the belief that a religion, esp Christianity, should have a set of essential doctrines to which members of that religion must adhere
confessionalism in American English
(kənˈfeʃənlˌɪzəm)
noun
advocacy of the maintenance of a confession of faith
Derived forms
confessionalian (kənˌfeʃəˈneiliən)
adjective or noun
Word origin
[1875–80; confessional + -ism]This word is first recorded in the period 1875–80. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: authoritarian, cross-fertilization, fan-tan, pressure point, weekend-ism is a suffix appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it was used to form action nounsfrom verbs (baptism). On this model, -ism is used as a productive suffix in the formation of nouns denoting action or practice,state or condition, principles, doctrines, a usage or characteristic, devotion oradherence, etc. (criticism; barbarism; Darwinism; despotism; plagiarism; realism; witticism; intellectualism)