Idolatry

Idolatry (from the Greek: eidolon (idol) + latria (love or religious devotion)) refers to one of the cardinal sins of the Abrahamic traditions: the worship of idols. In the Jewish and Islamic traditions, idolatry is specifically defined as the creation of any representation of the Divine, or the worship of any such image. Christianity, on the other hand, is more permissive, defining idolatry as the erroneous worship of an image, idea or object in place of the worshipping the Triune God (The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit). Images of Jesus, the human personification of God, are explicitly not forbidden. Conversely, in religions with no prohibitions on the making of images (or objects of worship), the term "idolatry" itself is absent.

Some religious authorities and groups have capitalized upon the negative connotations of the term "idolatry" and have used it as a general category for classifying all religions other than their own. Although the Greek etymology (discussed above) appears to be a loan translation of the Hebrew phrase avodat elilim (which is attested in rabbinic literature (e.g., bChul., 13b, Bar.)), the Greek term itself is not found in the Septuagint, Philo, Josephus, or any other Hellenistic Jewish writings. Nor is it found in Greek pagan literature. In the New Testament, the Greek word appears only in the letters of Paul, Peter, and Revelation, where it has a decidedly derogatory meaning. Hebrew terms for idolatory include avodah zarah ("foreign worship") and avodat kochavim umazalot ("the worship of planets and constellations"). Regardless of the mode of linguistic transmission, it is undeniable that idolatry (as a concept) has had a tremendously negative impact on interreligious dialogue, as it is primary used for demonizing traditions with different worship practices.

"The Adoration of the Golden Calf" by Nicolas Poussin

Idolatry in Judaism

Hebrew Bible

The Hebrew Bible presents one of the first conceptualizations of idolatry known to humanity. According to the Hebrew Bible, idolatry originated in the age of Eber, though some interpret the text to mean in the time of Serug. Image worship persisted into the time of Abraham, the patriarch called upon to spread the knowledge of the Hebrew God ([YHWH]), as described in the book of Genesis. Abraham's father, Terah, was both an idol manufacturer and worshipper who served a multiplicity of gods (Joshua 24:2). When Abraham discovered the oneness of the true God, he destroyed his father's idols. Abraham's grandson Jacob dealt with similar idol worship. For example, when his second wife Rachel leaves her father's house, she takes images along with her. A significant portion of the Torah records the struggle between various partiarch's attempts to spread pure monotheism, and the tendency of some people, especially rulers such as Ahab, to accept or to encourage others into polytheistic ("idolatrous") beliefs. This struggle is significant because those worshipping images are in direct violation of the Ten Commandments, the most concise summation of early Israelite law.

The Second Commandment represents the first recorded description of idolatry as a sin: "Thou shalt not make unto me any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them..." (Exodus 20.4-5). This follows the First Commandment, where God decrees that the Isrealites must acknowledge no gods other than He. Thus, the conceptual link is clear: denial of idols is closely related to the inchoate monotheistic faith of the Semitic community. Indeed, many of the commandments in the Hebrew Bible were directly vituperative toward the beliefs and practices of pagans who lived amongst the Israelites at the time, including the polytheistic Canaanites, Mesopotamians and Egyptians. Each of these religions used icons in order to worship their various gods.

Apparently, these iconoclastic teachings were still being questioned into the prophetic period, as those books reflect a continuing struggle against idol worship. For example, the Biblical prophet Jeremiah complains: "According to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah" (2:28). Many of the pre-exilic prophets argued that images were dangerous because they existed apart from god. After the first exile (in 587), the prophets rallied the Jewish people again, claiming that distancing themselves from idolatry was of the utmost imporatance for retaining Jewish monotheism, and maintaining Jewish culture and religion. In this, the prophets made a valid point, as Jewish iconoclasm was one of the only distinctions between them and the surrounding polytheists in Palestine and Sumeria. These teachings helped the early Jews to mainatin a united front, even when Emperor Antiochus IV Epiphanes' attempted to syncretize the numerous gods that existed within his empire.

