Dogma

This article is about established beliefs, doctrines or sets of theological or philosophical tenets. For other uses, see Dogma (disambiguation).

Dogma is an official system of principles or doctrines of a religion, such as Roman Catholicism, or the positions of a philosopher or of a philosophical school such as Stoicism.

In the pejorative sense, dogma refers to enforced decisions, such as those of aggressive political interests or authorities. More generally, it is applied to some strong belief whose adherents are not willing to discuss it rationally. This attitude is named as a dogmatic one, or as dogmatism; and is often used to refer to matters related to religion, but is not limited to theistic attitudes alone and is often used with respect to political or philosophical dogmas.

Etymology

The word "dogma" was transliterated in the 17th century from Latin dogma meaning "philosophical tenet" or principle, derived from the Greek dogma (δόγμα) meaning literally "that which one thinks is true" and the verb dokein, "to seem good". The plural, based on the Greek, is "dogmata" (dawg-MAH-tah), though "dogmas" may be more commonly used in English.

Religion

Formally, the term dogma has been used by some theistic religious groups to describe the body of positions forming the group's most central, foundational, or essential beliefs, though the term may also be used to refer to the entire set of formal beliefs identified by a theistic or non-theistic religious group. In some cases dogma is distinguished from religious opinion and those things in doctrine considered less significant or uncertain. Formal church dogma is often clarified and elaborated upon in its communication.

Buddhism

View or position (Pali diṭṭhi, Sanskrit dṛṣṭi) is a central idea in Buddhism. 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. Having the proper mental attitude toward views is therefore considered an integral part of the Buddhist path, as sometimes correct views need to put into practice and incorrect views abandoned, and sometimes all views are seen as obstacles to enlightenment.

Christianity

Christianity is defined by a set of core beliefs shared by virtually all Christians, though how those core beliefs are implemented and secondary questions vary within Christianity. When formally communicated by the organization, these beliefs are sometimes referred to as 'dogmata.' 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. 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 unofficial institution of dogma in the Christian church was by Saint Irenaeus in his writing, Demonstration of Apostolic Teaching, which provides a 'manual of essentials' constituting the 'body of truth'. So initially, dogma is concerned with truth.

Catholicism

Main article: Dogma in the Catholic Church

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 "Nestorian", Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, or Roman Catholic). These tenets are summarized by St. 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 Fathers of the Church, 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 Church's sacred body of doctrine.

Islam

See also: The six articles of Islamic faith

In Islam the Latin terms dogma and dogmata are used to describe the Quran, Hadith, aqidah.

Philosophy

Pyrrhonism

In Pyrrhonist philosophy "dogma" refers to assent to a proposition about a non-evident matter. 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. Pyrrhonists argue that dogmatists, such as the Stoics, Epicureans, and Peripatetics, have failed to demonstrate that their doctrines regarding non-evident matters are true.

See also

• Central dogma of molecular biology
• Church canons
• Dogmatic theology
• John of Damascus
• Nicene Creed
• Religious doctrine

External links

• Dogma – Strong's N.T. Greek Lexicon
• Il Domani – terribile o radioso? – del Dogma, a book by Enrico Maria Radaelli with a Preface by Roger Scruton and comments by Brunero Gherardini, Alessandro Gnocchi-Mario Palmaro, and Mario Oliveri (Roma 2012)
• [Ireaeus. Demonstrations of apostolic teaching. pp. 70–75. [online] available at: Christian Classics ethereal library http://www.ccel.org/ccel/irenaeus/demonstr.i.html [Accessed 20 June 2017]