The Satanic Temple

[Freija]

First of all, you do realize what’s going on in the OP is purely a theatrical ploy, right? Members of The Satanic Temple do not worship the devil or believe in magick and are a growing non-theistic politically and socially active group aligned with liberty, equality, rationalism, non-authoritarianism and do not believe in the supernatural. They are political activists using Satanic imagery ironically and satirically to promote their beliefs of separation of church and state, to generate attention and “prompt people to reevaluate fears and perceptions”.

The Satanic Temple uses activism as an expression of worship based on their seven fundamental tenets:

1. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
   
2. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
   
3. One's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone.
   
4. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.
   
5. Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.
   
6. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
   
7. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
   

I’m actually thinking about joining The Satanic Temple because some of the things they promote, I strongly believe in. I'm probably already on somebody's watch list anyhow so why not?

Their mission statement is “to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits”.

They believe in “artful” protests and theater to get their point across based on the following rules?

• Protest is an act of free speech, and protesters must respect free speech.
  
• Have a clearly articulated position with tenable demands and a practical well-defined statement for what constitutes achieving your goals.
  
• Effective protest is founded on a legitimate theory of change that is exemplified by the structure of IF I do X, THEN Y will happen BECAUSE Z.
  
• Protest must be based on a principle as opposed to identity politics. Everyone benefits from the pursuit of well-conceived principles.
  
• Stay focused on specific issues and do not adopt issues that you think are analogously related.
  
• Stand for issues and principles – do not reflexively support the entire agenda of parties, organizations, or individuals.
  
• Do not allow narratives to prevail over facts.
  
• Restrict your movement to people who believe in the principles of your movement.
  
• If your protest calls for the deprivation of rights and liberties of others, intimidates others, harasses or threatens others, silences others, then you are an enemy of freedom no matter what the justification.
  
• Engaging in, promoting, inciting, and/or celebrating physical violence that deliberately targets civilians or property is never justifiable.
  

Kind of makes you wish the BLM, Antifa and the Boogaloo Boys etc., could follow their guidelines, doesn’t it?


Further Reading:

Hail Satan? puts the fun in Satanic fundamentalism[/img]

Hell yeah! How the satanists became the good guys

What The Satanic Temple is and why it’s opening a debate about religion

The Satanic Temple (Wikipedia)

Everything you need to know about the Satanic Temple, which the US government just officially recognized as an organized religion

The Satanic Temple homepage


Do not mistake or confuse The Satanic Temple with the Church of Satan based on the writings of Anton LaVey.