Religious doctrine

Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina, meaning 'teaching', 'instruction' or 'doctrine') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymological Greek analogue is 'catechism'. Doctrine (from Latin: doctrina, meaning 'teaching', 'instruction' or 'doctrine') is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system. The etymological Greek analogue is 'catechism'. Often the word doctrine specifically suggests a body of religious principles as promulgated by a church. Doctrine may also 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. Some organizations simply define doctrine as 'that which is taught', or the basis for institutional teaching to its personnel of internal ways of operating.