Doctrine
Doctrine, from Latin
doctrina (compare
doctor), means "a code of beliefs", "a body of teachings" or "instructions", taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or
belief system. The
Greek analogy is the
etymology of
catechism.Often
doctrine specifically connotes a corpus of
religious dogma as it is promulgated by a church, but not necessarily:
doctrine is also used to refer to a principle of
law, in the
common law traditions, established through a history of past decisions, such as the doctrine of
self-defense, or the principle of
fair use, or the more narrowly applicable
first-sale doctrine.
In matters of
foreign policy, a doctrine is a body of axioms fundamental to the exercise of a nation's foreign policy. Hence, "doctrine,' in this sense, has come to suggest a broad consistency that holds true across a spectrum of acts and actions. Doctrines of this sort are almost always presented as the personal creations of one particular political leader, whom they are named after. Examples include the
Monroe Doctrine, the
Stimson Doctrine, the
Truman Doctrine, the
Eisenhower Doctrine, the
Brezhnev Doctrine, the
Kirkpatrick doctrine, and the
Bush Doctrine.
In the United States ten
presidents have had their own
foreign policy doctrine.
See also: United States Presidential doctrines
Sometimes 'doctrine' is an ambitious word for a mere slogan: the slogan 'Peace through strength' is termed a 'doctrine' at Wikipedia.
The term also applies to the concept of an established procedure to a complex operation in warfare. The typical example is tactical doctrine in which a standard set of maneuvers, kinds of troops and weapons are employed as a default approach to a kind of attack.
Examples of religious doctrines include:
*Christian Trinity and virgin birth
*Roman Catholic transubstantiation and immaculate conception
*Pentecostal Jesus-Only doctrine
*Calvinist predestination
*Methodist Prevenient Grace
*Mormon doctrine of the Heavenly Mother
See also the Roman Catholic Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Examples of military doctrines include:
*Blitzkrieg of World War II
*Hit-and-run tactics
*Mutually assured destruction of the Cold War
*Shock and Awe
See also Hallstein Doctrine.
Many more examples can be found at Wikipedia by searching doctrine
(doctrine and an asterisk).
The term indoctrination came to have awkward connotations during the 20th century, but it is necessary to retain it, in order to distinguish it from education. In education
one is asked to stand as much as possible outside the body of accumulated knowledge and analyse it. In indoctrination'' on the other hand, one stands within the body of knowledge and absorbs its teachings. Compare
theology and
comparative religion for examples, of which many could be drawn.
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Doctrinalism