There is no one section of the Torah that clearly defines idolatry; instead, there are a number of admonishments on this subject spread through its books, some of which were written in different historical eras, in response to different issues. The Bible has many terms for idolatry, and their usage represents the horror with which they filled the writers of the Bible. Thus idols are stigmatized as "non-God" (Deut. 32:17, 21 [1]; Jer. 2:11 [2]), "things of naught" (Lev. 19:4 et passim [3]), "vanity" (Deut. 32), "iniquity" (1 Sam. 15:23 [4] ), "wind and confusion" (Isa. 41:29 [5]), "the dead" (Ps. 106:28 [6]), "carcasses" (Lev. 26:30; Jer. 16:18), "a lie" (Isa. 44:20 et passim [7]), and similar epithets. Taking these verses together, idolatry in the Hebrew Bible can be summarily defined as: the worship of idols (or images), the worship of polytheistic gods by use of idols (or images), the general worship of animals or people, and even the use of idols in the worship of the one God. This final definition is the basis of Judaism' strict monotheism. In a number of places, the Hebrew Bible makes it clear that God has no shape or form; thus no idol or image could ever capture God's essence. For example, when the Israelites are visited by God in Deut. 4:15, they see no shape or form. Many verses in the Bible use anthropomorphisms to describe God (e.g. referring to God's mighty hand or God's finger, etc.), but these verses have consistently been understood as poetic images rather than literal descriptions.

Rabbinnic Tradition

Although the battle against idolatry was a central theme in the Hebrew Bible, it gradually faded into the background of Judaic thought during the period of the Second Temple. During this time, the temples to Mesopotamian and Babylonian gods were no longer considered significant threats to the Judaic religion. However, passages in the Talmud still maintain the strong iconoclastic sentiments. For instance, the Talmudic Tractate Avodah Zarah (translating to "Idolatry") provides a thorough criticism of the pagan culture that spawned "idolatrous" beliefs, and stipulates the types of contact permissable between Jews and Pagans. Another Talmudic commentary from Sifre Deuteronmium 28 claims that "Whoever endorses idolatry, rejects the entire Torah; and whoever renounces idolatry, accepts the entire Torah." As can be seen, these passages overtly state that one's stance towards idolatrous behaviour is the single determinant factor of one's status as a Jew.

A similar line of thought was propounded by Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides (1135–1204), who returned to the biblical battle against idolatry as a means of critiquing the increasingly anthropomorphic conceptions of God then popular in European Christianity. This issue impacted Maimonides because these conceptions were also gaining popularity European Jews. In response to these perceived deviations, Moses Maimonides laid out thirteen principles that he thought characterized orthodox Judaism. The third of these is an affirmation that "I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His Name, is not a body, and that He is free from all the properties of matter, and that there can be no (physical) comparison to Him whatsoever." This seems to reiterate the centrality of avoiding idolotrous acts in the proper observance of Judaism. The near-universal acceptance of these principles by diverse Jewish groups into the present day illustrates that recognition of idolatry as a sin has remained an important element of Judaism.

Contemporary Judaism

In addition to the general prohibition of (religious) idolatry, contemporary Judaism also holds that any belief or practice that significantly interferes with a Jew's relationship with God may, at some point, be deemed idolatry. This broad definition could include such diverse "sins" as extreme nationalism or greed (excessive pursuit of money).

In addition, many modern Jews believe that idolatry is not limited to the worship of an idol, but also to worship involving any artistic representations of God. Jews do not produce paintings, sculptures or drawings of God. Most Jews will even avoid writing out the full name of God, as the written word itself implies a kind of depiction which could be considered idolatrous. Hence, the spelling "G-d" is commonly used as a representation of the Divine. This can be seen as a modern (English-language) version of the Tetragrammaton, the ineffable name of God that is not to be read aloud and is represented in scripture as the four letter combination YHWH.

