Definition of "confessionalism"

confessionalism

noun
countable and uncountable, plural confessionalisms
1. (religion) A belief in the importance of full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a religious teaching.
2. (poetry) A style of American poetry that draws on the personal history of the poet.
  Quotations
  Her rendition of "Dry Land" from her first album, Back to the Night, was a poetic fusion of music and lyrics that achieved an intimate tone too often sacrificed to confessionalism by other singers.
  1977 April 23, Steve Blevins, “Armatrading: "Sit Back And See"”, in Gay Community News, page 11
3. A system of government that proportionally distributes political and institutional power among religious and ethnic communities.