Orthodoxy (from Ancient Greek ὀρθοδοξία (orthodoxía)'righteous/correct opinion')[1][2] is adherence to a purported "correct" or otherwise mainstream- or classically acceptedcreed, especially inreligion.[3]
Orthodoxy withinChristianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds andecumenical councils inantiquity, but different Churches accept different creeds and councils. Such differences of opinion have developed for numerous reasons, including language and cultural barriers. In the Christian world,Eastern Orthodoxy andOriental Orthodoxy are sometimes referred to simply as"the Orthodox" or"Orthodoxy".
The historicalBuddha was known to denounce mere attachment to scriptures ordogmatic principles, as it was mentioned in theKalama Sutta.[7] Moreover, theTheravada school ofBuddhism follows strict adherence to thePāli Canon (tripiṭaka) and the commentaries such as theVisuddhimagga. Hence, the Theravada school came to be considered the most orthodox of all Buddhist schools, as it is known to be highly conservative, especially within the discipline and practice of theVinaya.[citation needed]
Adherence to theNicene Creed is a common test of orthodoxy in Christianity.
In classical Christian use, the termorthodox refers to the set of doctrines which were believed by theearly Christians. A series ofecumenical councils were held over a period of several centuries to try to formalize these doctrines. The most significant of these early decisions was that between thehomoousian doctrine ofAthanasius andEustathius (which becameTrinitarianism) and theheteroousian doctrine ofArius andEusebius of Nicomedia (Arianism). The homoousian doctrine, which defined Jesus as both God and man with the canons of the 431Council of Ephesus, won out in the Church and was referred to asorthodoxy in most Christian contexts, since this was the viewpoint of previous Christian Church Fathers and was reaffirmed at these councils. (The minority ofnontrinitarian Christians object to this terminology.)
Following the 1054Great Schism, both theWestern Catholic Church and theEastern Orthodox Church continued to consider themselves uniquelyorthodox andcatholic.Augustine wrote inOn True Religion: "Religion is to be sought…only among those who are called Catholic or orthodox Christians, that is, guardians of truth and followers of right."[8] Over time, the Western Church gradually identified with the "Catholic" label, and people of Western Europe gradually associated the "Orthodox" label with the Eastern Church (in some languages the "Catholic" label is not necessarily identified with the Western Church). This was in note of the fact that both Catholic and Orthodox were in use as ecclesiastical adjectives as early as the 2nd and 4th centuries, respectively.
Orthodoxy does not exist inHinduism,[14] as the wordHindu itself collectively refers to the various beliefs of people who lived beyond theSindhu river (Indus river) in India. It is a record of the accepted teachings of each of thousands ofgurus, who others equate to prophets,[15] and has no founder, no authority or command, but recommendations. The term most equivalent to orthodoxy at best has the meaning of "commonly accepted" traditions rather than the usual meaning of "conforming to a doctrine", for example, what people of middle eastern faiths attempt to equate as doctrine in Hindu philosophies isSanatana Dharma, but which at best can be translated to mean "ageless traditions", hence denoting that they are accepted not through doctrine and force but through multi-generational tests of adoption and retention based on circumstantial attrition through millennia.[citation needed] Still, the concepts ofāstika andnāstika of Indian philosophy are quite similar toorthodoxy andheterodoxy respectively, the ātiska being those who accept theepistemic authority of theVedas.[16][17]
Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as "Orthodox Islam".[18][19][20] Other scholars of Islam, such as John Burton, believe that there is no such thing as "Orthodox Islam".[21]
Orthodox Judaism is a form ofJudaism that seeks to maintain the continuity of traditionalJewish belief and practice, rooted in theTanakh (Hebrew Bible) and theOral Torah (Hebrew:תּוֹרָה שֶׁבְּעַל־פֶּה,romanized: Torah sheh-bei'ahl peh), and interpreted throughJewish law (הֲלָכָה,Halakhá, 'the [way of] walking') as transmitted byrabbinic authority,[22] while also shaped in practice by diverseminhagim (מִנְהָגִים, 'customs'). More specifically, the term "Orthodox" is used to describe those communities whosehashkafa (הַשׁקָפָה, 'outlook' or 'worldview') are correlative—not necessarily identical or in agreement—yet originating from a 19th-century reaction to the challenges ofmodernity andsecularization that arose during theHaskalah (הַשׂכָּלָה, 'wisdom' or 'education'), the so-called Jewish Enlightenment. In essence, Orthodox Judaism developed as a reconciliatory reaction of the historically cobelligerentHasidic Jewish community and non-HasidicMisnagdim (מִתְנַגְּדִים, 'Opponents [of Hasidic Judaism]') to the genesis ofReform Judaism precipitated by theHaskalah.[23]
Theologically, it is chiefly defined by regarding theTorah,bothWritten andOral, as being literallyrevealed byGod toMoses on thebiblical Mount Sinai and faithfully transmitted without alteration ever since. The movement advocates a strict observance ofhalakha (Jewish Law), which is to be interpreted only according to received methods due to its divine character. Orthodoxy considers "halakha" as eternal – unchanged, unchanging, and unchangable – being applied differently to changing circumstances but essentially static in its nature. This viewpoint differs even from the opinions of otherTraditionalist Jewish approaches, whose adherents – to varying degrees – may disagree in the existence of aseparation between halakha and how it is interpreted and practiced, and/or acknowledge that halakha has shifted in some way, such as between the Pre-Temple Era, First and Second Temple Era, and the Post-Temple Era.
