Idolatry

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Idolatry is the worship of an idol as though it were a deity.<ref name="Halbertal1992p1"/><ref>Template:Cite journal, Quote: "Idolatry (...) in the first commandment denotes the notion of worship, adoration, or reverence of an image of God."</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the Abrahamic God as if it were God.<ref name="Angelini 2021">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Leone 2016">Template:Cite journal</ref> In these monotheistic religions, idolatry has been considered as the "worship of false gods" and is forbidden by texts such as the Ten Commandments.<ref name="Angelini 2021"/> Other monotheistic religions may apply similar rules.<ref name="mwdoniger497">Template:Cite book</ref>

For instance, the phrase false god is a derogatory term used in Abrahamic religions to indicate cult images or deities of non-Abrahamic Pagan religions, as well as other competing entities or objects to which particular importance is attributed.<ref name="Stuckrad 2007">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Conversely, followers of animistic and polytheistic religions may regard the gods of various monotheistic religions as "false gods" because they do not believe that any real deity possesses the properties ascribed by monotheists to their sole deity. Atheists, who do not believe in any deities, do not usually use the term false god even though that would encompass all deities from the atheist viewpoint. Usage of this term is generally limited to theists, who choose to worship some deity or deities, but not others.<ref name="Angelini 2021"/>

In many Indian religions, which include Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, idols (murti) are considered as symbolism for the Absolute but are not the Absolute itself,<ref name=fowler41/> or icons of spiritual ideas,<ref name=fowler41>Jeaneane D. Fowler (1996), Hinduism: Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic Press, Template:ISBN, pages 41–45</ref><ref name=wernercort/> or the embodiment of the divine.<ref name=klausklost>Klaus Klostermaier (2010), A Survey of Hinduism, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, pages 264–267</ref> It is a means to focus one's religious pursuits and worship (bhakti).<ref name=fowler41/><ref name="Gale Encyclopedia of Religion">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=wernercort>Karel Werner (1995), Love Divine: Studies in Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism, Routledge, Template:ISBN, pages 45-46;
John Cort (2011), Jains in the World, Oxford University Press, Template:ISBN, pages 80–85</ref> In the traditional religions of Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, Africa, Asia, the Americas and elsewhere, the reverence of cult images or statues has been a common practice since antiquity, and idols have carried different meanings and significance in the history of religion.<ref name="Stuckrad 2007"/><ref name="Halbertal1992p1">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Smart 2020">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Moreover, the material depiction of a deity or more deities has always played an eminent role in all cultures of the world.<ref name="Stuckrad 2007"/>

The opposition to the use of any icon or image to represent ideas of reverence or worship is called aniconism.<ref>Aniconism, Encyclopædia Britannica</ref> The destruction of images as icons of veneration is called iconoclasm,<ref name="PrusacKolrud2014p1">Template:Cite book</ref> and this has long been accompanied with violence between religious groups that forbid idol worship and those who have accepted icons, images and statues for veneration.<ref name="AsseltGeest2007p8">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Wink1997p317">Template:Cite book</ref> The definition of idolatry has been a contested topic within Abrahamic religions, with many Muslims and most Protestant Christians condemning the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox practice of venerating the Virgin Mary in many churches as a form of idolatry.<ref name="Roggema2009p204">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Kolig2012p71">Template:Cite book</ref>

The history of religions has been marked with accusations and denials of idolatry. These accusations have considered statues and images to be devoid of symbolism. Alternatively, the topic of idolatry has been a source of disagreements between many religions, or within denominations of various religions, with the presumption that icons of one's own religious practices have meaningful symbolism, while another person's different religious practices do not.<ref name=janowitz239/><ref name=halbertal105/>

Etymology and nomenclature

The term idolatry comes from the Ancient Greek word eidololatria (εἰδωλολατρία), which itself is a compound of two words: eidolon (εἴδωλον "image/idol") and latreia (λατρεία "worship", related to λάτρις).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The word eidololatria thus means "worship of idols", which in Latin appears first as idololatria, then in Vulgar Latin as idolatria, therefrom it appears in 12th century Old French as idolatrie, which for the first time in mid 13th century English appears as "idolatry".<ref>Douglas Harper (2015), Etymology Dictionary, Idolatry</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Although the Greek appears to be a loan translation of the Hebrew phrase avodat elilim, (עבודת אלילים) which is attested in rabbinic literature (e.g., bChul., 13b, Bar.), the Greek term itself is not found in the Septuagint, Philo, Josephus, or in other Hellenistic Jewish writings.Template:Citation needed The original term used in early rabbinic writings is oved avodah zarah (AAZ, worship in strange service, or "pagan"), while avodat kochavim umazalot (AKUM, worship of planets and constellations) is not found in its early manuscripts.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The later Jews used the term Template:Script/Hebrew, avodah zarah, meaning "foreign worship".<ref>Template:Cite EB1911</ref>

Idolatry has also been called idolism,<ref>idolism, Merriam Webster;
Template:Cite book</ref> iconolatry<ref>iconolatry, Merriam Webster;
Template:Cite book</ref> or idolodulia in historic literature.<ref>Template:Cite book;
See John Calvin (1537) The Institutes of the Christian Religion, Quote: "The worship which they pay to their images they cloak with the name of εἰδωλοδυλεία (idolodulia), and deny to be εἰδωλολατρεία (idolatria). So they speak, holding that the worship which they call dulia may, without insult to God, be paid to statues and pictures. (...) For the Greek word λατρεύειν having no other meaning than to worship, what they say is just the same as if they were to confess that they worship their images without worshipping them. They cannot object that I am quibbling upon words. (...) But how eloquent soever they may be, they will never prove by their eloquence that one and the same thing makes two. Let them show how the things differ if they would be thought different from ancient idolaters."</ref>

