Editing Iconoclasm (section)

{{Short description|Destruction of religious images}}
{{for|the absence of representations of the natural world or certain religious figures|Aniconism}}
{{redirect|Iconoclast}}

[[File:Triumph orthodoxy.jpg|thumb|288px|''[[Icon of the Triumph of Orthodoxy]]'' depicting the "[[Triumph of Orthodoxy]]" over iconoclasm under the Byzantine empress [[Theodora (wife of Theophilos)|Theodora]] and her son [[Michael&nbsp;III]], late 14th to early 15th century]]

'''Iconoclasm''' ({{etymology|grc|''[[wikt:εἰκών|εἰκών]]'' (eikṓn)|figure, icon||''[[wikt:κλάω|κλάω]]'' (kláō)|to break}})<ref group="lower-roman">From {{langx|grc|[[wikt:εἰκών|εἰκών]] + [[wikt:κλάω|κλάω]]|lit=image-breaking}}. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be considered as a [[back-formation]] from ''iconoclast'' (Greek: εἰκοκλάστης). The corresponding Greek word for iconoclasm is εἰκονοκλασία, ''eikonoklasia''.</ref> is the social belief in the importance of the destruction of [[icon]]s and other images or monuments, most frequently for religious or political reasons. People who engage in or support iconoclasm are called '''iconoclasts''', a term that has come to be figuratively applied to any individual who challenges "cherished beliefs or [[venerated]] institutions on the grounds that they are erroneous or pernicious."<ref>"Iconoclast, 2," ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''; see also "Iconoclasm" and "Iconoclastic."</ref>

Conversely, one who reveres or venerates religious images is called (by iconoclasts) an ''[[Iconolatry|iconolater]]''; in a [[Byzantine]] context, such a person is called an ''[[iconodule]]'' or ''iconophile.''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/90888|title=icono-, comb. form|website=OED Online|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=March 28, 2019}}</ref> Iconoclasm does not generally encompass the destruction of the images of a specific ruler after their death or overthrow, a practice better known as ''[[damnatio memoriae]]''.

While iconoclasm may be carried out by adherents of a different [[religion]], it is more commonly the result of [[Sectarianism|sectarian]] disputes between factions of the same religion. The term originates from the [[Byzantine Iconoclasm]], the struggles between proponents and opponents of religious icons in the [[Byzantine Empire]] from 726 to 842 AD. Degrees of iconoclasm vary greatly among religions and their branches, but are strongest in religions which oppose [[idolatry]], including the [[Abrahamic religions]].<ref name="crone"/> Outside of the religious context, iconoclasm can refer to movements for widespread destruction in symbols of an ideology or cause, such as the destruction of [[monarchist]] symbols during the [[French Revolution]].