According to the bumper sticker, it may be tempting to think of dogma as the thing the person in front of you ran over with their karma. In the non-Catholic world (and even sometimes within the Catholic world), when someone is referred to as being “dogmatic,” it usually is a reference to their attitude rather than their position. Dogma, in a post-enlightenment world, usually has the same connotation as close-mindedness.
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, dogmas are “lights along the path of faith, sure signs of truth; they illuminate it and make it secure.” (CCC 89). In other words, when the Church defines a dogma, it does so with its full authority, as a theological guardrail to keep us from going off the path and into a ditch. A dogma such as Papal Infallibility, for example, was defined in order to remind us of the Holy Spirit’s promise that the gates of Hell will never prevail against his Church, no matter how sinful leaders within it may be. It’s not a testament to the virtues of any particular pope himself, but rather to the promise of Jesus to St. Peter in Matthew 16:18.
Very likely, you’ve heard the word “dogma” used in casual conversation with a far more negative connotation than the word “seat belt;” however, the popular concepts are not too far apart. Understood properly, dogma is disseminated by the Church in order to protect us, rather than merely constrict us. If anything, the idea of dogma should reassure us that we are in safe territory when it comes to discerning the truth.
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