So the Satanic Temple challenged the Phoenix city council to allow them to offer a public prayer before city council meetings, since they have Christian prayers before the meeting. The city council responded by eliminating the prayers entirely for a moment of silence. IIRC, Satanists have done this before – demanding space for Christmas imagery when the city provides Christians space, offering free Satanic religious material to schools when public schools offer students free Christian-provided religious material, and other “equal time/space” demands, which usually seem to lead to eliminating the religious policy altogether (probably their goal).
I think this is great. Government shouldn’t be promoting any religion, or religion vs non-religion. Any negatives?
If the government is founded on secularism and the premise that all religions are equal, then they should uphold those principles when put to the test. Offering the right of religious observance only to the majority religion exposes their hypocrisy.
As a Christian, I obviously don’t agree with all of their philosophy, but I approve this particular goal and result. Prayers before government meetings offend me on two levels: First, as an inappropriately sanctioned nod to one specific religion over another - a run-around the ban on government established religion. As if we tolerate Jews and Muslims and atheists, but they’re not really one of us.
But secondly, nothing offends me more than a committee meeting that starts with a Christian prayer and ends with the defunding of programs for the poor, or worse. Don’t try to pretend you have a thumbs-up from Jesus.
When we hear “Satanism,” most of us who have any reaction more sophisticated than :eek: tend to think of Anton Szandor LaVey’s Church of Satan – and if you study its online lit, you’ll find those Satanists don’t really worship or believe in Satan; they worship themselves, and “Satan” is just a pet-name they give their own egos. LaVey described his church as “Ayn Rand with trappings.”
I agree with what the Church is doing and support them 100%.
Here is a Salon article from May of last year. A member of the Church is suing Missouri over it’s anti-abortion laws being an undue burden on her religious beliefs.
Satanists are also responsible for Oklahoma’s decision to remove the 10 commandment display at the State Capitol building. It was either that, or allow the Satanist’s statue, as well.
