doctrine

noun

Etymology: From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin doctrina (“teaching, instruction, learning, knowledge”), from doctor (“a teacher”), from docere (“to teach”); see doctor.

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

   “The Incarnation is a basic doctrine of Christianity.”

   “The Four Noble Truths summarise the main doctrines of Buddhism.”

2. The 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?”

   “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.”

3. A 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”