Definition of "church doctrine" [church doctrine]

• The written body of teachings of a religious group that are generally accepted by that group (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• "By the time the sixties rolled around, many mainstream Protestant and Catholic leaders had concluded that if America’s religious institutions were to survive, they would have to make themselves “relevant” to changing times-by accommodating church doctrine to science, and by articulating a social gospel that addressed the material issues of economic inequality, racism, sexism, and American militarism."