Sentence:  Both Vivekandanda and Gandhi were witness to the hierarchical, rigid and decadent social system, a religiosity dominated by <WSD>priestdom</WSD> causing fragmentation of society into pieces and the subordination of women by men. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  Political rule or sweeping social control exercised by a class of priests; a ruling class of priests.<ref>"Oxford English Dictionary", 2nd ed., 1989.</ref>