An excessive devotion to the interests of the sacerdotal order; undue influence of the clergy; sacerdotalism.

a policy of supporting the influence and power of the clergy in secular or political matters

A pejorative term that indicates a condescending attitude by one or more members of the clergy, an exaggerated deference to the clergy, or an inappropriate concentration of power in the clergy.

System under which a religious hierarchy exerts political authority. Historically, clericalism was common among smaller polities in Muslim areas of West Africa.

Clericalism is the application of the formal, church-based, leadership or opinion of ordained clergy in matters of either the church or broader political and sociocultural import. In a pejorative manner, "clericalism" is often used to denote an ecclesiolatry approach to issues beyond the church by either clergy or their supporters while the term has also been applied in a pejorative manner to describe the cronyism and cloistered political environs of the Church—mainly in reference to the Roman Catholic Church.