Priestcraft

Priestcraft
Priestcraft Priest"craft`, n. Priestly policy; the policy of a priesthood; esp., in an ill sense, fraud or imposition in religious concerns; management by priests to gain wealth and power by working upon the religious motives or credulity of others. [1913 Webster]

It is better that men should be governed by priestcraft than by violence. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • priestcraft — [prēst′kraft΄] n. the craft, methods, etc. of priests: now usually with reference to the unscrupulous use of a priestly office …   English World dictionary

  • priestcraft — noun a) the craft of performing the duties of a priest In pious times, ere priestcraft did begin, before polygamy was made a sin b) priestly policy directed towards worldly ends Perhaps thou wert a priest,if so, my struggles / Are vain, for… …   Wiktionary

  • priestcraft — /preest kraft , krahft /, n. the training, knowledge, and abilities necessary to a priest. [1475 85; PRIEST + CRAFT] * * * …   Universalium

  • priestcraft — (Roget s IV) n. Syn. priesthood, clergy, monasticism; see ministry 2 …   English dictionary for students

  • priestcraft — noun often derogatory the knowledge and work of a priest …   English new terms dictionary

  • priestcraft — /ˈpristkraft/ (say preestkrahft) noun priestly arts …  

  • priestcraft — n. usu. derog. the work and influence of priests …   Useful english dictionary

  • Deism — For other uses, see Deism (disambiguation). Part of a series on God General c …   Wikipedia

  • The Age of Reason — The Age of Reason: Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology , a deistic treatise written by eighteenth century British radical and American revolutionary Thomas Paine, critiques institutionalized religion and challenges the inerrancy… …   Wikipedia

  • Dominion Rules — (DR) is a role playing game system for historical and fantasy role playing. DR is notable in the history of role playing games for being one of the first RPGs, perhaps the very first, to be released under an open source (or open gaming) licence,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”