Idolatry in Christianity

Apostolic & Patristic Periods

Early Christianity adopted the same negative sentiments toward idolatry as their Jewish predecessors. A major reason that these teachings flourished is that many of the non-Jewish converts came from pagan traditions, and they wanted a distinct means of separating themselves from their former polytheistic beliefs. Reflecting this, the New Testament provides opposition to the use of idols. For example, Paul's first letter to the Corinthians (10:19) notes that the veneration of idols is essentially the veneration of demons. Likewise, similar viewpoints are visible among both the Greek and Latin apologists. Justin Martyr forwarded his predecessor's diatribes against idol worship, but was even more critical of those who worshipped natural entities (such as earth, water and the sun). Tertullian argues that statues are only matter, comparing them to the banal, everyday objects of domestic life. Further, he denigrates the value of painting, sculpture and other artistic endeavours, claiming these are merely shrouds for idolotrous yearnings. Finally, St. Augustine of Hippo, the most influential of the early Church Fathers, claimed that idolatry presented an opportunity for demons invade the person of the idolator. Also, he stated that all pagan gods were merely extensions of mortal men who entered into the hearts of human beings and compelled them to confound parts of God's creation with parts of God Himself.

Byzantine Iconoclasm

In an edict in 730 C.E., Byzantine Emperor Leo III outlawed the worship of all religious images, save for religious symbols such as the cross. The ban on icons was maintained under Leo's son Constantine V, who summoned a council of bishops in Hieria in 754 that was later dubbed "the Iconoclast Council." Monasteries argued vehemently in favour of icon veneration, producing such works as St. John of Damascus' "On the Divine Image," which puts forth the thesis that the incarnation of Christ indicates a shift in god's nature from invisibile to visible. As a result, he deems it permissible to depict Jesus Christ. He also defends external acts of honour towards icons, since the acts go beyond the image and connect with the prototype of Christ within. Instead of replying to such arguments, Constantine V ordered the destruction of all icons and halted the invocation of saints. Such iconoclasm continued until Leo IV's (775-80) wife Irene took power and initiated the Second Council of Nicaea (or the Seventh Ecumenical Council), which eventually codified terms for the proper veneration of icons and unanimously reversed the decrees of the previous iconoclast council. This lasted until Emperor Leo V instituted a second period of Iconoclasm in 813, again with fear that icon veneration was becoming idolotrous. Leo was succeeded by Michael II, who confirmed the decrees of the Iconoclast Council of 754. Michael was, in turn, succeeded by his son, Theophilus, whose wife Theodora took the throne after his death and restored the use of icons in 843.

The Protestant Reformation

Following the Iconoclast Controversy, idolatry was a non-issue for several centuries, as both the Catholic and Orthodox churches resumed using images and icons of angels and saints as objects of veneration. However, with the onset of the Protestant Reformation the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, dissidents began to openly criticize the Catholic church. Among the issues put forward by Protestant reformers (including Andreas Karlstadt, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin) was the Church's practice of iconic veneration. For these thinkers, such actions resembled the idolatrous practices inveighed against in the Bible. Among Protestant congregations, this led to calculated efforts to suppress images. Calvin, for instance, insisted that the interior of churches be unadorned, often demanding that church walls be white-washed to cover images of saints and other religious figures. In addition, each of these Reformers proclaimed seperately that these images should be destroyed. As the Reformation grew in momentum throughout Europe, some icons and images were damaged by rioting groups, while others were removed in a more orderly fashion by civil authorities. Protestant Reformers, however, were not ubiquitously hostile to the use of religious images. In fact, Martin Luther, who spurred on the Reformation, actually supported the use of religious icons, so long as these images did not displace God in the act of worship.

Contemporary Christianity

The contemporary Christian views of idolatry may be divided into two general categories: the Catholic and Orthodox assemblies who use icons, and the Protestant groups who consider such iconography to be idolatrous. The former group considers these objects to be filled with God's grace and power, a belief that denies their classification as "hollow forms" - meaning that they are not idols. Evidence for the use such articles, they claim, is found in the Old Testament and in Early Christian worship. For instance, in the justifying their use of icons, the Orthodox Church identifies similarity between their images and Moses' Bronze Snake, which was given the grace and power of God to heal those bitten by actual snakes.

Iconography is, of course, particularly important in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, which considers the Seventh Ecumenical Council the last authoritative doctrinal assembly. While the worship of idols is still doctrinally forbidden by the Orthodox Church, the veneration of highly stylized religious pictures is not only allowed but is considered an obligation. In the Byzantine tradition, these paintings are seen as windows into the transcendent truth of god. As such, Orthodox churches are adorned on both the outside and the inside with frescoes and icons. The icons are often placed on an iconostasis, a wall of icons separating the nave and the congregation from the sanctuary in a church. Icon veneration is also practiced in the Catholic Church, which accepts the declarations of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, though the emphasis is not as great as in the Orthodox tradition.

