Naming an idol as such provokes anger in those attached to it

Evidence

As we see throughout the Scriptures and church history, identifying idols tends to make people angry. Is a national flag necessary to worship God? And if not, then what purpose does it serve, if not to signal the Christian church’s relationship to the nation-state? — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 182

Categorization

• QUESTION: Provocative but undeveloped — would be worth tracing whether this anger dynamic has empirical or psychological support beyond scriptural/church-history assertion.
• XREF: connects to: Removing a sanctuary flag provokes anger that reveals its power meaning. — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 181; Being attacked for a religious symbol makes victims cling to it harder — Irene Zempi and Imran Awan, Islamophobia: Lived Experiences of…, 257; Naming an adversary is itself a contested act of moral framing — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 2476 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Naming Islamophobia reframes accusers as the accused. #exemplifies (0.82)
• Naming an adversary is itself a contested act of moral framing #expands (0.78) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2476
• Suppressing anger as religious duty diminishes the provocateur’s power #complicates (0.75)
• Being attacked for a religious symbol makes victims cling to it harder #expands (0.72) — Irene Zempi and Imran Awan, Islamophobia, 257