What is confessionalism?

The word confessionalism occurs in the fields of religion, politics and poetry, each having a different meaning. In religion, particularly in Christianity, confessionalism refers to the belief that a truly religious person should accept the entire teaching of the religion, both its values and rituals. It lays a lot of emphasis on religious dogma and does not allow for alternative interpretations of the religion. Non-confessionalists, on the other hand, believe that shared values and religious spirit and religious experience are more important than ritual and dogma of a religion. In the field of politics, it signifies a system of government which apportions seats in its legislature and various government jobs to different groups of people strictly based on demographic composition. For instance, the government of Lebanon is based on the confessionalist model. In poetry, confessionalism refers to a movement, which became popular in the 1950s and ’60s. In this form of poetry, the work focuses on intimate details of the poet’s life, however unpleasant they may be.