So what is an -ism anyway?

[Typhlochactas]

''Ism'' doesn't always mean you believe the thing that comes before it.

[Blazedtown]

A term used by people who won't admit their true beliefs, or don't have any.

[Xeng He]

A term used by people who won't admit their true beliefs, or don't have any.

I'm sigging this.

[Swith Witherward]

An 'ism' is a suffix forming nouns of action, state, condition, doctrine. Hinduism, secularism, humanism, mechanism, antiestablishmentarianism etc.

In comparison...
An 'ology' is suffix indicating "pertaining to science" or "branch of knowledge". Theology, biology, terminology.

An "ity" suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives, meaning "condition or quality of being (fill in the blank)". Christianity, humanity.

[The American Corporatocracy]

Its what an -ist follows
Fascists follows fascism
Communists follows Communism
and so on

I was going to make a pun about jist, but figured the mods might get testy.

[Menassa]

Its what an -ist follows
Fascists follows fascism
Communists follows Communism
and so on

Jews follow Judaism
Christians follow Christianism
and Muslims follow Islamism..... well fuck.

[4years]

But some people claiming to hold the same ideologies have mutually exclusive beliefs.

Yep.

Then you just have to clarify which people you're talking about.

Simpler to just define ideologies by what their founders said and toss people that mislabel themsevles into anther catergory or just make up a new ideology for them.