How comes the word 偶像 is related to worship?
My understanding is, early people made wooden or stone figures/statues to represent the gods they worshiped.
The meaning of 偶像 (木偶 &amp; 雕像) extended from [figures/ statues] --&gt; [item for worshiping]  --&gt; [individual to be worshiped]
The difference between '神像' and '雕像' is '雕像' is just a  statue but '神像' is a statue that represents a god (2.the items made and worshiped by man)