iconoclasm
Attacking cherished beliefs
Iconoclasm is the destruction of religious images or opposition to their veneration—from Byzantine emperors smashing icons to Protestant reformers stripping churches of statues.
The meaning extends to attacking any cherished beliefs or institutions: His iconoclasm made him unpopular with the old guard.
An iconoclast is someone who engages in such destruction or challenges established conventions.
Veneration of false gods
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred
- sacrilegeViolation of the hallowed
- desecrationViolating something sacred
apostasy · Byzantine · veneration · Reformation · Counter-Reformation · Inquisition · excommunication · anathema
Disagreement with authority
- heterodoxyUnorthodox belief or opinion
- freethinkingIntellectually independent reasoning
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
- rationalismReason as knowledge source
secularism · atheism · agnosticism · questioning · debunking · demystification · critique · revisionism
Innovative cultural pioneers
- DadaismAbsurdist artistic rebellion
- transgressionViolation of law or code
- provocationAct that triggers response
- subversionUndermining established authority
deconstruction · anti-art · irreverence · taboo-breaking · Duchamp · readymade · punk · modernism
British slang for excellent
- shatteringBreaking violently apart
- vandalismWillful property damage
- demolitionDeliberate structural destruction
- defacementDamaging an appearance
destruction · obliteration · dismantling · razing · toppling · burning · hammering · whitewashing
Structure honoring someone remembered
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- ConfederateSecessionist state supporter
- colonialOf occupied territories
- LeninSoviet state founder
Stalin · Rhodes · decolonization · protest · demonstration · uprising · revolution · damnatio memoriae
Founded organization or venue
- status quoExisting condition of affairs
- sacred cowsImmune-to-criticism institutions
- disruptionForceful interruption of process
- innovationCreating something original
pioneering · radical · revolutionary · reformer · maverick · rebel · trailblazer · boundary-pushing
idolatry
Veneration of false gods
- heresyBelief opposing official doctrine
- blasphemyIrreverence toward the sacred
- sacrilegeViolation of the hallowed
desecration · apostasy · Byzantine · veneration · Reformation · Counter-Reformation · Inquisition · excommunication · anathema · schism
dissent
Disagreement with authority
- heterodoxyUnorthodox belief or opinion
- freethinkingIntellectually independent reasoning
- skepticismDisposition toward doubt
rationalism · secularism · atheism · agnosticism · questioning · debunking · demystification · critique · revisionism · contrarian
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- DadaismAbsurdist artistic rebellion
- transgressionViolation of law or code
- provocationAct that triggers response
subversion · deconstruction · anti-art · irreverence · taboo-breaking · Duchamp · readymade · punk · modernism · shock
smashing
British slang for excellent
- shatteringBreaking violently apart
- vandalismWillful property damage
- demolitionDeliberate structural destruction
defacement · destruction · obliteration · dismantling · razing · toppling · burning · hammering · whitewashing · effacement
monument
Structure honoring someone remembered
- memorialThing preserving remembrance
- ConfederateSecessionist state supporter
- colonialOf occupied territories
Lenin · Stalin · Rhodes · decolonization · protest · demonstration · uprising · revolution · damnatio memoriae
establishment
Founded organization or venue
- status quoExisting condition of affairs
- sacred cowsImmune-to-criticism institutions
- disruptionForceful interruption of process
innovation · pioneering · radical · revolutionary · reformer · maverick · rebel · trailblazer · boundary-pushing
- religionChristianity, Islam, beliefs, Judaism, Hinduism
- church historychurch history, apostles, Protestant Reformation, Christian history, baptism
- Orthodox ChristianityOrthodox Church, Nicene Creed, Hagia Sophia, Greek Orthodox, patriarchate
- religious historyChristian history, Jewish history, early Christianity, early church, church councils
- Art & Societycensorship, art critique, artistic expression, art movements, protest art
- Byzantine legacyConstantinople, Hagia Sophia, Byzantine art, Eastern Orthodoxy, Orthodox Church
iconoclasmtraditionalism
Adherence to inherited customs
conservatism · preservation · reverence · veneration · orthodoxy
iconoclasmconformity
Adherence to norms
orthodoxy · obedience · deference · conventionality · traditionalism