dogma

noun

dog·​ma ˈdȯg-mə 

ˈdäg-

plural dogmas also dogmata ˈdȯg-mə-tə 

ˈdäg-

1

a

: something held as an established opinion

especially : a definite authoritative tenet

b

: a code of such tenets

pedagogical dogma

c

: a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds

2

: a doctrine or body of doctrines concerning faith or morals formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by a church

Did you know?

Religious dogma and scientific dogma are sometimes at odds, as in arguments between those who believe in the biblical story of creation and those who believe in evolution. Since all dogma resists change, arguments of any kind are harder to resolve when both sides are dogmatic in their beliefs. Dogma and dogmatic are generally used disapprovingly; it's always other people who believe unquestioningly in dogma and who take a dogmatic approach to important issues.

Synonyms

• canon
• doctrine

Examples of dogma in a Sentence

The Saudi regime has tried to deflect questions about its management of the country … by supporting and spreading an uncompromising religious dogma. —Fareed Zakaria, Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2001

He was known for his ability to burst the bubble of generally accepted dogma, to puncture it with data and detached observations. —Sherwin B. Nuland, New Republic, 19 Feb. 2001

It had long been biological dogma that whales were scarce in the open ocean, but the Navy was picking up whale songs thousands of miles from land. —Sharon Begley et al., Newsweek, 31 Jan. 2000

For in creating a cultural orthodoxy designed to combat racism, urban disorder, and a legacy of oppression, we subject ourselves to delusional dogma, the tyranny of conformity … —Gerald Early, Harper's, January 1997

These new findings challenge the current dogma in the field.

the Catholic dogma of the bodily assumption of the Virgin Mary

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Recent Examples on the Web

How can anything but dogma survive in such a forum? —Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2023

Photo: rhona wise/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Freedom of thought appears to be returning to campus in Arizona as the state’s large university system sets a course for academic vitality over leftist dogma. —James Freeman, WSJ, 17 Aug. 2023

Most parents don’t want progressive dogma force-fed to their children in school. —Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, National Review, 1 June 2023

Her dogma is: The bigger your fabulous gets, the less room there is for hate and hostility. —Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 29 June 2023

The result was an institutional rift that inspired an unfortunate dogma: lifters didn’t run, and aerobic athletes didn’t lift. —Men's Health, 29 June 2023

But would her students, turned on everywhere by the dogma of political correctness, misapprehend Haynes’s aim? —Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023

Even now the reactionary forces of faith continue to resist ideas that contradict their dogmas. —Julian Baggini, WSJ, 2 June 2023

Van Gogh had to get away from Seurat’s and Signac’s dogma not just to find his own voice but also to liberate color from the clutches of pseudoscience. —Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, 1 June 2023

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Word History

Etymology

Latin dogmat-, dogma, from Greek, from dokein to seem — more at decent

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

dogma

noun

dog·​ma ˈdȯg-mə 

ˈdäg-

plural dogmas also dogmata -mət-ə 

1

: something considered as an established opinion

2

: a belief or body of beliefs concerning faith or morals laid down by a church