Orthodox Judaism is not a centralized denomination. Relations between its different subgroups are sometimes strained, and at times in history openinly bellicose and violent amongst one another.[24][25] Accordingly, the exact limits of Orthodoxy are subject to intense debate, and the labels used to describe groups that consider themselves to be Orthodox have and continue to shift. A major example is the development ofOpen Orthodoxy in response toModern Orthodoxy's "sliding to the right"[26] from the latter 20th-century and onwards, and theOrthodox Union's the latter's adoption of the term "Centrist Orthodoxy".Very roughly, Orthodox Judaism can be divided betweenHaredi Judaism, which is more conservative and insular, andModern Orthodox Judaism, which is relatively open to the outside world and tends to engage inpolitical activism, especially concerningIsrael advocacy. It is to such a degree that within Israel itself, Modern Orthodoxy is known asReligious Zionism, fusing religious practice with political philosophy.[27][28][29] This is one of the factors which lead to RabbiAvi Weiss' ignition of the Open Orthodoxy movement,[30] which nominally seeks to preserve the critical ambivalence, and even opposition, ofDiaspora Orthodoxy towardsZionism.[31][32] Haredi Judaism is also composed of multiple independent streams, some of which may beHasidic orMitnadic (Yeshivish / Litvish) Haredim and the Modern Orthodox are almost uniformly exclusionist, regarding their Orthodoxies as the only authentic form of Judaism and rejecting all non-Orthodox interpretations as illegitimate.[33] This includes most non-Orthodox conversions, which has complicated Israel's Law of Return due to the political dominance of the OrthodoxChief Rabbinate over many parts of Israeli civics, such asmarriage, and contentiously considering some non-Orthodox converts, and even some Orthodox conversions done outside of Israel as beingnot Jewish.[34][35]
Epicureanism is an orthodox secular philosophical belief based on the correct pursuit of pleasure and a natural rather than supernatural worldview. It has fortyPrincipal Doctrines, and Vatican Saying 41 mentions ὀρθῆς φιλοσοφίας φωνὰς ἀφιέντας ("orthes philosophias phonas aphientas", which translates as "(never cease to) utter the sayings of correct philosophy").[36]
Outside the context of religion, the termorthodoxy is often used to refer to any commonly held belief or set of beliefs in some field, in particular, when these tenets – possibly referred to as "dogmas" – are being challenged. In this sense, the term "orthodox" can have a mildlypejorative connotation. Among various "orthodoxies" in distinctive fields, the most commonly used terms include:
The termsorthodox andorthodoxy are also used more broadly by English-speakers to refer to things other than ideas and beliefs. A new and unusual way of solving a problem could be referred to asunorthodox, while a common and 'normal'mainstream way of solving a problem might be referred to asorthodox.
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The concept of orthodoxy pre-supposes some degree of agreed cultural standardisation – a system ofsocial norms – whereby opinion can distinguish "correct" belief or doctrine from their "incorrect" equivalents.[39] Whereworld-views or religious sentiment have not developed standardised, generally accepted systems of thought, orthodoxy cannot take root. Thedevelopment of writing facilitated the gradual canonisation of writtenscriptures and supra-national philosophies[40]in the increasinglymonotheistic Abrahamic Near East,[41]but literacy traditions in South Asia and in East Asia did not prevent the growth of religious and political pluralism. Medieval Europe and the post-colonial West saw a turn – subsequently spreading elsewhere – to coercive interest in thebelief-systems of the individual (McCarthyism exemplifies a peak in this trend) and in their regulation or "correction" viasocial control – in the interests of ideological purity[42]and state homogeneity.[43]
Orthodoxy is opposed toheterodoxy ('other teaching') orheresy. People whodeviate from orthodoxy by professing adoctrine considered to be false are called heretics, while those who, perhaps without professing heretical beliefs, break from the perceived main body of believers are calledschismatics. The term employed sometimes depends on the aspect most in view: if one is addressing corporate unity, the emphasis may be on schism; if one is addressing doctrinal coherence, the emphasis may be on heresy. A deviation lighter than heresy is commonly called error, in the sense of not being grave enough to cause total estrangement, while yet seriously affecting communion. Sometimes error is also used to cover both full heresies and minor errors. Doctrine or practices not regarded as essential to faith, with which Christians can legitimately disagree, are known asadiaphora.
