Well, it's a guess, I guess.
But i couldn't disarm it (shows up red), couldn't pickpocket, couldn't pick locks...the only thing you can do is talk to it. (Actually, i don't know if i tried to attack it...)
And i do know the consequences of answering incorrectly on the tests of faith (pain!). So it would seem that the little portion of the statue that appears as an item, then as a trap if you detect traps, is there just so you can get blasted if you screw up the dialog where you answer the questions about the 3 rituals.
But of course i *could* be wrong,

, so go ahead and keep trying but please post again if you find something i missed.