Dogma
Etymology
From Greek "dogma," "that which seems good, an opinion or decree," from "dokein," "to seem" or "to think good." In its early use it could mean any settled opinion or public decree. Christian theology narrowed it to doctrine formally taught by the church, and from there it broadened again into its modern, often critical sense: any belief demanded rather than defended.
noun · /DOG-muh/
A principle or set of beliefs laid down by an authority as unquestionably true.
What it names
The belief you’re expected to hold without examining — useful shorthand for spotting where an institution has replaced argument with assertion.
Example
The founder treated his early growth playbook as dogma long after the market had changed underneath it.
Related idea
Orthodoxy is the body of correct belief a community shares; dogma is the specific tenet within it that authority declares closed to question.