Prehistoric and ancient civilizations

The earliest so-called Venus figurines have been dated to the prehistoric Upper Paleolithic era (35–40 ka onwards).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Archaeological evidence from the islands of the Aegean Sea have yielded Neolithic era Cycladic figures from 4th and 3rd millennium BC, idols in namaste Template:Which posture from Indus Valley civilization sites from the 3rd millennium BC, and much older petroglyphs around the world show humans began producing sophisticated images.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>National Museum, Seated Male in Namaskar pose, New Delhi, Government of India;
S Kalyanaraman (2007), Indus Script Cipher: Hieroglyphs of Indian Linguistic Area, Motilal Banarsidass, Template:ISBN, pages 234–236</ref> However, because of a lack of historic texts describing these, it is unclear what, if any connection with religious beliefs, these figures had,<ref name="Moorey2003p1"/> or whether they had other meaning and uses, even as toys.<ref>S. Diamant (1974), A Prehistoric Figurine from Mycenae, The Annual of the British School at Athens, Vol. 69 (1974), pages 103–107</ref><ref>JÜRGEN THIMME (1965), DIE RELIGIÖSE BEDEUTUNG DER KYKLADENIDOLE, Antike Kunst, 8. Jahrg., H. 2. (1965), pages 72–86 (in German)</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The earliest historic records confirming idols are from the ancient Egyptian civilization, thereafter related to the Greek civilization.<ref name="Johnson2010p50">Template:Cite book</ref> By the 2nd millennium BC two broad forms of cult image appear, in one images are zoomorphic (god in the image of animal or animal-human fusion) and in another anthropomorphic (god in the image of man).<ref name="Moorey2003p1">Template:Cite book</ref> The former is more commonly found in ancient Egypt influenced beliefs, while the anthropomorphic images are more commonly found in Indo-European cultures.<ref name="Johnson2010p50"/><ref name="Adams1997p44">Template:Cite book</ref> Symbols of nature, useful animals or feared animals may also be included by both. The stelae from 4,000 to 2,500 BC period discovered in France, Ireland through Ukraine, and in Central Asia through South Asia, suggest that the ancient anthropomorphic figures included zoomorphic motifs.<ref name="Adams1997p44"/> In Nordic and Indian subcontinent, bovine (cow, ox, -*gwdus, -*g'ou) motifs or statues, for example, were common.<ref name="Sax2001p48">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In Ireland, iconic images included pigs.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Ancient Egyptian religion was polytheistic, with large idols that were either animals or included animal parts. Ancient Greek civilization preferred human forms, with idealized proportions, for divine representation.<ref name="Johnson2010p50"/> The Canaanites of West Asia incorporated a golden calf into their pantheon.<ref name=johnson21>Template:Cite book</ref>

The ancient philosophy and practices of the Greeks, thereafter Romans, were imbued with polytheistic idolatry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Urbano2013">Template:Cite book</ref> They debate what is an image and if the use of image is appropriate. To Plato, images can be a remedy or poison to the human experience.<ref name="Dawson2008"/> To Aristotle, states Paul Kugler, an image is an appropriate mental intermediary that "bridges between the inner world of the mind and the outer world of material reality", the image is a vehicle between sensation and reason. Idols are useful psychological catalysts, they reflect sense data and pre-existing inner feelings. They are neither the origins nor the destinations of thought but the intermediary in the human inner journey.<ref name="Dawson2008">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Fervid opposition to the idolatry of the Greeks and Romans was of Early Christianity and later Islam, as evidenced by the widespread desecration and defacement of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures that have survived into the modern era.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Abrahamic religions

Judaism

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Judaism prohibits any form of idolatry<ref name="Kogan1992p169">Template:Cite book</ref> even if they are used to worship the one God of Judaism as occurred during the sin of the golden calf. According to the second word of the decalogue, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. The worship of foreign gods in any form or through icons is not allowed.<ref name="Kogan1992p169"/><ref name=novak73>Template:Cite book</ref>

Many Jewish scholars such as Rabbi Saadia Gaon, Rabbi Bahya ibn Paquda, and Rabbi Yehuda Halevi have elaborated on the issues of idolatry. One of the oft-cited discussions is the commentary of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (Maimonides) on idolatry.<ref name=novak73/> According to the Maimonidean interpretation, idolatry in itself is not a fundamental sin, but the grave sin is the denial of God's omnipresence that occurs with the belief that God can be corporeal. In the Jewish belief, the only image of God is man, one who lives and thinks; God has no visible shape, and it is absurd to make or worship images; instead man must worship the invisible God alone.<ref name=novak73/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The commandments in the Hebrew Bible against idolatry forbade the practices and gods of ancient Akkad, Mesopotamia, and Egypt.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Hebrew Bible states that God has no shape or form, is utterly incomparable, is everywhere and cannot be represented in a physical form of an idol.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Biblical scholars have historically focused on the textual evidence to construct the history of idolatry in Judaism, a scholarship that post-modern scholars have increasingly begun deconstructing.<ref name=janowitz239/> This biblical polemics, states Naomi Janowitz, a professor of Religious Studies, has distorted the reality of Israelite religious practices and the historic use of images in Judaism. The direct material evidence is more reliable, such as that from the archaeological sites, and this suggests that the Jewish religious practices have been far more complex than what biblical polemics suggest. Judaism included images and cultic statues in the First Temple period, the Second Temple period, Late Antiquity (2nd to 8th century CE), and thereafter.<ref name=janowitz239/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Nonetheless, these sorts of evidence may be simply descriptive of Ancient Israelite practices in some—possibly deviant—circles, but cannot tell us anything about the mainstream religion of the Bible which proscribes idolatry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The history of Jewish religious practice has included idols and figurines made of ivory, terracotta, faience and seals.<ref name=janowitz239/><ref>Allen Shapiro (2011), Judean pillar figurines: a study, MA Thesis, Advisor: Barry Gittlen, Towson University, United States</ref> As more material evidence emerged, one proposal has been that Judaism oscillated between idolatry and iconoclasm. However, the dating of the objects and texts suggest that the two theologies and liturgical practices existed simultaneously. The claimed rejection of idolatry because of monotheism found in Jewish literature and therefrom in biblical Christian literature, states Janowitz, has been unreal abstraction and flawed construction of the actual history.<ref name=janowitz239/> The material evidence of images, statues and figurines taken together with the textual description of cherub and "wine standing for blood", for example, suggests that symbolism, making religious images, icon and index has been integral part of Judaism.<ref name=janowitz239/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Fine2001">Template:Cite book</ref> Every religion has some objects that represent the divine and stand for something in the mind of the faithful, and Judaism too has had its holy objects and symbols such as Torah scrolls and holy books, Tefillin, the Menorah, mezuzah and many more.<ref name=janowitz239>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Christianity

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Ideas on idolatry in Christianity are based on the first of Ten Commandments.

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This is expressed in the Bible in Exodus 20:3, Matthew 4:10, Luke 4:8 and elsewhere, e.g.:<ref name="Wray2011p164"/> Template:Blockquote

The Christian view of idolatry may generally be divided into two general categories: the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox view which accepts the use of religious images,<ref name="Flinn2007p358">Template:Cite book</ref> and the views of many Protestant churches that considerably restrict their use. However, many Protestants have used the image of the cross as a symbol.<ref name="Leora Batnitzky 2009 147–156">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Ryan K. Smith 2011 79–81">Template:Cite book</ref>

Catholicism

Template:Multiple image The Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church have traditionally defended the use of icons. The debate on what images signify and whether reverence with the help of icons in church is equivalent to idolatry has lasted for many centuries, particularly from the 7th century until the Reformation in the 16th century.<ref name="Halbertal1992p39">Template:Cite book</ref> These debates have supported the inclusion of icons of Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Apostles, the iconography expressed in stained glass, regional saints and other symbols of Christian faith. It has also supported the practices such as the Catholic mass, burning of candles before pictures, Christmas decorations and celebrations, and festive or memorial processions with statues of religious significance to Christianity.<ref name="Halbertal1992p39"/><ref name="Craighen1914">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Vance1989p5">Template:Cite book</ref>

