doctrine

plural doctrines

1. countableA belief or tenet, especially about philosophical or theological matters.

   The Incarnation is a basic doctrine of Christianity.

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   The Four Noble Truths summarise the main doctrines of Buddhism.

   Metaphysics stagnates in scienceless (or uncritical) cultures; it is progressive in scientific ones. It progresses then because existing metaphysical doctrines are felt to be constricting frameworks, and thus unsatisfactory.

   2012, Joseph Agassi, Science in Flux

2. countableuncountableThe body of teachings of an ideology, most often a religion, or of an ideological or religious leader, organization, group, or text.

   What is the understanding of marriage and family in orthodox Marxist doctrine?

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   This one thing do we (compelled by your blaſphemous accuſations) repeat oftener then we would: to the end that indifferent men may ſee what doctrine it is, which you ſo maliciouſly impugne.

   1560, John Knox, An Answere to a Great Number of Blasphemous Cavillations Written by an Anabaptist, and aduersarie to Gods eternall Predestination, London: Thomas Charde, published 1591, page 95

3. countableA self-imposed policy governing some aspect of a country's foreign relations, especially regarding what sort of behavior it will or will not tolerate from other countries.

   the Monroe Doctrine the Brezhnev Doctrine the Negroponte Doctrine