Definition of "dogma" []

• A doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality and faith, set forth in an authoritative manner by a church. (noun)
• An authoritative principle, belief, or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true. See Synonyms at doctrine. (noun)
• A principle or belief or a group of them: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present” ( Abraham Lincoln). (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "‡ The term dogma is often applied to statements put forward by someone who thinks, inappropriately, that they should be accepted without proof."
• "These people escape endlessly by refusing definition which they call dogma ...."
• "Conservatism as a philosophy is built around the idea that “The Truth” is already known, that their exists a specific and certain dogma that the population must conform to, and that it is responsibility of the authoritive conservative hierarchy to ensure that the public does obey."