On Idol Worship

The responses of a group of people in matters of food, clothing, marriage, death ,birth and their whole inclusive attitude is what we called the religion of that particular group. Based on the size, historical time period they survived as a group, whether they are organized or not, all these will contribute in the development of their religious system. The geographical and historical elements will be crucial in understanding and defining any particular religious system.
Almost all the religions in the present century are highly organized and it is difficult to analyze the various features which constitute the belief system. There is no single criterion to analyze the nature of any particular belief system.
The question I would like to analyze now is, whether idol worship is acceptable or not. There are so many agreements and disagreement among scholars about the practice of idolatry. From the beginning itself, reformers in India raised severe objections regarding idol worship. The Christian world viewed it as a pagan practice, were people worship stones and trees and such inanimate things. Since then talking in favor of idol worship is considered something bad and shows lack of knowledge. It is lack of knowledge since the authentic texts of worship, including Vedas talked against idol worship.
So what should be the criteria of analyzing a religion? Whether we can solely believe the words of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Holy Bible and the Holy Koran is a crucial question. Or is it possible to analyze any religion based on these texts, since none of us follow the written precepts.
Some thinkers expressed the view that, when the words of the authentic text and the mode of worship of the people differ each other the words on the page should be the most authenticated. Then the question is what a text is?
The text, whether written by an individual or divinely inspired, is nothing but some symbols or signs in a large system of signification. It is just one sign among the other signs, including the various performances of that particular group. To understand any religion we should study each sign without any prejudices.
As far as Hindu religion is concerned the practice of idol worship is just a sign with multiple significations. Each and every sign/idol shows different thanthric sambradayas and a correct understanding of it require a lot of study, including a closer study of the Vedas based on these symbols. These signs are nothing but a short way to the inner truths of Vedas. By negating the importance of Idols we can never fully understand Hindu religion. This has nothing to do with paganism since it includes lots of scientific truths within them.