ABSTRACT
Dogme is derived from the Greek δόγμα, meaning in general any correct teaching, or more specifically a foundational philosophical or religious proposition. The term was used commonly in the Reformation period and by the eighteenth century had come to refer to ecclesiastically sanctioned religious teachings. In a parallel fashion, Doctrin, derived from the Latin doctrina, also suggested any authoritative teaching. To further expand the lexical options, by the middle of the sixteenth century the more ordinary term Lære, meaning “teaching,” was also being employed to indicate the main themes of the Bible and the tenets of the church. It was this term that Kierkegaard generally preferred when referring to the core convictions of any tradition.1 In his authorial practice the meanings of Doctrin and Lære were so interchangeable that he sometimes employed both of them in the same sentence for the sake of emphasis.2 Kierkegaard also often used “dogma” and “doctrine” as if they were synonymous, although “dogma” usually had a stronger nuance of authority for him. For example, he sometimes referred to the “sacred affirmations of Scripture” as “dogmas.”3 Kierkegaard employed “doctrine” and “dogma” to suggest any strongly held foundational principle, even if it were entirely secular. More specifically, he sometimes followed the widespread scholarly custom of nineteenth-century northern Europe and utilized “dogmatic” to refer to the fundamental principles of non-skeptical, non-critical philosophic traditions.4 However, Kierkegaard most frequently used this fluid set of concepts to point to the authoritative beliefs of the Christian tradition.