The concept of orthodoxy is prevalent in many forms of organizedmonotheism. However, orthodox belief is not usually overly emphasized inpolytheistic oranimist religions, in which there is often little or no concept ofdogma, and varied interpretations of doctrine andtheology are tolerated and sometimes even encouraged within certain contexts.Syncretism, for example, plays a much wider role in non-monotheistic (and particularly, non-scriptural) religion. The prevailing governing norm within polytheism is oftenorthopraxy ('right practice') rather than the "right belief" of orthodoxy.
^John Richard Thackrah (5 September 2013).Dictionary of Terrorism (2, revised ed.). Routledge. p. 252.ISBN978-1-135-16595-6.
^Nasir, Jamal J., ed. (2009).The Status of Women Under Islamic Law and Modern Islamic Legislation (revised ed.). BRILL. p. 11.ISBN9789004172739.
^George W. Braswell (2000).What You Need to Know about Islam & Muslims (illustrated ed.). B&H Publishing Group. p. 62.ISBN978-0-8054-1829-3.
^Burton, John. 1996.An Introduction to the Hadith. Edinburgh:Edinburgh University Press. p. 201: "Sunni: Of or pertaining toSunna, especially theSunna of the Prophet. Used in conscious opposition to Shi'a, Shi'í. Since there is no ecclesia or centralized magisterium, the term 'Orthodox' is inappropriate. To the Muslim 'unorthodox' implies heretical,mubtadi, frombid'a, the contrary ofSunna, and so 'innovation'."
^Avvakumov, Yury P. (2 February 2021). "Caught in the Crossfire: Towards Understanding Medieval and Early Modern Advocates of Church Union". In Latinovic, Vladimir; Wooden, Anastacia K. (eds.).Stolen Churches or Bridges to Orthodoxy?. Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue ISSN 2634-6605. Vol. 1: Historical and Theological Perspectives on the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Dialogue. Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. p. 31.ISBN9783030554422. Retrieved17 November 2023.[...] a certain eternal norm, a kind oftheologia perennis - the Thomistic in the Roman Catholic case, the Palamite in Neo-Patristic theology. Compliance with this norm is held to be absolutely necessary to be a true Catholic or a true Orthodox, and any deviation from it is considered detrimental [...] this perennial norm functions, ultimately, to legitimize the 'Catholic' and the 'Orthodox' denomination (Konfession) of the day.
^Olson, David R. (7 November 2016). "Vygotsky and the Vygotskians".The Mind on Paper: Reading, Consciousness and Rationality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 58.ISBN9781107162891. Retrieved17 November 2023.Schooling is the set of programs and practices that institutionalize the norms and standards of written culture. In reading authoritative texts learners are acquiring not only knowledge but also the rules and norms for what constitutes a clear distinction, defensible theory, valid argument or a sound reason in a written-document culture. And that set of norms and standards is then to be carried over and used to judge one's own views whether written or spoken.
^Cataldo, Jeremiah W. (3 January 2018). "Understanding monotheism as a cultural institution".A Social-Political History of Monotheism: From Judah to the Byzantines. Abingdon: Taylor & Francis.ISBN9781315406886. Retrieved17 November 2023.[...] note how often monotheistic descriptions of restoration employ political vocabulary - within which the believing community exists no longer under siege but in a position of authority over the nonmember, or nonbeliever.
^Colic-Peisker, Val; Flitney, Adrian (24 October 2017). "A Rational Civilisation?".The Age of Post-Rationality: Limits of economic reasoning in the 21st century. Singapore: Springer. pp. 21–22.ISBN9789811062599. Retrieved17 November 2023.Until the Enlightenment, the ultimate judgement ortruth was one stemming from the authority of God, as interpreted bay God's representatives on Earth. Anyone who opposed the judgement of clergy committed a heresy. The Roman Catholic Church's 'thought police' in charge of arresting any unorthodox thinking. [...] The Spanish Inquisition was the most ruthless pursuit of ideological purity in Western history.
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