What is the difference between Icons and art or can religious art be classified as Icons?

What is the difference between Icons and art or can religious art be classified as Icons?
Religious art and icons are not mutually exclusive. When one refers to an "icon" in art, they most often mean a simplified or abstracted representation of a religious figure, or the entire work of art. In modern religions, icons tend to be slightly abstracted representations in order to avoid the conflict of humans depicting what is divine. The Church disputed whether it was acceptable to show religious figures, like Jesus, in art, and showing them in a stylized manner is a way of avoiding this conflict. The word "icon" comes from Greek, where it originally described an image or statue.