Dogma

From New World Encyclopedia

A Dogma (from the Greek: "that which is regarded as good") is a belief or doctrine held by an organization, usually religious, to be authoritative and indisputable. Dogmas are considered central to the beliefs of a religion, and therefore denial of any given dogma is essentially denial of that religion. Dogmas are most commonly associated with the Roman Catholic tradition, where the term is used most often. Though many religions traditions may not use the word "dogma" explicitly (or may even reject the idea of dogma), the majority of religions can be described as possessing them in some form. The plural of dogma is either "dogmata" or dogmas.

Dogma and Doctrine

Dogma must be differentiated from doctrine, which refers to a code of principles or positions of a body of teachings" which serve as the foundation of a belief system. While it is true that all dogmata are doctrines, not all doctrines can be considered dogmata. Doctrines are formulated by a religious organization, based on faith, theology, philosophy, or a variety of other sources. However, they are not dogmatic, even though they may be widely accepted and firmly held. Dogmas are unquestioned religious truths, with an administrative and authoritative scope. Doctrines, meanwhile, are propagated by a given religious institution, but are not always central to a religion and may be recognized as potentially imperfect, and therefore debatable. Dogmata, however, are always central and regarded as infallible. Doctrines in general may be questioned, but dogmata are doctrines that must not be doubted. Similarly, dogma is also distinguished from theology. While many dogmas are examples of the most well-defined theological analysis, others may be taken as a priori truths and subjected to little theological analysis.

Hence, dogmas and dogmatism form the fundamental element of many religions. The term "dogma" is assigned to those theological tenets which are considered to be irrevocably demonstrated, such that their proposed disputation or revision effectively means that a person no longer accepts the given religion as his or her own, or has entered into a period of personal doubt. Dogmata may be clarified and elaborated but not contradicted in novel teachings. Due to the foundational importance of dogmas, their rejection is tantamount to rejection of a religious tradition entirely, as the dogmata of a religion are not capable of excision from the core of the religion's teachings. Rejection of dogma is most always considered heresy and may result in excommunication or exile from the tradition though this varies amongst the world's religious traditions. In more extreme situations throughout history, those who doubted dogmata were coerced back to the fold through the use of violence. However, division over dogmata need not always be confrontational, and it certainly has not always been so. In many cases, rejection of old dogmas or the synthesis of new ones leads to the formation of new religious branches or traditions.

Dogma in World Religions

Dogma in Judaism

Though there is much diversity in belief and practice within Judaism, there are distinct ideas which are characteristic of Jewish faith and critical to Jewish identity. Since its beginnings in the Hebrew bible, acceptance of one god and the rejection of all others has been of the utmost importance for the Jewish people. Thus, the idea of the oneness, formlessness, and eternity of God can be considered dogma, an idea prevalent in all of the Abrahamic religions. Further, it is forbidden in the Jewish tradition to make any depiction of this god, due to the prohibition of idolatry. Today, Jews are careful not to render such images god, even going so far as to spell His title "G-d" to avoid an idolatrous depiction through language. Each of these ideas are first presented in the Ten Commandments found in Exodus and Deuteronomy. They are also found in the Thirteen Principles of Faith put forward by Moses Maimonides, though Maimonides ideas are not necessarily traditional dogma for all Jews. However, Orthodox Judaism today maintains that Jews are obligated to accept Maimonides' Thirteen Principles of Faith, including an unwavering belief in the coming of the Messiah as traditionally defined. Essentially, all the principles delineated by Maimonides are true for most adherents of Judaism in most ages, though even some of these have been disputed by other Jewish teachers. As well, these thirteen principles are open to a variety of interpretations.

Dogma in Christianity

For most of Eastern Christianity, the dogmata are contained in the Nicene Creed and the first two, three, or seven ecumenical councils (depending on whether one is a Nestorian, a Monophysite, or an Eastern Orthodox Christian). Roman Catholics also hold as dogma the decisions of fourteen later ecumenical councils and decrees promulgated by popes exercising papal infallibility (see, e.g., immaculate conception). Protestants to differing degrees affirm portions of these dogmata, and often rely on sect-specific 'Statements of Faith' which summarize their chosen dogmata (e.g., Eucharist).

Dogma in the Roman Catholic church is characterized as the teachings presented by God via Pope, council or authority of the church. A popularly referenced (and often misunderstood) example of Roman Catholic dogma is the Immaculate Conception. This doctrine, which indicates that Mary the mother of Jesus was not tainted by original sin at her conception, was made a dogma in 1854 by Pope Pius IX. Though speculated upon before this time, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception was not made offical (and therefore unquestioned) Catholic doctrine until it was stated by the Pope as an infallible dogma.

