
Christianity
[
edit
]
In Christianity, a
dogma
is a belief communicated by divine revelation and defined by the Church,
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.
In the narrower sense of the church's official interpretation of divine revelation,
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.
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.
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
[
citation needed
]
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'.
Catholicism and Eastern Christianity
[
edit
]
For
Catholicism
and
Eastern Christianity
, the dogmata are contained in the
Nicene Creed
and the
canon laws
of two, three, seven, or twenty
ecumenical councils
(depending on whether one is
Church of the East
,
Oriental Orthodox
,
Eastern Orthodox
, or
Roman Catholic
). These tenets are summarized by
John of Damascus
in his
Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith
, which is the third book of his main work, titled
The Fount of Knowledge
. In this book he takes a dual approach in explaining each article of the faith: one, directed at Christians, where he uses quotes from the
Bible
and, occasionally, from works of other
Church Fathers
, and the second, directed both at members of non-Christian religions and at
atheists
, for whom he employs
Aristotelian logic
and
dialectics
.
The decisions of fourteen later councils that Catholics hold as dogmatic and a small number of decrees promulgated by
popes
exercising
papal infallibility
(for examples, see
Immaculate Conception
and
Assumption of Mary
) are considered as being a part of the Catholic Church's sacred body of doctrine.
Judaism
[
edit
]
In the Jewish commentary tradition,
dogma
is a principle by which the
Rabbanim
can try the proofs of faith about the existence of God and truth;
[12]
dogma
is what is necessarily true for rational thinking.
[13]
In Jewish
Kabbalah
, a
dogma
is an
archetype
of the
Pardes
or
Torah Nistar
, the secrets of Bible. In the relation between "logical thinking" and "rational Kabbalah" the "
Partzuf
" is the means to identify "dogma".
[
clarification needed
]
Buddhism
[
edit
]
View
or position (
Sanskrit
:
??????
,
romanized
:
d???i
;
Pali
:
di??hi
) is a central idea in
Buddhism
that corresponds with the Western notion of dogma.
In Buddhist thought, a view is not a simple, abstract collection of propositions, but a charged interpretation of experience which intensely shapes and affects thought, sensation, and action.
[15]
Having the proper mental attitude toward views is therefore considered an integral part of the Buddhist path, as sometimes correct views need to be put into practice and incorrect views abandoned, while at other times all views are seen as obstacles to enlightenment.
Islam
[
edit
]
Taqlid (
Arabic
:
???????
,
romanized
:
taql?d
) is a term in Islam that refers to conforming to the teachings of a particular person. Classical usage of the term differs between
Sunni Islam
and
Shia Islam
. In Sunni Islam, taqlid refers to the unjustified conformity to the teachings of a person without inquiring or thinking about said teachings, rather than the justified conformity of a layperson to the teaching of
mujtahid
(a person who is qualified for independent reasoning). In Shia Islam, taqlid refers to the general conformity of non-
mujtahid
to the teaching of
mujtahid
, without a negative connotation. The discrepancy corresponds to differing views on
Shia views on the Imamate
and
Sunni imams
. Taqlid can be seen as a form of dogma, as no particular scholar can always be correct, so their rulings should not be taken uncritically.
[17]
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Dogma"
.
New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia
.
Archived
from the original on 5 June 2022
. Retrieved
5 October
2016
.
- ^
"Yes, liberal democracy is struggling, and the progressive left isn't helping"
.
The Washington Post
.
Archived
from the original on 22 January 2021
. Retrieved
16 January
2021
.
- ^
"Challenging the Dogmas of Right and Left"
.
The Atlantic
. 18 September 2017.
Archived
from the original on 17 January 2021
. Retrieved
16 January
2021
.
- ^
"dogma"
.
Merriam-Webster.com
. Encyclopædia Britannica Company, Inc. Archived from
the original
on 2022-07-29.
- ^
"Dogma"
.
dictionary.com
.
Archived
from the original on 23 September 2016
. Retrieved
4 October
2016
.
- ^
Sextus Empiricus, 'Outlines of Pyrrhonism', I. 13.
- ^
Sextus Empiricus, 'Outlines of Pyrrhonism', I. 14.
- ^
Joseph Albo
,
Sefer HaIkkarim
- ^
"Fons Vitae" of
Solomon ibn Gabirol
- ^
Lusthaus, Dan (2002).
Buddhist Phenomenology
(PDF)
. Routledge. p. 242, n. 46. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 2020-02-19
. Retrieved
2018-08-27
.
- ^
"Imitation (taqleed), following the evidence (daleel) ? and was Ibn Hazm a Hanbali?"
.
islamqa.org
.
No one has the right to follow an imam blindly and never accept anything but his worlds. Rather what he must do is accept that which is in accordance with the truth, whether it is from his imam or anyone else.
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Blackburn, Simon (2016). "Dogma".
The Oxford Dictionary of Philosophy
. Oxford University Press.
ISBN
978-0198735304
.
- Fuller, Paul (2005).
The Notion of Di??hi in Therav?da Buddhism: The Point of View
(PDF)
. Routledge. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 26, 2015.
- McKim, D.K. (2001). "Dogma". In Elwell, Walter A. (ed.).
Evangelical Dictionary of Theology
. Baker Academic.
ISBN
978-0801020759
.
- O'Collins, Gerald (1983). "Dogma". In Richardson, Alan; Bowden, John (eds.).
The Westminster Dictionary of Christian Theology
. Westminster John Knox Press.
ISBN
978-0664227487
.
- Stanglin, K.D. (2009). "Dogma". In Dyrness, William A.; Karkkainen, Veli-Matti (eds.).
Global Dictionary of Theology: A Resource for the Worldwide Church
. InterVarsity Press.
ISBN
978-0830878116
.
External links
[
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]
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