Fundamentalist Protestants often accuse Catholic and Orthodox Christians of traditionalism, idolatry, paganism and iconolatry for not excising the use of images from their worship. Most Protestant groups avoid the use of images in any context suggestive of veneration, though some Protestant sects do not object to their use for inspiration and education. Some icons may be present within some "high" Protestant denominations (such as Anglicanism), but they are not employed in the same manner or to the same degree as in the Orthodox tradition. Conversely, some of the more conservative Protestant groups have maintained the staunch iconoclasm of the Reformation period and avoid the use of any religious images, as they are seen as potential incitements to idolatry. Puritan Protestant groups, for example, have adopted a view comparable to Islam, which denounces all forms of religious objects.

Christianity and Other Religions

Christian theology requires proselytizing, the use of trained missionaries to spread the faith by gaining converts. This has brought Christianity into contact with a wide variety of other religions throughout its history. The polemical Christian stance against idolatry has often caused conflict with polytheistic religions and even with other monotheistic religions (including other Christian denominations) who use as some part of religious practice. It would appear that most Christian groups, Protestant or otherwise, generally condemn idolatry as it is practiced in non-Christian religions. The Catholic missionary Saint Francis Xavier, for example, referred to Hinduism as idolatry, and Protestant Christian apologetics make similar claims about various non-Christian religions. However, with the increase in ecumenical studies and interfaith dialouge, gaps of intolerance are rapidly being bridged.

Idolatry in Islam

Qur'an

As could be expected with its succession in the Abrahamic line, Islam inherited the Judeo-Christian intolerance toward idolatry. All throughout the Qu'ran, the book of holy scripture revealed to the prophet Mohammed, anti-idolatry sentiments are expressed even more vehemently than in the Hebrew Bible. Islamic monotheism arose as a marked contrast to the polytheism which had dominated Arab tribes before the rise of the prophet Mohammed. These tribes usually venerated their gods through the use of stones, which were either raised or smeared with sacrificial blood. In the Qu'ran, these stones are referred to under the heading of sanam, a word of Semitic origin meaning "object venerated next to god". Before the arrival of Mohammed and his prophecy, sanam also referred to statues dedicated to the invocation of various divinites, such as those placed around the Ka'bah. However, in the Qu'ran, the word is used solely to designate idols, which were to be rejected. According to Mohammed, idols are the enemy of god's true followers, and should be destroyed in much the same way as Abraham smashed the idols of his neighbours (21:52-70).

It is also in the Qu'ran that the term shirk (or mushrikun, loosely translating to "sharing as an equal partner") is introduced, referring to the mortal sin of polytheism. For Mohammed, shirk refers to the association of one god or several gods with the one true God; hence, honour is placed upon false gods (51:51). Also, shirk involves claims which assert the existence of progeny sired by God. Islamic commentators on the Qur'an have emphasized that pre-Islamic Arabic idolatry made a number of godlings (most memorably the three goddesses Manat, Lat and Uzza) equal associates of Allah (53:19-21). When the Qur'an describes shirk it frequently seems to be referring disparagingly the Christian belief in the divinity of Jesus (4:171). Other forms of shirk, which are debatable, include the worship of wealth and other material objects. This is illustrated through the story of the Children of Israel, where the calf made of gold is used for worship (7:148-150). Yet another form of shirk is to revere a leader (religious or not) beyond limits, as mentioned in (9:31). The detailed discussion of these various types of shirk in the Qu'ran make evident the immense emphasis placed upon the sin in Islamic consciousness. The sin is so critical, in fact, that shirk is placed in diametric opposition to the concept of muslim ("believer"). In Surah 9:114 Mohammed implores Muslims to avoid such people at all costs, even if they are kinfolk.

Shirk

Not surprisingly, the concept of Shirk (Arabic شرك) became a theological focal point throughout the history of Islam and remains so to the present day. While the term specifically refers the sin of polytheism, it also refers more generally in Islamic doctrines to serving anything other than the One God. It is the vice which is opposed to the virtue of tawhid, literally "declaring that which is one", often translated into the English theological term "monotheism". The seriousness of shirk cannot be underestimated, as can be seen in Abu Malik commentary on Allah's teaching: [وَالْفِتْنَةُ أَشَدُّ مِنَ الْقَتْلِ] which explains that "what you (disbelievers) are committing is much worse than killing."

