worshipables

Worshipables is a neologistic term used in anthropology, religious studies, and cultural criticism to describe objects, beings, or concepts that attract devotional attention and ritual reverence within a community. The term emphasizes the agency of tangible or intangible items in mediating belief and practice, rather than focusing solely on beliefs themselves.

Origin and usage: The word arises from combining worship with a suffix that denotes capable or suitable for. It is applied in scholarly and popular discourse to denote multiple items or entities that function as centers of reverence, admiration, or loyalty. The plural form, worshipables, can refer to a range of such objects or figures within a given culture.

Forms and examples: Worshipables can be physical artifacts such as icons, relics, or statues; living beings regarded as sacred or exemplary; places or sites with ritual significance; or abstract ideas like national identity, ideological commitments, or brands. The common thread is that these objects or figures serve as focal points for devotion, ritual action, or social meaning.

Functions: They provide focal points for worship, legitimizing authority, guiding moral norms, and reinforcing social cohesion. They shape practices such as offerings, pilgrimages, or collective memory, and they contribute to the economy of meaning within a community, including the production and circulation of memorabilia or stories.

Contexts and debates: In historical religious contexts, worshipables align with icons and relics. In contemporary culture, celebrities, brands, or digital artifacts can function as worshipables through fan devotion or collective meaning-making. Debates often center on material obsession, commodification, and cross-cultural differences in what qualifies as worthy of devotion.

See also: idol, icon, relic, devotion, ritual, material culture.