St. John of Damascus, in his "On the Divine Image", defended the use of icons and images, in direct response to the Byzantine iconoclasm that began widespread destruction of religious images in the 8th century, with support from emperor Leo III and continued by his successor Constantine V during a period of religious war with the invading Umayyads.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> John of Damascus wrote, "I venture to draw an image of the invisible God, not as invisible, but as having become visible for our sakes through flesh and blood", adding that images are expressions "for remembrance either of wonder, or an honor, or dishonor, or good, or evil" and that a book is also a written image in another form.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> He defended the religious use of images based on the Christian doctrine of Jesus as an incarnation.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

St. John the Evangelist cited John 1:14, stating that "the Word became flesh" indicates that the invisible God became visible, that God's glory manifested in God's one and only Son as Jesus Christ, and therefore God chose to make the invisible into a visible form, the spiritual incarnated into the material form.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The early defense of images included exegesis of Old and New Testament. Evidence for the use of religious images is found in Early Christian art and documentary records. For example, the veneration of the tombs and statues of martyrs was common among early Christian communities. In 397 St. Augustine of Hippo, in his Confessions 6.2.2, tells the story of his mother making offerings for the tombs of martyrs and the oratories built in the memory of the saints.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Quote box The Catholic defense mentions textual evidence of external acts of honor towards icons, arguing that there are a difference between adoration and veneration and that the veneration shown to icons differs entirely from the adoration of God. Citing the Old Testament, these arguments present examples of forms of "veneration" such as in Genesis 33:3, with the argument that "adoration is one thing, and that which is offered in order to venerate something of great excellence is another". These arguments assert, "the honor given to the image is transferred to its prototype", and that venerating an image of Christ does not terminate at the image itself – the material of the image is not the object of worship – rather it goes beyond the image, to the prototype.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Seaman2012p23">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church: Template:Blockquote

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It also points out the following: Template:Blockquote

The manufacture of images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and Christian saints, along with prayers directed to these has been widespread among the Catholic faithful.<ref name="Jones1898p1">Template:Cite book</ref>

Orthodox Church

The Eastern Orthodox Church has differentiated between latria and dulia. A latria is the worship due God, and latria to anyone or anything other than God is doctrinally forbidden by the Orthodox Church; however dulia has been defined as veneration of religious images, statues or icons which is not only allowed but obligatory.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This distinction was discussed by Thomas Aquinas in section 3.25 of Summa Theologiae.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The veneration of images of Mary is called Marian devotion (above: Lithuania), a practice questioned in the majority of Protestant Christianity.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In Orthodox apologetic literature, the proper and improper use of images is extensively discussed. Exegetical Orthodox literature points to icons and the manufacture by Moses (under God's commandment) of the Bronze Snake in Numbers 21:9, which had the grace and power of God to heal those bitten by real snakes. Similarly, the Ark of the Covenant was cited as evidence of the ritual object above which Yahweh was present.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Veneration of icons through proskynesis was codified in 787 AD by the Seventh Ecumenical Council.<ref name=giakalis1>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> This was triggered by the Byzantine Iconoclasm controversy that followed raging Christian-Muslim wars and a period of iconoclasm in West Asia.<ref name=giakalis1/><ref>Patricia Crone (1980), Islam, Judeo-Christianity and Byzantine Iconoclasm, Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, Volume 2, pages 59–95</ref> The defense of images and the role of the Syrian scholar John of Damascus was pivotal during this period. The Eastern Orthodox Church has ever since celebrated the use of icons and images. Eastern Rite Catholics also accepts icons in their Divine Liturgy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Protestantism

The idolatry debate has been one of the defining differences between papal Catholicism and anti-papal Protestantism.<ref name="Milton2002p186">Template:Cite book</ref> The anti-papal writers have prominently questioned the worship practices and images supported by Catholics, with many Protestant scholars listing it as the "one religious error larger than all others". The sub-list of erring practices have included among other things the veneration of Virgin Mary, the Catholic mass, the invocation of saints, and the reverence expected for and expressed to pope himself.<ref name="Milton2002p186"/> The charges of supposed idolatry against the Roman Catholics were leveled by a diverse group of Protestants, from Anglicans to Calvinists in Geneva.<ref name="Milton2002p186"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Protestants did not abandon all icons and symbols of Christianity. They typically avoid the use of images, except the cross, in any context suggestive of veneration. The cross remained their central icon.<ref name="Leora Batnitzky 2009 147–156"/><ref name="Ryan K. Smith 2011 79–81"/> Technically both major branches of Christianity have had their icons, states Carlos Eire, a professor of religious studies and history, but its meaning has been different to each and "one man's devotion was another man's idolatry".<ref name="Eire1989p5">Template:Cite book</ref> This was particularly true not only in the intra-Christian debate, states Eire, but also when soldiers of Catholic kings replaced "horrible Aztec idols" in the American colonies with "beautiful crosses and images of Mary and the saints".<ref name="Eire1989p5"/>

Protestants often accuse Catholics of idolatry, iconolatry, and even paganism; in the Protestant Reformation such language was common to all Protestants. In some cases, such as the Puritan groups denounced all forms of religious objects, regardless of whether it was a statue or sculpture, or image, including the Christian cross.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Waldensians were accused of idolatry by inquisitors.<ref name="Mankey 2022 p. 24">Template:Cite book</ref>

The body of Christ on the cross is an ancient symbol used within the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and Lutheran Churches, in contrast with some Protestant groups, which use only a simple cross. In Judaism, the reverence to the icon of Christ in the form of cross has been seen as idolatry.<ref name="Batnitzky2000p145">Template:Cite book</ref> However, some Jewish scholars disagree and consider Christianity to be based on Jewish belief and not truly idolatrous.<ref name="OU-Avoda Zarah">Template:Cite web, Quote: "Over time, however, new religions developed whose basis is in Jewish belief – such as Christianity and Islam – which are based on belief in the Creator and whose adherents follow commandments that are similar to some Torah laws (see the uncensored Rambam in his Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot Melakhim 11:4). All of the rishonim agree that adherents of these religions are not idol worshippers and should not be treated as the pagans described in the Torah."</ref>

