A heathen god church discarded? You could count on that (6)
I believe the answer is:
abacus
This might be a double definition.
'a heathen god' is the first definition.
The definition and answer can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps they are linked in a way I don't understand?
'church discarded? you could count on that' is the second definition.
The answer and definition can be both man-made objects as well as being singular nouns.
Perhaps you can see an association between them that I can't see?
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for abacus that I've seen before include "not something we now count on" , "this adds up" , "Beaded counting frame" , "What was counted on" , "calculator needed" .)