Based on the Qur'an, the Prophetic tradition of Islam (Sunnah) has delineated 4 main categories of Shirk, which are still acknowledged by Muslims today. The first is Shirk in Ruboobeeyah (Lordship). This category of Shirk refers to either the belief that others share Allah's Lordship over creation as His equal or near equal, or to the belief that there exists no Lord over creation at all. Included under this heading are Shirk by Association and Shirk by Negation. Shirk by Association is the shirk concerned with associating "other" entities with Allah. Among some Muslim people, Shirk in Ruboobeeyah is manifested in their belief that the souls of saints and other righteous humans can affect the affairs of this world, even after their deaths. Their souls, it is believed, are able to fulfill one's needs, remove calamities and aid whoever calls on them. Therefore, such worshippers assign to human souls the divine ability to cause events in this life which in fact only Allah can cause in the belief of true Muslims. Shirk by Negation represents the various philosophies and ideologies such as atheism and agnosticism which deny the existence of God either explicitly or implicitly. Such postions are sinful because they either question or flat-out reject Allah's status as the unique creator and sustainer of the universe (tawhid ar-rububiyya, the unity of creation). This extends to include event those philosophical and religious notions which affirm divinity in forms other than monotheism. One such example is pantheism, which Muslims also identify as a denial of God's existence by way of its central doctrine, which they claim confounds Allah with the material universe.

The second category of shirk is Shirk in al-Asma was-Sifat (the Names and Attributes of Allah). Shirk in this category includes both the common pagan practice of giving Allah the attributes of His creation as well as the act of giving created beings Allah's names and attributes. This includes Shirk by Humanization and Shirk by Deification. In Shirk by Humanization, Allah is given the form and qualities of either human beings or animals. Due to man's apparent superiority over animals, the human form is more commonly used by idolaters to represent God in creation. Consequently, the image of the Creator is often painted, moulded or carved in the shape of human beings possessing the physical features of those who worship them. Images of God are banned outright in most sects of Islam, reinforcing absolute monotheism and attempting to eliminate any and all forms of idolatry. Furthermore, most sects of Islam forbid any artistic depictions of human figures, particularly those of Mohammed which is considered akin to idolatry. Shirk by Deification relates to cases where created beings or things are given claim to Allah's names or His attributes. For example, it was the practice of the ancient Arabs to worship idols whose names were derived from the names of Allah. Their main three idols were: al-Lat taken from Allaah's name al-Elah, al-'Uzza taken from al-'Aziz and al-Manat taken from al-Mannan. In addition, during the Prophet Mohammed's era there was a false prophet in a region of Arabia called Yamamah who took the name Rahman, which only belongs to Allah. In the view of Muslims, these were prototypical examples of idolatrous behaviour.

The third form of shirk is Shirk In al-'Ebadah (Worship), where acts of worship are directed to entities other than God, and the reward for worship is sought from the creation instead of the Creator. As in the case of the previous categories, Shirk in al-'Ebadah has two main aspects. This includes Ash-Shirk al-Akbar (Major Shirk), Ash-Shirk al-Asghar (Minor Shirk) as well as Secret Shirk. Major Shirk occurs when any act of worship is directed to something other than Allah. It represents the most obvious form of idolatry from which mankind was to be driven away from by the prophets. Ash-Shirk al-Asghar (Minor Shirk), meanwhile, involves boastful behaviour or egocentrism in which a person venerates themselves, to some extent. Mahmood ibn Lubayd reported, "Allah's messenger said: "The thing I fear for you the most is ash-Shirk al-Asghar (minor shirk)." The companions asked "Oh! messenger of Allah, what is minor Shirk?" He replied "Ar-Riya (showing off), for verily Allah will say on the Day of Resurrection when people are receiving their rewards, 'Go to those for whom you were showing off in the material world and see if you can find any reward from them." Secret Shirk is closely related, involves the beautification of public prayer for the purpose of impressing others.

