A possible link between art and Women in religious devotion

[Cadellin]

It seems to me that in religions in which devotion to a woman is found, e.g. Hindus, Catholics, Greek and Russian Orthodox and to a certain extent Anglicans (i.e. the orthodox religions), are religions in which religious art is found. They are religions which see the difference between idols and religious images, between ‘bowing down and worshipping graven images’ and venerating them.
In religions that fail to see this difference, religions where images are seen as idols, e.g. Muslims, Mormons, Methodists, Baptists, Protestants, Presbyterians, Seventh Day Adventists, etc (i.e. the fundamentalist religions), there is no devotion to any female figure and no religious art of any significance, at least not representational art.
It seems as though where women are venerated art flourishes.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

It seems to me that in religions in which devotion to a woman is found, e.g. Hindus, Catholics, Greek and Russian Orthodox and to a certain extent Anglicans (i.e. the orthodox religions), are religions in which religious art is found. They are religions which see the difference between idols and religious images, between ‘bowing down and worshipping graven images’ and venerating them.
In religions that fail to see this difference, religions where images are seen as idols, e.g. Muslims, Mormons, Methodists, Baptists, Protestants, Presbyterians, Seventh Day Adventists, etc (i.e. the fundamentalist religions), there is no devotion to any female figure and no religious art of any significance, at least not representational art.
It seems as though where women are venerated art flourishes.

That’s an interesting observation, although it clearly only applies to religious art that represents people. Muslims and Mormons for instance have strong artistic traditions in their architecture and so forth, but don’t make use of religious images of people the way we do.

I think part of the reason is probably that religious traditions that sprang in part from iconoclastic fervor generally also rejected other forms of the veneration of created things, including saints.

 

[Julia_Mae]

It seems as though where women are venerated art flourishes.

Women are more fun to paint. And sculpt.