Quote by Northrop Frye
Culture's essential service to a religion is to destroy intellectual idolatry, the recurrent tendency in religion to replace the object of its worship with its present understanding and forms of approach to that object.
Summary
This quote suggests that the primary role of culture in religion is to dismantle the human inclination to idolize and excessively value one's own intellectual understanding and methods of approaching a higher power or belief system. It implies that culture helps prevent religion from becoming stubborn and fixed in its interpretations and expressions of faith, allowing it to evolve and adapt to different contexts and societies. By challenging intellectual idolatry, culture enables religion to remain flexible and open to new perspectives and interpretations of the divine.