The fourth and final category of shirk is Ar-Riya the practise of performing any of the various forms of worship in order to be seen and praised by other people. This sin destroys all the benefits that lie in righteous deeds and is said to bring to the one who commits it a serious punishment. For those who transgress this category of shirk as well as those mentioned before it, Muslims employ a variety of terms. These include Kafir (plural Kuffar), which describes a person who disbelieves in Allah or refuses to submit Him, or Kufr, a verb which refers to the act of showing ungratefulness to Allah by neglecting to believe in Him. Islamic fundamentalists have frequently used these terms to define all non-Muslims.

Idolatry in Eastern Religions

Hinduism

While the Early Rig Vedic religion of India may have seemed overtly polytheistic or henotheistic, closer inspection reveals that the initial threads of monism are present within the text. Phrases such as "Truth is One, but sages call it by many names." (Rig Veda 1:164:46) suggest that Vedic writers found some kind of ephemerality in their various gods. Hindu monism was fully realized in the Upanishads which developed the conception of Brahman, an omniscent and omnipresent substrate pervading the entire universe which could not be perceived by human beings. This concept would affect how all Hindu sects, whether polytheistic or monotheistic, perceived divinity. Sects of Hinduism which identify a multiplicity of gods, such as the Smarta school, see these multiple forms (which they call Sarguna Brahman) as representative of different aspects of one inconceivable Brahman (also known as Nirguna Brahman). This concept of Nirguna Brahman parallels the Judaic or Islamic notion that the truest manifestation of god has no form. However, human beings are sensory beings and have a need to visualize God with form. Thus, the personal forms of God are expressed and worshipped on an earthly plane by way of deities such as Vishnu or Shiva.

For this reason, murti, or icon worship, is a large part of religious activity for most Hindus who choose to connect through bhakti, or loving devotion to God. Followers of Vishnu, for instance, use the saligrama, a black stone pebble, found only in the Gandaki River at Mukti Kshetra and Damodar Kunda, one of the most sacred pilgrimage places in north-west Nepal. Other times Vaishnavites use turmeric paste aggregated into a conical form in place of the idol, in order to signify that it is not essential to attribute form to God. Similarly, followers of Shiva mediate on the Siva linga, a phallic-shaped symbol of the God's creative power. While such examples of murti worship are sometimes equated with idolatry, Hindus rebut by claiming such worship consists of veneration of the image or statue as representative of a higher ideal or principle, in contrast with idolatry which objectifies divinity and identifies it the material object itself. When Hindus use idols in worship, they claim to worship God (Brahman) and not the idols themselves. The idol is merely a physical object until God is invoked in it, and then it serves as a means to focus and meditate on God. As most Hindus believe on some level that God is within everyone and everything since the soul and the supreme are not different, worshipping different Gods, deities, Goddesses, or Idols, is not an issue because every single thing is subsumed within God. That said, some Hindu sects like Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj do not believe in using murtis as a way to focus on God since they singularly worship Nirguna Brahman. Other sects argue that the human mind needs an Ishta Deva (chosen deity) to aid concentration upon the Divine principle during sadhana (spiritual exercise). In particular, some Hindu sects like ISKCON will only consent to worship of icons that they consider to be the supreme God (in the case of ISKCON, Vishnu or his avatar Krishna). Just as some followers of Islam, Christianity and Judaism have called Hindus idolators or kafirs for not worshipping Yahweh or Allah, Hindus have similar terms, such as yavanas or mlecchas which they use to refer to followers of non-Vedic religion.

Buddhism

Although the Buddha is said to have asked that no statues be made in his honour, numerous images and icons have been dedicated to him through history nonetheless. At first, Buddhist art employed certain measures to represent the Buddha without actually depicting him, such as inserting empty gaps in murals. Statues actually appeared half a century later within the Mahayana school and were often used to represent Gautama Buddha exactly as he was posed when he acheieved Enlightenment under the bodhi tree. Attempting to portray this unconditioned, unmade, formless state of Nirvana would be futile, hence the act of portrayal could be considered idolatrous. However, since a Buddha comes only in the form of a human, this practice was not considered idolatry by the remaining schools, as they suggested that it was the exemplar human in the person of Buddha who was being represented rather than the Nirvanic state that the Enlightened One was entering. As far as ritual and worship goes, Buddhists do not venerate the actual objects they employ, but rather they venerate the meaning and symbolism represented by the object, which is the beneficial practice of meditation. Often Buddhists will bow before statues, not as an act of literal worship for the carved image, but to evoke faith and respect in the individual towards that which the given statue symbolizes. Buddhism, as can be expected with its focus on detachment from material objects, ultimately demarcates idolatry as identification with the physicality of an object rather than the principle that it represents. It is considered a grave transgression, for instance, to risk one's life (or the life of another) for the purpose of preserving a statue's material form, let alone to worship one.