Dogma in Islam

Muslim dogma is quite succinctly prescribed in the Five Pillars of Islam, which are followed by Sunni Muslims, who form the vast majority of Islamic people on earth. The first of these and perhaps most important of these, shahada, or the confession of faith, is the declaration that Allah is the only god and that Muhammad is his prophet. This is the core statement in Islam, and one is expected to believe them if entering into the Muslim community. This pillar illustrates the importance of monotheism in the Islamic tradition, which declares god to be unequivocally singular. Allah's oneness is described through Tawhid, can be found written in the Qur'an in Surah 112, which states that "He is Allah, the one and only God the Eternal, the Absolute He begot none, nor was He begotten and there is none comparable to Him." Further, the dogmatic importance of monotheism is made evident in the Muslim rejection of idolatry and polytheism, religious abberations which they claim are interrelated and deleterious upon true religion. Depictions of Allah, the prophet Mohammed, or any other human for that matter, can be considered idolotrous in that they venerate a physical reality seperate from the one true God. Generally, these sins are placed under the heading shirk which refers to the acknowledgement or worship of anything that is not Allah as supreme.

The second pillar of Islam, called salat, involves five daily prayers. Muslims are committed to pray 1) between dawn and sunrise, 2) after midday 3) between midday and sunset 4) immediatly after sunset, and 5) one hour after sunset, without exception. The third pillar of Islam, Sawm, involves fasting from dawn to dusk during Ramadan, the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar. The fourth pillar, Zakat, requires that a portion of a person's income be distributed among the poor. The fifth and final pillar, Hajj, states that a Muslim was make one pilgrimage to the city of Mecca during their lifetime. Each of these pillar must be carried out without exception and their religious importance remains undisputed, therefore, all five pillars of Islam can be said to be dogma.

Other examples of dogma can be identified in Islam. The Qur'an, Islam's holy book, is considered by Muslims to be of divine origin, transmitted word for word from the Allah to the angel Gabriel to the prophet Mohammed, and therefore representative of an absolute truth. As such, all of its contents are taken to be authoritative revelation. Moreover, Jihad (literally meaning "struggle" or "endeavor"), is also indispensible to Islamic adherents. The term has a variety of meanings ranging from an personal spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to all-out holy war for Islamic supremacy, which have long been the topic of debate in Islamic theology. However, the importance of Jihad in a Muslim's life no matter the definition, is not disputed.

Dogma in Hinduism

Hinduism covers a wide variety of religious traditions, inclusively declaring them all Hindu. Therefore, the concept of dogma does not apply as readily to Hinduism as it does to traditions that are more defined along doctrinal lines. However, some dogmata can found in the Hindu tradition. For example, schools falling within the scope of Hinduism ubiquitously accept the Vedas, the holy books which originated among the Indus Valley Civilization. Acceptance generally asserts the belief that these many texts do not have a human author or authors, but have existed eternally. Acceptance of these text has been used historically to determine which of the varied Indian philosophies and which are not. The six orthodox schools of Indian thought (Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Purva Mimamsaand Vedanta) are generally differentiated from the heterodox schools such as Buddhism and Jainism on the basis of their acceptance of the Vedas. The heterodox schools rejected the Vedas, therefore they are not considered Hindu. Thus acceptance of the spiritual importance of these texts is generally a sign that one is Hindu.

Another Hindu belief which is essentially dogmatic is the idea of ātman, most often translated as "soul" in English. As in other traditions, such as Islam and Christianity, the axiom that human beings possess a soul (though this can be defined in a myriad of ways between and within religions) which exists as a transcendent spiritual counterpart to their physical form, is an unassailable truth in the tradition. Closely related to this concept is Brahman, a formulation of the supreme, transcendent monistic force which pervades the entire universe and sustains all being, as well as non-being. This concept or ones parallel with it are found in most Hindu schools, and in numerous cases, brahman is taught to be one and the same as Brahman, an equation which in itself is meant to solve the mysteries of existence. As such, the concepts of both Brahman and atman can be considered dogmatic. In congruence with other religious traditions born in India, Hinduism subscribes to ideas of reincarnation and karma. The doctrine of reincarnation states that human souls or atman persist over numerous physical bodies and existence; that is, they are reborn in an eternal cycle. Karma, meanwhile, states that actions in present and past lives determine the fortune of the soul in it's future incarnations. Both of these doctines are almost ubiquitously accepted among the Hindu schools, and form the foundation on which further philosophical and theological constructs are built, such as the concept of liberation from the cycle of rebirth.

