ideolatry

Meaning

Noun

• The worship, attachment, or devotion to a concept originating and existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity.
• The worship or devotion to the thoughts and intents derived from the human mind.
• The worship of the human intellect.

Related

Similar words

• thought
• concept
• worship
• adoration
• reverence

Origin

• From ideo- + -latry.
• Mid 19th century; used to describe religious beliefs by a Church of England Clergyman in his book, "The Origin and Development of Religious Beliefs," 1869, S. Baring Gould (1834-1924), pg 188-189. It was used again in 1913 in the Journal of Religious Psychology, Vol 6, 1913, Page 316, which quoted from an article, "Homo faber" and "Homo religious," an article on “Le rythme du progress et la loi des deux etats,” published in the Revue de Métaphysique et de Morale, vol. 21, 1913, pp 16-60). Ideolatry was also cited in "Modern English", Hall, Fitzedward, 1873, pg 368, describing it as a "monstrous formation" of a word.