priestcraft

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   derogatory: the use of priestly authority or religious influence for political or worldly control

   The critic condemned the alliance of priestcraft and political power.

2. 2
   noun

   the skills, practices, or duties associated with being a priest

   The novice learned the ceremonies and other elements of priestcraft.

From Middle English priestcraft, a compound of priest + craft. Craft originally meant skill or a practiced art; the word later acquired a strongly critical sense for the calculated use of clerical authority to secure secular influence or control.

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