Islam

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In Islamic sources, the concept of shirk (triliteral root: sh-r-k) can refer to "idolatry", though it is most widely used to denote "association of partners with God".<ref name=britshirk>Shirk, Encyclopædia Britannica, Quote: "Shirk, (Arabic: "making a partner [of someone]"), in Islam, idolatry, polytheism, and the association of God with other deities. The definition of Shirk differs in Islamic Schools, from Shiism and some classical Sunni Sufism accepting, sometimes, images, pilgrimage to shrines and veneration of relics and saints, to the more puritan Salafi-Wahhabi current, that condemns all the previous mentioned practices. The Quran stresses in many verses that God does not share his powers with any partner (sharik). It warns those who believe their idols will intercede for them that they, together with the idols, will become fuel for hellfire on the Day of Judgment (Template:Qref)."</ref> The concept of Kufr (k-f-r) can also include idolatry (among other forms of disbelief).<ref name="Waldman1968p442">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Campo2009p420">Template:Cite book, Quote: "[Kafir] They included those who practiced idolatry, did not accept the absolute oneness of God, denied that Muhammad was a prophet, ignored God's commandments and signs (singular aya) and rejected belief in a resurrection and final judgment."</ref> The one who practices shirk is called mushrik (plural mushrikun) in the Islamic scriptures.<ref name="Hawting1999p67">Template:Cite book</ref> The Quran forbids idolatry.<ref name="Hawting1999p67"/> Over 500 mentions of kufr and shirk are found in the Quran,<ref name="Waldman1968p442"/><ref name="Firestone1999p88">Template:Cite book</ref> and both concepts are strongly forbidden.<ref name=britshirk/>

The Islamic concept of idolatry extends beyond polytheism, and includes some Christians and Jews as muširkūn (idolaters) and kafirun (infidels).<ref name="Goddard2000p28">Template:Cite book, Quote: "in some verses it does appear to be suggested that Christians are guilty of both kufr and shirk. This is particularly the case in 5:72 ... In addition to 9:29, therefore, which has been discussed above and which refers to both Jews and Christians, other verses are extremely hostile to both Jews and Christians, other verses are extremely hostile to Christians in particular, suggesting that they both disbelieve (kafara) and are guilty of shirk."</ref><ref name="Leaman2006p144">Template:Cite book</ref> For example:

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Shia classical theology differs in the concept of Shirk. According to Twelver theologians, the attributes and names of God have no independent and hypostatic existence apart from the being and essence of God. Any suggestion of these attributes and names being conceived of as separate is thought to entail polytheism. It would be even incorrect to say God knows by his knowledge which is in his essence but God knows by his knowledge which is his essence. Also God has no physical form and he is insensible.<ref>Momen (1985), p. 176</ref> The border between theoretical Tawhid and Shirk is to know that every reality and being in its essence, attributes and action are from him (from Him-ness), it is Tawhid. Every supernatural action of the prophets is by God's permission as Quran points to it. The border between the Tawhid and Shirk in practice is to assume something as an end in itself, independent from God, not as a road to God (to Him-ness).<ref name="MM">Template:Cite book</ref> Ismailis go deeper into the definition of Shirk, declaring they don't recognize any sort of ground of being by the esoteric potential to have intuitive knowledge of the human being. Hence, most Shias have no problem with religious symbols and artworks, and with reverence for Walis, Rasūls and Imams.

Islam strongly prohibits all form of idolatry, which is part of the sin of shirk (Template:Langx); širk comes from the Arabic root Š-R-K (Template:Lang), with the general meaning of "to share". In the context of the Qur'an, the particular sense of "sharing as an equal partner" is usually understood as "attributing a partner to Allah". Shirk is often translated as idolatry and polytheism.<ref name=britshirk/> In the Qur'an, shirk and the related word (plural Stem IV active participle) mušrikūn (مشركون) "those who commit shirk" refers to the enemies of Islam (as in verse 9.1–15).

Within Islam, shirk is sin that can only be forgiven if the person who commits it asks God for forgiveness; if the person who committed it dies without repenting God may forgive any sin except for committing shirk. Template:Citation needed In practice, especially among strict conservative interpretations of Islam, the term has been greatly extended and means deification of anyone or anything other than the singular God. Template:Citation needed In Salafi-Wahhabi interpretation, it may be used very widely to describe behaviour that does not literally constitute worship, including use of images of sentient beings, building a structure over a grave, associating partners with God, giving his characteristics to others beside him, or not believing in his characteristics.Template:Citation needed 19th century Wahhabis regarded idolatry punishable with the death penalty, a practice that was "hitherto unknown" in Islam.<ref name="Valentine2014p47">Template:Cite book, Quote: "In reference to Wahhabi strictness in applying their moral code, Corancez writes that the distinguishing feature of the Wahhabis was their intolerance, which they pursued to hitherto unknown extremes, holding idolatry as a crime punishable by death".</ref><ref name="Hawting1999p1">Template:Cite book</ref> However, Classical Orthodox Sunni thought used to be rich in Relics and Saint veneration, as well as pilgrimage to their shrines. Ibn Taymiyya, a medieval theologian that influenced modern days Salafists, was put in prison for his negation of veneration of relics and Saints, as well as pilgrimage to Shrines, which was considered unorthodox by his contemporary theologians.

According to Islamic tradition, over the millennia after Ishmael's death, his progeny and the local tribes who settled around the oasis of Zam-Zam gradually turned to polytheism and idolatry. Several idols were placed within the Kaaba representing deities of different aspects of nature and different tribes. Several heretical rituals were adopted in the Pilgrimage (Hajj) including doing naked circumambulation.<ref name="Ishaq2">Template:Cite book</ref>

In her book, Islam: A Short History, Karen Armstrong asserts that the Kaaba was officially dedicated to Hubal, a Nabatean deity, and contained 360 idols that probably represented the days of the year.<ref name=armstrong/> But by Muhammad's day, it seems that the Kaaba was venerated as the shrine of Allah, the High God. Allah was never represented by an idol.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Once a year, tribes from all around the Arabian peninsula, whether Christian or pagan, would converge on Mecca to perform the Hajj, marking the widespread conviction that Allah was the same deity worshipped by monotheists.<ref name=armstrong>Template:Cite book</ref> Guillaume in his translation of Ibn Ishaq, an early biographer of Muhammad, says the Ka'aba might have been itself addressed using a feminine grammatical form by the Quraysh.<ref name="Ishaq">Template:Cite book</ref> Circumambulation was often performed naked by men and almost naked by women.<ref name="Ishaq2"/> It is disputed whether al-Lat and Hubal were the same deity or different. Per a hypothesis by Uri Rubin and Christian Robin, Hubal was only venerated by Quraysh and the Kaaba was first dedicated to al-Lat, a supreme god of individuals belonging to different tribes, while the pantheon of the gods of Quraysh was installed in Kaaba after they conquered Mecca a century before Muhammad's time.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Dharmic religions