Chinese Religion

Of the various religions and practical philosophies in China, Daoism is the most concerned with idolatry. While Daoism can be described as non-theistic or monistic, reducing all of the universe to a pervasive universal principle called the Tao, some variations influenced by Chinese folk traditions appear to be polytheistic in that they attribute metaphysic supremacy to various historical figures and deities. The deity Xiwangmu, the goddess of immortality who rules over of the western paradise, is one example of such a figure. Early Daoism was in fact partially aniconic, picturing the majority of its deities, while disallowing the anthropomorphic representation of the founder of Daoism and central deity Lao Tzu. Since he was conceived of as the manifestation of the ineffable Dao, he was represented either by an empty throne and canopy or vicariously through the image of Shakyamuni Buddha.

However, since the time of the Tang dynasty or earlier, Daoism has incorporated the use of divine images (called shen2xiang4) for purposes of portraying its divinity, including the highest trinity, the San Qing. In both Daoism and Chinese Folk Religion, statues, paintings, or name plaques of deities are given central place as the focus of worship in temples and homes. While all representations of deities are afforded reverence and respect, images which have been ritualistically venerated through pious worship are seen to be exceptionally invested with the divine numen of the god. As such, they become a condut for the transmission of the numen. Through ritual offerings and scriptural chants, such icons are believed to maintain the living presence of the deity, who gives guidance and bestows blessings upon the devout. However, while the high gods of the Dao might be iconicized, they are still regarded as ultimately transcending both form and numen in a way unavailable to the deities of the popular religion. As beings directly emergent from and suffused with the primordial Dao, they may take on form through incarnations, icons, and visualization mainly for the purpose of aiding humanity's spiritual advancement.

The question of whether Confucianism and Chinese folk religion, consists of worshipping a God or veneration of a saint was of particular importantance to the Catholic Church during the Chinese Rites controversy of the early 18th century. This dispute was between the Dominicans and the Jesuits, missionary groups who were attempting to ascertain whether Confucians were pliable for conversion. The Dominicans claimed that Confucianism and Chinese folk religion was indeed the worship of another god, and therefore incompatible with Catholicism, while the Jesuits thought the opposite. Confucianism, of course, acknowledges the existence of a Supreme Heavenly Being (Tian or Tien), though it does not place significant emphasis on worship and prayer toward that Heavenly being as in the typical Catholic conception of religious activity. The pope eventually ruled in favor of the Dominicans, a decision which greatly reduced the role of Catholic missionaries in China.

Idolatry in Polytheistic & Animistic Religions

Religions which center upon the veneration of objects are still found throughout the world. Polytheistic Neopagan religions, for example, preform elaborate worship ceremonies in honour of depictions of numerous gods. In addition, animistic beliefs, which are characteristic of a vast number indigenous peoples throughout the world, attribute souls and/or personalities to virtually all objects and venerate them because of their inner spirits. Beliefs of both these types have given rise to the charge of idolatry for three reasons: 1) for their use of certain objects or places which seem to have supernatural powers independent of a central God, 2) for the employment of prayer or rituals which are likelier to have an effect when performed within the presence of certain objects or places then when performed elsewhere, and 3) for instances where Prayer is paid to depictions of pantheons or to relics of polytheistic religious figures.

