Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Priestcraft \Priest"craft`\, n.
   Priestly policy; the policy of a priesthood; esp., in an ill
   sense, fraud or imposition in religious concerns; management
   by priests to gain wealth and power by working upon the
   religious motives or credulity of others.

         It is better that men should be governed by priestcraft
         than by violence.                        --Macaulay.

Source : WordNet®

priestcraft
     n 1: a derogatory reference to priests who use their influence to
          control secular or political affairs
     2: the skills involved in the work of a priest