Provenance

The first attested date in peer-reviewed academic literature for the worship of murti (Sanskrit) or vigraha (Sanskrit) in India is not clear, as different sources have different opinions and interpretations. However, the Indus Valley Civilization (circa 2500 - 1500 BCE) may have produced some of the earliest murtis or vigrahas in India, as evidenced by various terracotta and bronze figurines found in the archaeological sites. Some of these figurines have been interpreted as representations of deities, such as the so-called Pashupati seal, which depicts a horned figure surrounded by animals and possibly identified with Shiva. Another example is the bronze statuette of a Dancing Girl, which some scholars have associated with Parvati or Shakti. However, these interpretations are not universally accepted, and some scholars have argued that the Indus Valley Civilization did not practice murti or vigraha worship, but rather used symbols and signs to express their religious beliefs.<ref name="oneindia.com">Source: https://www.oneindia.com/india/why-india-is-a-land-of-murti-and-vigraha-and-not-idols-and-idolators-as-perceived-by-the-west-3455405.html (accessed: Wednesday September 27, 2023)</ref>

The Vedic period (circa 1500 - 500 BCE) is traditionally considered as the origin of Hinduism proper, but it also did not emphasize murti or vigraha worship, as the Vedic religion was mainly focused on fire sacrifices and hymns to various gods and goddesses. However, some Vedic texts do mention the use of clay or wooden images for ritual purposes, such as the Shatapatha Brahmana (circa 8th - 6th century BCE), which describes how a clay image of Prajapati (the creator god) was made and consecrated for the agnicayana ritual. Another example is the Aitareya Brahmana (circa 8th - 6th century BCE), which mentions how a wooden image of Varuna (the god of water and law) was installed in a temple and worshipped by the king. These examples suggest that murti or vigraha worship was not unknown in the Vedic period, but it was not widespread nor dominant.<ref name="oneindia.com"/>

The post-Vedic period (circa 500 BCE - 300 CE) witnessed the emergence and development of various religious movements and schools, such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Buddhism, Jainism and others. This period also saw the rise of murti or vigraha worship as a prominent feature of Hinduism, as evidenced by various literary and archaeological sources. For instance, the Ramayana (circa 5th - 4th century BCE) and the Mahabharata (circa 4th - 3rd century BCE) contain several references to murti or vigraha worship, such as Rama worshipping a Shiva linga at Rameshwaram, or Krishna installing an image of Vishnu at Dwarka. Another example is the Buddhist text Lalitavistara Sutra (circa 3rd century BCE - 3rd century CE), which mentions how Buddha's mother Maya dreamt of a white elephant entering her womb, and how King Suddhodana made an image of this elephant and worshipped it. Moreover, many stone and metal sculptures of various deities and saints have been found from this period onwards, such as the famous Pancha Rathas at Mahabalipuram (circa 7th century CE), which depict five chariots dedicated to different gods and goddesses.<ref name="oneindia.com"/>

General

The oldest forms of the ancient religions of India apparently made no use of idols. While the Vedic literature leading up to Hinduism is extensive, in the form of Samhitas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads, and has been dated to have been composed over a period of centuries (1200 BC to 200 BC),<ref name="Salmond2006p15"/> historical Vedic religion appears not to have used idols up to around 500 BC at least. The early Buddhist and Jain (pre-200 BC) traditions suggest no evidence of idolatry. The Vedic literature mentions many gods and goddesses, as well as the use of Homa (votive ritual using fire), but it does not mention images or their worship.<ref name="Salmond2006p15"/><ref>Template:Cite book; Phyllis Granoff (2000), Other people's rituals: Ritual Eclecticism in early medieval Indian religious, Journal of Indian Philosophy, Volume 28, Issue 4, pages 399–424</ref> The ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Jaina texts discuss the nature of existence, whether there is or is not a creator deity such as in the Nasadiya Sukta of the Rigveda, they describe meditation, they recommend the pursuit of simple monastic life and self-knowledge, they debate the nature of absolute reality as Brahman or Śūnyatā, yet the ancient Indian texts mention no use of images. Indologists such as the Max Muller, Jan Gonda, Pandurang Vaman Kane, Ramchandra Narayan Dandekar, Horace Hayman Wilson, Stephanie Jamison and other scholars state that "there is no evidence for icons or images representing god(s)" in the ancient religions of India. Use of idols developed among the Indian religions later,<ref name="Salmond2006p15">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Stephanie W. Jamison (2011), The Ravenous Hyenas and the Wounded Sun: Myth and Ritual in Ancient India, Cornell University Press, Template:ISBN, pages 15-17</ref> perhaps first in Buddhism, where large images of the Buddha appear by the 1st century AD.

According to John Grimes, a professor of Indian philosophy, Indian thought denied even dogmatic idolatry of its scriptures. Everything has been left to challenge, arguments and enquiry, with the medieval Indian scholar Vācaspati Miśra stating that not all scripture is authoritative, only scripture which "reveals the identity of the individual self and the supreme self as the non-dual Absolute".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Buddhism

Template:See also Template:Multiple image According to Eric Reinders, icons and idolatry have been an integral part of Buddhism throughout its later history.<ref name="Pellizzi2005p61">Template:Cite book</ref> Buddhists, from Korea to Vietnam, Thailand to Tibet, Central Asia to South Asia, have long produced temples and idols, altars and malas, relics to amulets, images to ritual implements.<ref name="Pellizzi2005p61" /><ref>Minoru Kiyota (1985), Tathāgatagarbha Thought: A Basis of Buddhist Devotionalism in East Asia, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies, Vol. 12, No. 2/3, pages 207–231</ref><ref name="pori153">Pori Park (2012), Devotionalism Reclaimed: Re-mapping Sacred Geography in Contemporary Korean Buddhism, Journal of Korean Religions, Vol. 3, No. 2, pages 153–171</ref> The images or relics of Buddha are found in all Buddhist traditions, but they also feature gods and goddesses such as those in Tibetan Buddhism.<ref name="Pellizzi2005p61" /><ref>Allan Andrews (1993), Lay and Monastic Forms of Pure Land Devotionalism: Typology and History, Numen, Vol. 40, No. 1, pages 16–37</ref>

Bhakti (called Bhatti in Pali) has been a common practice in Theravada Buddhism, where offerings and group prayers are made to Cetiya and particularly images of Buddha.<ref>Donald Swearer (2003), Buddhism in the Modern World: Adaptations of an Ancient Tradition (Editors: Heine and Prebish), Oxford University Press, Template:ISBN, pages 9–25</ref><ref>Karen Pechelis (2011), The Bloomsbury Companion to Hindu Studies (Editor: Jessica Frazier), Bloomsbury, Template:ISBN, pages 109–112</ref> Karel Werner notes that Bhakti has been a significant practice in Theravada Buddhism, and states, "there can be no doubt that deep devotion or bhakti / bhatti does exist in Buddhism and that it had its beginnings in the earliest days".<ref>Karel Werner (1995), Love Divine: Studies in Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism, Routledge, Template:ISBN, pages 45–46</ref>