Adherents of polytheism and animism reject the charges that their religious beliefs and practices are idolotrous. Polytheists generally do not believe that their statues (or other physical objects) are gods; rather, they are symbols of the immaterial spiritual force behind the gods. In the same sense as the aforementioned religions, they maintain that physical idols are simply the representational form of a divine deity — the act of "worship" is not for the object, but for the divinity that the object is believed to represent. These idols or icons do not actually possess supernatural powers. Animists, on the other hand, typically do acknowledge supernatural power within everyday objects and natural phenomena. However, animists attempt to harness this mysterious supernatural power for their own benefit just as often as they worship it. Therefore, a cleavage must be drawn between shamanism and idolatry proper. All in all, most polytheists and animists hold that the idols, icons or natural entities to which they pay homage are only symbols or gateways to the greater divinity they worship. Scholars of religion generally do not equate idolatry with polytheism, primarily because in most cases polytheists accused of idolatry do not actually follow the beliefs ascribed to them by other religions. Idolatry, then, is the worship of a divine concept which displaces some concept of the genuine divine. Since polytheists and animists truly believe in the beings they worship, they cannot be self-defined as idolotrous.

Significance of Idolatry

The importance of idolatry cannot be underestimated, not only because it has caused a great deal of religious controversy and even violence throughout the history of humankind, but also because it has spurred forth the development of religion itself. That is, with the compilation of the Hebrew bible and the subsequent beginning of the Abrahamic tradition, idolatry served as a foundational stone for the development of monotheism, which came to be seen in many circles as the "ideal" of human religious experience. No longer were religions and their gods isolated to particular geographies, political principalities or mythological constellations. Now there was a concept of one god for all people which could not be limited by a particular form or representation(s). The effects are still evident today. While not all religions strive to be monotheistic, none espouse idolotrous behaviour, which has become a ubiqutious taboo. In most cases, religions which use iconography and imagery which could be considered idolotrous defend their beliefs by claiming that they perform their worship with a sense of discernment. That is, they can discriminate between pious worship of the divinity represented in an icon, and the idolotrous worship of the physical icon itself. Thus, it can be concluded that idolatry refers mainly to the worship of beings who are not God from the prespective of those who have defined such worship idolotrous. On an optimistic note, many modern adherents to the Abrahamic religions reject any views of idolatry addressed against the other world religions and feel a great sense of kinship with them even though a very different attitude has dominated throughout history.

See also

• Aniconism
• Anthropocentrism
• Ethnocentrism
• Religious pluralism
• Sociology

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Brichto, Herbert Chanan. The Worship of the Golden Calf: A Literary Analysis of a Fable on Idolatry. Hebrew Union College Annual, 54, 1983.
• Brownson, Orestes Augustus Saint Worship and the Worship of Mary Manchester, NH: Sophia Institute Press 2004 ISBN 1928832881
• Burggraeve, R., de Tavernier, J., Pollefeyt, D., & Hanssens, J. "True Faith in God and Forms of Religious Idolatry." In Desirable God?: Our Fascination with Images, Idols, and New Deities. eds. Roger Burggraeve, Johan de Tavernier, Didier Pollefeyt, and Jo Hanssens. Leuven-Dudley, MA: Peeters, 2003. 7-38. ISBN 9042913169
• Dorff, Elliot N. "Judaism and Idolatry: In Defense of Images" in Proceedings of the Academy for Jewish Philosophy Ed. David Novak and Norbert M. Samuelson, University Press of America, 1992.
• Halbertal, Moshe & Avishai, Margalit. Idolatry. Cambridge, MS: Harvard University Press. 1992. ISBN 0674443128
• "Idolatry." Encyclopedia of Religion, ed. Mercia Eliade. New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1987.
• "Idolatry". The Encyclopedia Judaica. Jerusalem: Keter Publishing. 1994.
• Kaufman, Yehezkel. The Religion of Israel: From its Beginnings to the Babylonian Exile. Moshe Greenberg, trans. 1960 Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press ISBN 0226427285
• Kogan, Bary S. "Judaism and the Varieties of Idolatrous Experience" in Proceedings of the Academy for Jewish Philosophy Ed. David Novak and Norbert M. Samuelson, University Press of America, 1992.
• Pelikan, Jaroslav J. Imago Dei: the Byzantine apologia for icons. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1990. ISBN 0691099707
• Roth, Norman. Maimonides: essays and texts : 850th anniversary. Madison, WSC: Hispanic Seminary of Medieval Studies, 1985. ISBN 0942260597
• Streza, Liviu. The Mystagogy of Sacred Space according to Orthodox Theology. Studia Liturgica 24. 1994: 84-90.

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