Dogma is a set of beliefs that a group holds as fixed and true, and that members are expected to take without asking hard questions. Churches have long used the word for teachings they treat as settled. Groups that are not religious use it too: a political party, a school of thought, even a company can have dogma. Though actually, the word often sounds critical. If you call someone's idea dogma, you usually mean the door is closed: they will not let you test it. A group's teaching can be named in a more open way; dogma is the word with the lock on it. In older English the Greek-style plural dogmata sometimes appeared, but people now almost always say dogmas.