Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - dogma

 noun  (plural ~s; also ~ta)  Etymology: Latin ~t-, ~, from Greek, from dokein to seem — more at decent  Date: 1638  1.  a. something held as an established opinion; especially a definite authoritative tenet  b. a code of such tenets pedagogical ~  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