According to Peter Harvey – a professor of Buddhist Studies, Buddha idols and idolatry spread into northwest Indian subcontinent (now Pakistan and Afghanistan) and into Central Asia with Buddhist Silk Road merchants.<ref name="Harvey2013p194"/> The Hindu rulers of different Indian dynasties patronized both Buddhism and Hinduism from 4th to 9th century, building Buddhist icons and cave temples such as the Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves which featured Buddha idols.<ref name=cohen83>Template:Cite book, Quote: Hans Bakker's political history of the Vakataka dynasty observed that Ajanta caves belong to the Buddhist, not the Hindu tradition. That this should be so is already remarkable in itself. By all we know of Harisena he was a Hindu; (...).</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=malandra1993p13/> From the 10th century, states Harvey, the raids into northwestern parts of South Asia by Muslim Turks destroyed Buddhist idols, given their religious dislike for idolatry. The iconoclasm was so linked to Buddhism, that the Islamic texts of this era in India called all idols as Budd.<ref name="Harvey2013p194">Template:Cite book</ref> The desecration of idols in cave temples continued through the 17th century, states Geri Malandra, from the offense of "the graphic, anthropomorphic imagery of Hindu and Buddhist shrines".<ref name=malandra1993p13>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book, Quote: "Some had been desecrated by zealous Muslims during their occupation of Maharashtra in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seventeenth centuries."</ref>

In East Asia and Southeast Asia, worship in Buddhist temples with the aid of icons and sacred objects has been historic.<ref name="Reinders2012p17"/> In Japanese Buddhism, for example, Butsugu (sacred objects) have been integral to the worship of the Buddha (kuyo), and such idolatry considered a part of the process of realizing one's Buddha nature. This process is more than meditation, it has traditionally included devotional rituals (butsudo) aided by the Buddhist clergy.<ref name="Reinders2012p17"/> These practices are also found in Korea and China.<ref name=pori153/><ref name="Reinders2012p17">Template:Cite book</ref>

Hinduism

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In Hinduism, an icon, image or statue is called murti or pratima.<ref name="fowler41" /><ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Major Hindu traditions such as Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism favor the use of a murti (idol). These traditions suggest that it is easier to dedicate time and focus on spirituality through anthropomorphic or non-anthropomorphic icons. The Bhagavad Gita – a Hindu scripture, in verse 12.5, states that only a few have the time and mind to ponder and fix on the unmanifested Absolute (abstract formless Brahman), and it is much easier to focus on qualities, virtues, aspects of a manifested representation of god, through one's senses, emotions and heart, because the way human beings naturally are.<ref name="Cortright2010p106">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

A murti in Hinduism, states Jeaneane Fowler – a professor of Religious Studies specializing on Indian Religions, is itself not god, it is an "image of god" and thus a symbol and representation.<ref name="fowler41" /> A murti is a form and manifestation, states Fowler, of the formless Absolute.<ref name="fowler41" /> Thus a literal translation of murti as idol is incorrect, when idol is understood as superstitious end in itself. Just like the photograph of a person is not the real person, a murti is an image in Hinduism but not the real thing, but in both cases the image reminds of something of emotional and real value to the viewer.<ref name="fowler41" /> When a person worships a murti, it is assumed to be a manifestation of the essence or spirit of the deity, the worshipper's spiritual ideas and needs are meditated through it, yet the idea of ultimate reality – called Brahman in Hinduism – is not confined in it.<ref name="fowler41" />

Devotional (bhakti movement) practices centered on cultivating a deep and personal bond of love with God, often expressed and facilitated with one or more murti, and includes individual or community hymns, japa or singing (bhajan, kirtana, or arati). Acts of devotion, in major temples particularly, are structured on treating the murti as the manifestation of a revered guest,<ref name="Gale Encyclopedia of Religion" /> and the daily routine can include awakening the murti in the morning and making sure that it "is washed, dressed, and garlanded."<ref name="klaus">Klaus Klostermaier (2007) Hinduism: A Beginner's Guide, 2nd Edition, Oxford: OneWorld Publications, Template:ISBN, pages 63–65</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>Template:Refn

In Vaishnavism, the building of a temple for the murti is considered an act of devotion, but non-murti symbolism is also common wherein the aromatic tulasi plant or shaligrama is an aniconic reminder of the spiritualism in Vishnu.<ref name="klaus" /> In the Shaivism tradition of Hinduism, Shiva may be represented as a masculine idol, or half-man half woman Ardhanarishvara form, in an anicon linga-yoni form. The worship rituals associated with the murti, correspond to ancient cultural practices for a beloved guest, and the murti is welcomed, taken care of, and then requested to retire.<ref name="willis96">Michael Willis (2009), The Archaeology of Hindu Ritual, Cambridge University Press, Template:ISBN, pages 96–112, 123–143, 168–172</ref><ref>Paul Thieme (1984), "Indische Wörter und Sitten," in Kleine Schriften (Wiesbaden), Vol. 2, pages 343–370</ref>

Christopher John Fuller states that an image in Hinduism cannot be equated with a deity and the object of worship is the divine whose power is inside the image, and the image is not the object of worship itself, Hindus believe everything is worthy of worship as it contains divine energy.<ref name="Fuller2004">Template:Cite book</ref> The idols are neither random nor intended as superstitious objects, rather they are designed with embedded symbolism and iconographic rules which sets the style, proportions, the colors, the nature of items the images carry, their mudra and the legends associated with the deity.<ref name="Fuller2004" /><ref>PK Acharya, A summary of the Mānsāra, a treatise on architecture and cognate subjects, PhD Thesis awarded by Rijksuniversiteit te Leiden, published by BRILL, Template:Oclc, pages 49–56, 63–65</ref><ref name="aliceboner7" /> The Vāstusūtra Upaniṣad states that the aim of the murti art is to inspire a devotee towards contemplating the Ultimate Supreme Principle (Brahman).<ref name="aliceboner7">Alice Boner, Sadāśiva Rath Śarmā and Bettina Bäumer (2000), Vāstusūtra Upaniṣad, Motilal Banarsidass, Template:ISBN, pages 7–9, for context see 1–10</ref> This text adds (abridged): Template:Blockquote

Some Hindu movements founded during the colonial era, such as the Arya Samaj and Satya Mahima Dharma reject idolatry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Bhagirathi Nepak. Mahima Dharma, Bhima Bhoi and Biswanathbaba Template:Webarchive</ref>

Jainism

Devotional idolatry has been a prevalent ancient practice in various Jaina sects, wherein learned Tirthankara (Jina) and human gurus have been venerated with offerings, songs and Āratī prayers.<ref name=johncort>John Cort, Jains in the World : Religious Values and Ideology in India, Oxford University Press, ISBN, pages 64–68, 86–90, 100–112</ref> Like other major Indian religions, Jainism has premised its spiritual practices on the belief that "all knowledge is inevitably mediated by images" and human beings discover, learn and know what is to be known through "names, images and representations". Thus, idolatry has been a part of the major sects of Jainism such as Digambara and Shvetambara.<ref name="Cort2010p3"/> The earliest archaeological evidence of the idols and images in Jainism is from Mathura, and has been dated to be from the first half of the 1st millennium AD.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The creation of idols, their consecration, the inclusion of Jaina layperson in idols and temples of Jainism by the Jaina monks has been a historic practice.<ref name="Cort2010p3">Template:Cite book</ref> However, during the iconoclastic era of Islamic rule, between the 15th and 17th century, a Lonka sect of Jainism emerged that continued pursuing their traditional spirituality but without the Jaina arts, images and idols.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Sikhism

