fideism

9.9

A belief that faith is more important than reason in religion

noun
/ˈfaɪdiˌɪzəm/

Specialized

: fideísmo

"Humanism is the body of philosophies and ethical perspectives that emphasize the value and agency of human beings, individually and collectively, and generally prefer individual thought and evidence (rationalism, empiricism) over established doctrine or faith (fideism)."

Examples

If one wishes to call this Wittgensteinian fideism (n105), so be it.

Academic text (1999)
Fideism and anti-intellectualism diminish both mind and spirit and squander the rich Christian heritage.

Academic text (1992)
Fideism asserts that faith should take precedence over reason in religious beliefs.
Many philosophers criticize fideism for placing faith above rational inquiry.
In discussions about religion, fideism emphasizes the importance of belief over evidence.

Synonyms

irrationalism

vsfideism

Formal

1 8.2

A belief that feelings, faith, or the unconscious mind matter more than logic

is a religious belief that faith outweighs reason in matters of religion

Antonyms

empiricism

Formal

6 8.4

A view that we learn mainly from experience, observation, and experiments

rationalism

Formal

5 7.7

The belief that reason and logic give true knowledge more than feeling or experience

Surface Forms

fideism singular

fideisms plural

Morphology

fideism = faith (opaque) = fide + ism

The combining form 'fide-' is not a recognizable standalone English morpheme for most learners, so the meaning cannot be transparently inferred even though it relates to 'faith'.

Etymology

The word fideism comes from the Latin fides, meaning 'faith' or 'trust', plus the ending -ism meaning 'a belief'. You can see the same root in faith, fidelity, and confide, so fideism is the idea of putting faith or trust before reason.