Dogma in Buddhism

Some Buddhist dogmata are shared with Hinduism and Jainism. Religious concepts innate in the worldview of the people of India, such as karma and reincarnation, are fundamental to the majority of Indian religions. Buddhism is not an exception; however, Buddhists understand and explain these ideas differently than Hindus or Jains. Most importantly, Buddhsts reject the Hindu dogma of ātman, and idea which has been expressed in the Buddhist idea of anātman. Buddhist dogma dictates that the human being does not possess a soul, and that such an idea is no more than wishful thinking based upon human fear of impermanence. Though this idea is understood differently in Theravada schools and Mahayana schools, the interpretations can be thought of as dogmata for each. For instance, in the Mahayana scripture known as the Tathagatagarbha sutras, the idea of anātman applies to concepts like the five skandhas (or aggregates of physical experience), but not to one's own Buddha nature. The Theravada view does not make this distinction, making evident that even within a religious tradition there are divergences in dogma. It has often been questioned since the times of the Buddha himself how the concept of reincarnation can be upheld by Buddhists even with the lack of belief in a persisting soul. The Buddha was purposefully vague in his response to such quandaries, perhaps suggesting the paramount importance of faith in the dogma beyond theological and philosophical inquiry.

Dogma in Confucianism

Confucianism has existed as a tradition of philosophical principles rather than religious or ritual sembelance. As such, tenets put forth by Confucians thinkers have been accepted due to their practical and social merit rather than their status as revelation; therefore, few can be considered truly dogmatic. However, several of the teachings put forth by founder Confucius have remained. The virtue which Confucius considered central in the human quest for societal order was humanity, or jen. The main way to cultivate jen, according to Confucius, were through five relationships. These relationships existed between parents and children (expressed as filial piety), ruler and subject, husband and wife, elder sibling and younger sibling, and between friends. In the Confucian tradition, these are institutions that must be preserved without question. For example, in the Analects of Confucius Confucius declares it more honest for a son to lie to defend his father than for that son to testify against his father for wrong-doing (Chapter 13, Verse 18). The dogma of filial piety outweighs the obligation to denounce a parent. Furthermore, the idea that moral principles serve the ultimate goal of putting individuals and society in harmony with Mandate of Heaven (Tien) has been the goal of almost every Confucian philosopher, no matter their particular stance.

Dogma Outside of Religion

Many non-religious beliefs are often described as dogmata, for example in the fields of politics or philosophy, as well as within society itself. The term dogmatism carries the implication that people adopt and maintain their beliefs in an uncritical and conformist fashion. Dogmata are the antithesis to science, which is based on the principles of unbiased critical evaluation of the observations, theories, and experiments of others and oneself. However, science and the scientific method, applied incorrectly (that is, without properly gauged and directed criticism) can become a dogma itself, proving a disservice to science. In a similar way in philosophies such as rationalism and skepticism, although metaphysical considerations are normally not explicit in those fields, traditional religious dogmas tend to be rejected while unexamined presuppositions are sometimes upheld.

Science does not lend itself to the creation and promulgation of dogma, as the very core of the endeavor is to question all precepts, even those that seem thoroughly tested. However, as it is human nature to yearn for certainty, some scientists have indeed become dogmatic, failing to uphold the principles of scientific inquiry. Understandings of Newton's theory of gravity and motion were thought adequate to explain the universe before Albert Einstien proposed his theories of Special and General Relativity. Eventually even these ideas, once held as certain truth by some, became questioned. However, the ideas of experimentation and repetition of experimentation, in addition to a community of peers intent on mutual critical analysis serve to keep dogmatic tendencies in science in check.

There are some conceptual similarities between dogma and the axioms used as the starting point for logical analysis. Axioms may be thought of as concepts so fundamental and clearly evident that disputing them would be unimaginable; dogmata are also fundamental (e.g. "God exists") yet incorporate also the larger set of conclusions that comprise the religious field of thought (e.g. "God created the universe"). Axioms are propositions not subject to proof or disproof, or are statements accepted on their own merits. Dogmata might be thought to be more complex, the product of other proofs, though this is not always true. Philosophy and theology evaluate all statements, whether classified as axioms or dogmata. Religious dogmata, properly conceived, reach back to proofs other than themselves, and ultimately to faith.


References
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  • Eliade, Mircea, (editor in chief.) Karl Rahner and Adolf Darlap, "Dogma", The Encyclopedia of Religion. MacMillan, 1987. (pg. 389) ISBN 0028971353

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