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Sikhism is a monotheistic Indian religion, and Sikh temples are devoid of idols and icons for God.<ref name="Cole">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Yet, Sikhism strongly encourages devotion to God.<ref name=deol11>S Deol (1998), Japji: The Path of Devotional Meditation, Template:ISBN, page 11</ref><ref name=singha110>HS Singha (2009), The Encyclopedia of Sikhism, Hemkunt Press, Template:ISBN, page 110</ref> Some scholars call Sikhism a Bhakti sect of Indian traditions.<ref>W. Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi (1997), A Popular Dictionary of Sikhism: Sikh Religion and Philosophy, Routledge, Template:ISBN, page 22</ref><ref name=davidlorenzen>David Lorenzen (1995), Bhakti Religion in North India: Community Identity and Political Action, State University of New York Press, Template:ISBN, pages 1–3</ref>

In Sikhism, "Nirguni Bhakti" is emphasised – devotion to a divine without Gunas (qualities or form),<ref name=davidlorenzen/><ref name=hardip>Hardip Syan (2014), in The Oxford Handbook of Sikh Studies (Editors: Pashaura Singh, Louis E. Fenech), Oxford University Press, Template:ISBN, page 178</ref><ref>A Mandair (2011), Time and religion-making in modern Sikhism, in Time, History and the Religious Imaginary in South Asia (Editor: Anne Murphy), Routledge, Template:ISBN, page 188-190</ref> but its scripture also accepts representations of God with formless (nirguni) and with form (saguni), as stated in Adi Granth 287.<ref>Mahinder Gulati (2008), Comparative Religious And Philosophies : Anthropomorphism And Divinity, Atlantic, Template:ISBN, page 305</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Sikhism condemns worshipping images or statues as if it were God,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but have historically challenged the iconoclastic policies and Hindu temple destruction activities of Islamic rulers in India.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Sikhs house their scripture and revere the Guru Granth Sahib as the final Guru of Sikhism.<ref>Jane Bingham (2007), Sikhism, Atlas of World Faiths, Template:ISBN, pages 19-20</ref> It is installed in Sikh Gurdwara (temple), many Sikhs bow or prostrate before it on entering the gurdwara.Template:Refn Guru Granth Sahib is ritually installed every morning, and put to bed at night in many Gurdwaras.<ref>William Owen Cole and Piara Singh Sambhi (1995), The Sikhs: Their Religious Beliefs and Practices, Sussex Academic Press, Template:ISBN, page 44</ref><ref>Torkel Brekke (2014), Religion, War, and Ethics: A Sourcebook of Textual Traditions (Editors: Gregory M. Reichberg and Henrik Syse), Cambridge University Press, Template:ISBN, page 675</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In the Dasam Bani, Guru Gobind Singh wrote "I am idol-breaker" on line 95 of his Zafarnamah.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Chinese and Sinosphere Traditions

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Japan

In Japan, there are images of some kami (i.e. deities) such as those of Fūjin and Raijin at the Buddhist temple Sanjūsangen-dō.

North Korean Juche

Template:Main article Kim Il Sung instituted worship of himself amongst the citizens of North Korea, and this act is considered the only instance of a modern country deifying its ruler.<ref name="He Feng 2013 p. 62">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Floru 2017 p. 7">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Vantage Point 1982 p. ">Template:Cite book</ref> As many citizens frequently bow before statues and portraits of him, scholars have considered the Juche state religion to be a form of idolatry.<ref name="Becker 2005 p. 182">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Yeo Chubb 2018 p. 262">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Rees 1976 p. ">Template:Cite book</ref>

Traditional religions

Africa

Template:See also Template:Multiple image Africa has numerous ethnic groups, and their diverse religious idea have been grouped as African Traditional Religions, sometimes abbreviated to ATR. These religions typically believe in a Supreme Being which goes by different regional names, as well as spirit world often linked to ancestors, and mystical magical powers through divination.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Idols and their worship have been associated with all three components in the African Traditional Religions.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

According to J.O. Awolalu, proselytizing Christians and Muslims have mislabelled idol to mean false god, when in the reality of most traditions of Africa, the object may be a piece of wood or iron or stone, yet it is "symbolic, an emblem and implies the spiritual idea which is worshipped".<ref name=awolalu1>J. O. Awolalu (1976), What is African Traditional Religion?, Studies in Comparative Religion, Vol. 10, No. 2, pages 8, 1–10</ref> The material objects may decay or get destroyed, the emblem may crumble or substituted, but the spiritual idea that it represents to the heart and mind of an African traditionalist remains unchanged.<ref name=awolalu1/> Sylvester Johnson – a professor of African American and Religious Studies, concurs with Awolalu, and states that the colonial era missionaries who arrived in Africa, neither understood the regional languages nor the African theology, and interpreted the images and ritualism as "epitome of idolatry", projecting the iconoclastic controversies in Europe they grew up with, onto Africa.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

First with the arrival of Islam in Africa, then during the Christian colonial efforts, the religiously justified wars, the colonial portrayal of idolatry as proof of savagery, the destruction of idols and the seizure of idolaters as slaves marked a long period of religious intolerance, which supported religious violence and demeaning caricature of the African Traditional Religionists.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The violence against idolaters and idolatry of Traditional Religion practicers of Africa started in the medieval era and continued into the modern era.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="Firestone1999p20">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Gopin2002">Template:Cite book</ref> The charge of idolatry by proselytizers, state Michael Wayne Cole and Rebecca Zorach, served to demonize and dehumanize local African populations, and justify their enslavement and abuse locally or far off plantations, settlements or for forced domestic labor.<ref name="ColeZorach2009p17">Template:Cite book, Quote: "By negating African religious practices, the pejorative characterizations of these works as objects of idolatry served in vital ways to both demonize and dehumanize local populations, thereby providing a moral buttress for European religious and human trade practices on the continent".</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Americas

Statues, images and temples have been a part of the Traditional Religions of the indigenous people of the Americas.<ref name=morill79/><ref name="Seaman2013p140">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=cole77>Template:Cite book</ref> The Incan, Mayan and Aztec civilizations developed sophisticated religious practices that incorporated idols and religious arts.<ref name=cole77/> The Inca culture, for example, has believed in Viracocha (also called Pachacutec) as the creator deity and nature deities such as Inti (sun deity), and Mama Cocha the goddess of the sea, lakes, rivers and waters.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=littleton726>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Roza2008p27">Template:Cite book</ref>

