Pl. observe the following points :-
Idols are not worshipped at the place of their manufacture / carve out.
Priest/s perform rituals of Shakti Sthapana (installation of divine power) in to the Idols to make them worship-worthy.
Priest/s withdraw the divine power from the idols before immersion /dispose of.
After immersion / disposal, people may respect the idol but will not worship.
So, it can be made out that no one worships to the idol but to the installed divine / supreme power in to it.
Please also observe some more points :-
If a person while praying refers to God as “God-Father” or “Mata-Pita”, his/her spouse will never refer Him as “Father-in-law” or “In-laws”; but as Father / Parents. Even the parents of this couple will also refer to God as their (divine) Father / Parents.
Therefore, it seems that God is not the father of our “physical entity” but father of our spiritual entity i.e. soul.
In other words, God (Supreme Soul) is Father of all the souls and our physical body is only a carrier vehicle of the soul.
After considering above points we can come to conclusion that the importance of relation between the soul and the supreme soul is much more than the relation between our body and the idol. Actually speaking it is the soul who enjoys happiness or suffers sorrows through this body but not the body itself. Also, it is the soul who receives divine powers from God to get relief from sufferings and live happily.
In spite of such importance of relationship between the soul and the Supreme Soul, since both of them are not visible, most religions prefer idol worshipping to make their ceremony more enjoyable.