The Satanic Temple
nontheistic religious group based in the United States
The Satanic Temple (TST) is a non-theistic new religious movement, founded in 2012 and headquartered in Salem, Massachusetts, United States. Established in response to the "intrusion of Christian values on American politics", congregations have also formed in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Co-founded by Lucien Greaves, the organization's spokesperson, and Malcolm Jarry, the group views Satan neither as a supernatural being, nor a symbol of evil, but instead relies on the literary Satan as a symbol representing "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms, or as a metaphor to promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity.
The organization's mission encourages "benevolence and empathy" among all people, using Satanic imagery to promote civil rights, egalitarianism, religious skepticism, social justice, bodily integrity, secularism, and the separation of church and state; relying on religious satire, theatrical ploys, humor, and legal action in their public campaigns to "generate attention and prompt people to reevaluate fears and perceptions", and to "highlight religious hypocrisy and encroachment on religious freedom." The organization participates in political actions such as lobbying efforts, with a focus on exposing Christian privilege when it interferes with personal religious freedom. It considers marriage a religious sacrament that should be governed under the First Amendment's protection of religious freedom which should prevail over state laws. The group views restrictions on abortion, including mandatory waiting periods, as an infringement on the rights of Satanists to practice their religion.
TST is reportedly "the largest Satanic organization in history". Its adherents generally refer to their religion as "Satanism" or "Modern Satanism", while others refer to TST's religion as "Compassionate Satanism" or "Seven Tenet Satanism".
History
Cofounders Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry met in 2012, and the Satanic Temple was active by January 2013. In an interview with The New York Times, Malcolm Jarry stated that the idea of starting a Satanic faith-based organization was first conceived to meet "all the Bush administration's criteria for receiving funds, but was repugnant to them".
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This entry incorporates text from “The Satanic Temple” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.