Noun
The practice or the doctrine of strict adherence to, or dependence on, external forms, esp. in matters of religion.
Source: Webster's dictionaryFormalism is music that people don't understand at first hearing. Sergei Prokofiev
In theology the conservative temper tends to formalism. Edith Hamilton
The exercises of our meeting are to be simple and devoid of all ceremonial and formalism. They are to consist of a lecture mainly, and, as a pleasing and grateful auxiliary, of music to elevate the heart and give rest to the feelings. Felix Adler
The law has outgrown its primitive stage of formalism when the precise word was the sovereign talisman, and every slip was fatal. Benjamin N. Cardozo
The exercises of our meeting are to be simple and devoid of all ceremonial and formalism. Felix Adler
We show that some known classical results have particularly simple derivations within the Ashtekar formalism. These include Witten's positive energy theorem... Lee Smolin