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Concept
Aniconism
Summary
Aniconism is the absence of artistic representations (icons) of the natural and supernatural worlds, or it is the absence of representations of certain figures in religions. It is a feature of various cultures, particularly of cultures which are based on monotheistic Abrahamic religions. The prohibition of material representations may only extend from God and other supernatural beings to saint-like characters, or it may extend to material representations of all living beings, and material representations of everything that exists. The phenomenon is generally codified by religious traditions and as such, it becomes a taboo. When it is enforced by the physical destruction of images, aniconism becomes iconoclasm.
Aniconism has been a historical phase in both Buddhism and Christianity, and even though it is much less of an issue today, the attitudes towards religious imagery show considerable variability between different traditions, denominations, and strands within each religion. Judaism and Islam have predominantly been aniconistic throughout their histories, but they have not been exclusively so. In all these religions the depiction of the monotheistic deity (God the Father, Allah, Yahweh) is especially forbidden or disapproved of, and material representations of major figures such as Muhammad and Gautama Buddha, have frequently been sensitive topics, especially in the past.
The word "aniconism" is derived from Greek εικων 'image' with the negative prefix an- (Greek privative alpha) and the suffix -ism (Greek -ισμος). Iconoclasm is the active destruction of images for religious or cultural reasons.
In monotheistic religions, aniconism was shaped by theological considerations and historical contexts. It emerged as a corollary in which people believed that God was the ultimate power holder, and people who practiced it believed that they needed to defend God's unique status against competing external and internal forces, such as pagan idols and critical humans.
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