IDOLATRY AND DOGMATISM: THE VEILS OF MAYA

Icons and Idols

All religions use images and forms to some degree. Catholic and Greek Orthodox Christianity use images, icons and statues, as an examination of most churches will reveal. Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto groups use them as well. Native American, African and Asian religions abound with them. The ancient religions of the entire world from Mexico to Greece, Egypt, Babylonia, Persia, India and China used images, as archeology so clearly reveals. The use of images therefore appears as an integral part of human religious practices and no universal religion could be regarded as complete without them.

Most Protestants and Muslims deny the use of all images as idolatry and accuse the Catholics of idolatry for their use of images. No statues or images adorn their churches or mosques. Yet we do find that many Protestants have a picture of Christ, or at least wear a cross, which is still a usage of images and symbols. Muslims worship Mecca and a special rock placed there.

They pray only in the direction of Mecca, which is the limitation of the Divine to a place. They similarly regard mosques as sacred places. Many Muslims pray at the tombs of their saints. Muslims often have pictures of their religious or political leaders (note the worship of Ayatollah Khomeni in Iran), sometimes those of Mohammed, perhaps with his face veiled. This is also a use of symbols. Both Protestants and Muslims regard their holy books, the Bible and Koran, as literally the Word of God. This is also a worship of objects.

However, there is a strange dichotomy in how religious images are judged. When they are part of the Christian tradition they are called "icons" and classified as works of art and sacred in nature. When they are part of non-Christian or pagan traditions they are called "idols," which is a derogatory term that indicates not the sacred but mere superstition. In the case of native American and African images, even when done by a culture as advanced as the Mayas of Central America - which built great pyramids and had many great cities - they are lumped along with so-called "primitive" art.

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