[Dogmatism or ...?]

[A-friend]

I wonder if you let me know what would be your pick out of my listed choices for the following blank:
- Some religious people in every religion, including: Islam, Christianity or Judaism, show a special…………….about their religious beliefs and does not tend even to hear opposite beliefs or other religions viewpoints; even they.
a) dogmatism
b) fanaticism
c) zeal
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[I have written this example myself]
[I guess “a” and “b” both work here]

 

[icecreamsoldier]

Any of your options could work, except that one has zeal for something, not about it.

Some religious people show a special dogmatism/fanaticism about their religious beliefs.
Some religious people show a special zeal for their religious beliefs.

 

[A-friend]

Could you please explain a little bit more? What did you mean by:

except that one has zeal for something, not about it.

Formerly I shared a question in which dogmatism and fanaticism did not mean the same thing! How do you distinguish them?
Please have a look on the following link:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2719519

 

[Hildy1]

"Dogma" and "dogmatic" have a religious meaning, and are also currently used in a broader sense.
In the broader sense, a dogmatic person believes that his/her opinions are the only correct ones. He/she may be perfectly willing to allow other people to continue holding different beliefs. They're just wrong, that's all!

A fanatic, on the other hand, is obsessed by certain things - religion, politics, etc. He/She may talk about these things all the time, or even carry out acts of violence inspired by them.

 

[ESustad]

There are shades to the three terms. Dogmatism is the uncritical adherence to an entire set of ideas or beliefs, and is synonymous with 'orthodoxy.' Dogma doesn't require reflexion, or even knowing why. Fanatacism can lead a person to extreme, irrational behavior, and sometimes self-sacrifice. A zealot behaves fanatically. (I believe the Zealots were a fanatic Jewish sect in ancient times.)

 

[ewie]

A zealot behaves fanatically.

True enough, Esustad, but I wouldn't say "A zealot shows zeal for his religion". Rather I'd say "A zealot shows zealotry for his religion."

Of A-friend's three terms (dogmatism, fanaticism, zeal), I find the last to be far the tamest/weakest, given that in common parlance zeal tends to mean nothing more than 'enthusiasm'.