1. Opposition to the use of idols or images: "Aniconism is a regulation by some religions against the representations of divine creatures."

"Among Muslims, there is a prohibition against life-like imagery of either living creatures or of figures that are central to Islam, and most specifically of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and of God."

2. The worship of objects that are symbolic but which do not actually show an image of a god or gods: "In the early history of Christianity (726 A.D., Byzantine Emperor Leo 3), there were aniconisms that prohibited the veneration or worship among Christians of representations of deities."