symbol worship

/ˈsɪmbəl ˌwɜrʃɪp/
noun
  1. The practice of treating a symbol as if it were the actual thing it represents, often in a religious or spiritual context.
    • The historian wrote about how symbol-worship developed in early civilizations.
    • Symbol-worship can occur when people focus too much on the physical cross rather than its meaning.
    • Some critics accused the ancient cult of symbol-worship because they bowed to statues of their gods.
Antonyms
What does "symbol worship" mean? | whatsthatwordmean | whatsthatwordmean