Dogma vs Doctrine

Dogma is defined as:

1. something held as an established opinion; especially a definite authoritative tenet;
2. a code of such tenets;
3. a point of view or tenet put forth as authoritative without adequate grounds;
4. an authoritative principle or belief or statement of ideas or opinion, especially one considered to be absolutely true; 
5. a doctrine or a corpus of doctrines relating to matters such as morality or faith, set forth in an authoritative manner

Synonyms: doctrine, teachings, principle, opinion, article, belief, creed, tenet, precept, credo, article of faith, code of belief

Doctrine is defined as:

1. A principle or body of principles presented for acceptance or beilef, as by a religious, political, scientific or philosophical group
2. A rule or principle of law, especially when established by precedent
3. A statement of official governent policy, especially in foreign affairs and military strategy;
4. Something taught; a teaching;

Synonyms: teaching, principle, belief, opinion, article, concept, conviction, canon, creed, dogma, tenet, percept, article of faith.

The terms dogma and doctrine is sometimes used interchangeably though doctrine is formalized dogma that is encoded, ie, formally stated and authoritatively proclaimed by an organization, for example, the church, a political organization or the military, for its members. It is philosophy or school of thought.

Examples are the dogma of Immaculate Conception of the church or the Marxist dogma of communists.

From a military perspective, a doctrine is the fundamental principles by which the military forces or elements thereof guide their actions in support of national objectives. It is authoritative but requires judgement in application.

Let us take a look at a few example of commonly held doctrines:

1. nuclear deterrence is the military doctrine that an enemy will be deterred from using nuclear weapons as long as he can be destroyed as a consequence.
2. abolitionism is the doctrine that calls for the abolition of slavery;
3. amoralism is the doctrine that moral distinctions are invalid;
4. laissez faire is an economic doctrine that opposes governmental regulation of or interference in commerce beyond the minimum necessary for a free-enterprise sstem to operate according to its own economic laws;
5. internationalism, the doctrine that nations should cooperate because their common interests are more important than their differences;
6. democracy, the doctrine the numerical majority of an organized group can make decisions binding on the whole group;
7. multiculturism, the doctrine that several different cultures (rather than one national culture) can coexist peacefully and equitably in a single country;