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, as well as to describe the cronyism and cloistered political environs of Christian denominational hierarchy, mainly in reference to the Roman Catholic Church.