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Conservatives can't handle The Satanic Temple's harmless display in Iowa's Capitol
(www.friendlyatheist.com)
this post was submitted on 13 Dec 2023
632 points (98.5% liked)
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I'm just happy they're not happy. I don't even care about the satanic church, just another useless group.
It's an atheist group designed to point out religious hypocrisy. It actually has been rather useful.
I honestly don't see the hypocrisy, Satanists are using the image of the thing Christians consider to be the root of all evil. Of course Christians aren't going to like it. But keep annoying them, I like it. Just a bunch of atheists trying to trigger Christians, lol.
The hypocrisy is the state allowing christian displays on government property, but not displays from other religions.
So use a display from a "religion" they hate will either make them remove the christian imagery and preserve the separation of church and state, or make the government allow symbols form all religions and beliefs, and thus being inclusive to the population.
But... the state allowed it, didn't it? They were also allowing any other religion to participate. I'm still not seeing it.
Plus, I'm also not seeing how this is pushing the division between state and religion. They'll obviously include the Satanists before they stop having affairs with Christianity. So this is just annoying Christians, there's no grand scheme.
You could refute this by showing me evidence of an instance in which the Satanisc church succeeded in dividing church and state. The instance from the post isn't one of them.
You could look it up on wikipedia if you want. It’s pretty easy to stop saying wrong things on the internet, if you’re interested enough to fact check your statements. Personally I really like knowing facts instead of just making guesses.
Didn't find any accomplishment in their wiki page. Did you read it?
Do you have evidence of their accomplishments in regards to the separation of state and church?
If I asked for the evidence is because I couldn't find it, but you just went straight to assuming I didn't look for it, for some reason.
You read the campaigns and initiatives section of the satanic temple page on Wikipedia and didn’t find any accomplishments?
I was talking about the Church of Satan, I think we got mixed up.
The satanic temple is the name of the organization this post is about. It says it in the post title, and in the article.
Yeha, I got confused by another comment talking about the church of satan, you're right.
But they weren't being inclusive this time.
And it was used successfully in Oklahoma, and is ongoing in Arkansas:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Baphomet
This is literally their use lol. They're the reason you're happy.
I want to clear one thing up, there are two main religious groups centered around Satan.
The first is The Satanic Temple which is a secular religion based around holding government accountable when they overstep into the religious side of things, which is obviously against the constitution.
The second is the Church of Satan, which doesn’t really get involved in politics, and doesn’t actually believe in Satan.
They are two different entities, with two very different end goals.
There is also Temple of Set when CoS isnt enough for you
The Satanic Temple generally uses their position as the antithesis to Christianity to pressure government departments to keep distance between themselves and religious institutions. For instance, if government committees open with a prayer, they'll ask that sometimes it is a Satanic prayer (and have made one for just such an occasion).
The TST is generally atheist, even if Satan did give us Rock-＆-Roll and Dungeons ＆ Dragons.
The Satanic Church is Laveyan Satanism and different than the Satanic Temple. Laveyan Saranism is mostly just about individualism, and is too Ayn Randish for my liking. The Satanic Temple is just an awesome group of atheists and agnostic people that advocates for rational thought and the separation of church and state.
The Satanic Temple uses Satanic imagery and symbolism mostly just to scare the Christian politicians and legislators into voting to remove their own symbols and laws from legislation. That and also because it looks cool. They also provide religious exemption to members for medical reasons and non-Christian holidays and such.
They do a lot of good things, like fight for the separation of church and state, reproductive rights, and equality. It's mostly just a big club of nice goth kids who generally want to make the world a better place. I have been a "member" for years, but I have only really gone to a few meetups and park cleanups with my local congregation.
If anyone is interested to "join", it's completely free for anyone to claim membership, and use them for religious exemptions, etc. They have a membership card and certificate for a 25 dollar donation on their website. If you want to participate in their activities, find your local congregation on their website, and join their community on whatever chat app that they use. I found it to be one of the most welcoming communities, and they are always doing good things and fun events.
I like your lack of toxicity, now I feel bad for being the way I am. Anyways, I wanted to learn about instances in which the church of satan has promoted the separation of state and church, beyond just annoying or triggering Christians. I mean actual legislation.
Is there any place where I can find this information?
So, I don't think that The Church of Satan has done anything to affect legislation, as that group is more about promoting self worship, and not really about legal advocacy at all.
The Satanic Temple has done quite a few things on the state level in different areas of the country. My state chapter has gotten rid of Christian brainwashing clubs in public schools, and fought to have Christian symbolism removed from our courtrooms.
If you look here on the Satanic Temple website, the top of the page is filled with different ongoing legal battles against different state governments that are currently underway. A lot of the congregations are focused on advocating for the right to perform abortion on religious grounds, currently.