In Mayan culture, Kukulkan has been the supreme creator deity, also revered as the god of reincarnation, water, fertility and wind.<ref name=littleton797/> The Mayan people built step pyramid temples to honor Kukulkan, aligning them to the Sun's position on the spring equinox.<ref name=littleton843>Template:Cite book</ref> Other deities found at Mayan archaeological sites include Xib Chac – the benevolent male rain deity, and Ixchel – the benevolent female earth, weaving and pregnancy goddess.<ref name=littleton843/> A deity with aspects similar to Kulkulkan in the Aztec culture has been called Quetzalcoatl.<ref name=littleton797>Template:Cite book</ref>

Missionaries came to the Americas with the start of Spanish colonial era, and the Catholic Church did not tolerate any form of native idolatry, preferring that the icons and images of Jesus and Mary replace the native idols.<ref name="Eire1989p5"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=morill79>Template:Cite book</ref> Aztec, for example, had a written history which included those about their Traditional Religion, but the Spanish colonialists destroyed this written history in their zeal to end what they considered as idolatry, and to convert the Aztecs to Catholicism. The Aztec Indians, however, preserved their religion and religious practices by burying their idols under the crosses, and then continuing their idol worship rituals and practices, aided by the syncretic composite of atrial crosses and their idols as before.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During and after the imposition of Catholic Christianity during Spanish colonialism, the Incan people retained their original beliefs in deities through syncretism, where they overlay the Christian God and teachings over their original beliefs and practices.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="kuznar2011p45">Template:Cite book</ref> The male deity Inti became accepted as the Christian God, but the Andean rituals centered around idolatry of Incan deities have been retained and continued thereafter into the modern era by the Incan people.<ref name="kuznar2011p45"/><ref name="Brian M. Fagan 1996 345">Template:Cite book</ref>

Philippines

Anito in modern Filipino context can mean idolatry or an idol of heathen deity<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Anito worship in ancient Philippines involves venerating carved images often made from wood that represent ancestral spirits and ancestral deities. These wooden figures, known as anito or sometimes bulul among certain groups like the Ifugao, were believed to embody the presence or power of the spirits they represent. Indigenous Filipinos offered prayers, food, and rituals to these images, treating them not merely as symbols but as actual vessels or manifestations of the supernatural. This act of directing devotion and reverence toward physical objects, as though the spirit resided within or could be influenced through them, classifies the practice as idolatry in many theological frameworks, particularly those that distinguish between worship of a supreme being and veneration of material representations.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Polynesia

The Polynesian people have had a range of polytheistic theologies found across the Pacific Ocean. The Polynesian people produced idols from wood, and congregated around these idols for worship.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The Christian missionaries, particularly from the London Missionary Society such as John Williams, and others such as the Methodist Missionary Society, characterized these as idolatry, in the sense of islanders worshipping false gods. They sent back reports which primarily focussed on "overthrow of pagan idolatry" as evidence of their Christian sects triumph, with fewer mentions of actual converts and baptism.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Religious tolerance and intolerance

The term false god is often used throughout the Abrahamic scriptures (Torah, Tanakh, Bible, and Quran) to single out Yahweh<ref name="JE">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> (interpreted by Jews, Samaritans, and Christians) or Elohim/Allah<ref name="EI">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> (interpreted by Muslims) as the only true God.<ref name="Angelini 2021"/> Nevertheless, the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament itself recognizes and reports that originally the Israelites were not monotheists but actively engaged in idolatry and worshipped many foreign, non-Jewish Gods besides Yahweh and/or instead of him,<ref name="Stahl 2021">Template:Cite book</ref> such as Baal, Astarte, Asherah, Chemosh, Dagon, Moloch, Tammuz, and more, and continued to do so until their return from the Babylonian exile<ref name="JE"/> (see Ancient Hebrew religion). Judaism, the oldest Abrahamic religion, eventually shifted into a strict, exclusive monotheism,<ref name="Leone 2016"/> based on the sole veneration of Yahweh,<ref name="Van der Toorn">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Gruber 2013">Template:Cite book</ref> the predecessor to the Abrahamic conception of God.<ref group="Note">Although the Semitic god El is indeed the most ancient predecessor to the Abrahamic god,<ref name="Stahl 2021"/><ref name="Van der Toorn"/><ref name="Smith 2000">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Smith 2003">Template:Cite book</ref> this specifically refers to the ancient ideas Yahweh once encompassed in the Ancient Hebrew religion, such as being a storm- and war-god, living on mountains, or controlling the weather.<ref name="Stahl 2021"/><ref name="Van der Toorn"/><ref name="Smith 2000"/><ref name="Smith 2003"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Thus, in this page's context, "Yahweh" is used to refer to God as conceived in the Ancient Hebrew religion, and should not be referenced when describing his later worship in today's Abrahamic religions.</ref>

The vast majority of religions in history have been and/or are still polytheistic, worshipping many diverse deities.<ref name="Britannica">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> Moreover, the material depiction of a deity or more deities has always played an eminent role in all cultures of the world.<ref name="Stuckrad 2007"/> The claim to worship the "one and only true God" came to most of the world with the arrival of Abrahamic religions and is the distinguishing characteristic of their monotheistic worldview,<ref name="Leone 2016"/><ref name="Britannica"/><ref name="Hayes 2012">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> whereas virtually all the other religions in the world have been and/or are still animistic and polytheistic.<ref name="Britannica"/> Some Neopagan religions such as Wicca utilize statues of deities within their worship experience.<ref name="Raeburn 2001 p. 24">Template:Cite book</ref>

The accusations and presumption that all idols and images are devoid of symbolism, or that icons of one's own religion are "true, healthy, uplifting, beautiful symbolism, mark of devotion, divine", while of other person's religion are "false, an illness, superstitious, grotesque madness, evil addiction, satanic, and cause of all incivility" is more a matter of subjective personal interpretation, rather than objective impersonal truth.<ref name=janowitz239/> Regina Schwartz and some other contemporary scholars state allegations that idols only represent false gods, followed by iconoclastic destruction is only little more than religious intolerance.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The Scottish Enlightenment philosopher David Hume wrote in his essay Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion (1779) that the worship of different gods and idols in Pagan religions is premised on religious pluralism, tolerance, and acceptance of diverse representations of the divine. In contrast, Abrahamic monotheistic religions are intolerant, have attempted to destroy freedom of expression and have violently forced others to accept and worship their conception of God.<ref name=halbertal105>Template:Cite book</ref>

Notes

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References

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External links

Template:Commons category Template:Wikisource1913CatholicEnc Template:Wiktionary Template:Wikiquote

Idolatry and iconoclasm Template:Webarchive, Tufts University
Iconoclasm and idolatry, Columbia University

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Idolatry

Contents

Etymology and nomenclature

Prehistoric and ancient civilizations