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Idolatry is the worship of an idol or a physical object as a representation of a god. In all the Abrahamic religions idolatry is strongly forbidden, although views as to what constitutes idolatry differ within and between them. In other religions the use of idols is accepted. Which images, ideas, and objects constitute idolatry is often a matter of considerable contention. Behaviour considered idolatrous or potentially idolatrous may include the creation of any type of image of the deity, or of other figures of religious significance such as prophets, saints, and clergy, the creation of images of any person or animal at all, and the use of religious symbols, or secular ones. In addition, Christian theologians, following Saint Paul, have extended the concept to include giving undue importance to other aspects of religion, or to non-religious aspects of life in general, with no involvement of images specifically. For example, the ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' states: "Idolatry not only refers to false pagan worship. Man commits idolatry whenever he honours and reveres a creature in place of God, whether this be gods, or demons (for example satanism), power, pleasure, race, ancestors, the state, money etc."〔''Catechism of The Catholic Church'', passage 2113, p. 460, Geoffrey Chapman, 1999〕 In some ultra-conservative Islamic societies with sharia law, idolaters may face the death penalty. The avoidance of the use of images for religious reasons is called aniconism. The destruction of religious images within a culture is called iconoclasm, of which there have been many major episodes in history. ==Etymology== The word ''idolatry'' comes (by haplology) from the Greek word εἰδωλολατρία ''eidololatria'' parasynthetically from εἰδωλολάτρης from εἴδωλον ''eidolon'', "image, figure", and the suffix -λάτρης, itself related to λάτρις ''latris'', "worshipper" or λατρεύειν ''latreuein'', "to worship" from λάτρον ''latron'', "payment". Although the Greek 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 in other Hellenistic Jewish writings. It is also not found in (pre-Christian) Greek literature. In the New Testament, the Greek word is found only in the letters of Paul, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation, where it has a derogatory meaning, as one of the vices. It is also found in the Didache and the Apostolic Decree includes a prohibition from the "pollution of idols". Hebrew terms for idolatry include ''avodah zarah'' (foreign worship) and ''avodat kochavim umazalot'' (worship of planets and constellations). In modern English "idol" and the verb "idolize" are often used outside the religious field as a loose metaphor, sometimes intending a degree of disapproval, as in teen idol. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Idolatry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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