Cunning, scheming, or manipulative behavior by church officials or leaders; the use of church authority or tradition for political or selfish purposes.
Compound of 'church' and 'craft' (meaning skill, cunning, or trickery), formed in English to describe suspicious or underhanded behavior within religious institutions, similar to 'statecraft' or 'witchcraft.'
Churchcraft is the opposite of faith—it's what you get when institutions prioritize power over principle. The word had real urgency during the Reformation when Protestants used it constantly to attack Catholic church hierarchy.
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