Playing Devil's Advocate

When Social Justice Politics and the Satantic Temple Collide

Just in time for Halloween!

What level of schadenfraude is it when an activist organization is ripped at the seams by a constituency that believes it isn’t activist enough on issues not related to it’s purpose?

The Atlantic has an oustanding article, titled “A Satanic Rebellion: Social Justice Collides with the Satanic Temple,” about a particularly interesting schism that has developed in the nation’s largest contingent of, well, let’s just say the unreligious crowd. The article is extremely noteworthy not just for what is happening within this group, but also because of how the social powers that created this schism are also playing out in society as a whole.

First, to back up a bit, it’s important to realize that “Satanists” in this regard are not people really worshipping Satan and promoting everything evil and unholy¹ wanting to invoke end times and the apocalypse. They’re more like sarcastic, nonconformist performance artists, who parody the more ceremonious and formalized aspects of organized religion. Their typical prayer service is more of a tongue-in-cheek mockery of the kind you would see every Sunday at a local church than it is a Black Mass intended to bring to life Rosemary’s Baby. They’re notorious iconoclasts when it comes to religion, doing anything and everything to trivialize and ridicule the manner in which everyone else chooses to praise God, aiming most their ire at evangelical Christians. What motivates them is far from an adoration or praising of the fallen angel of the Bible; its actually to present a neverending satire of the more ritualized avenues religion plays in everyday life and troll the true believers. In that vein, they’re antagonistic atheists, radically so.

The group began in 2013² founded by Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry³ as a joke organization intended to troll relgious groups over the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which reads:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. [emphasis added]

The Bush Administration had created an “Office of Faith Based Initiatives” intended to give churches and religious organizations money and opportunities for volunteer outreach in communities. Greaves and Jarry, devout atheists, thought “They wouldn’t give money to a Satanic church would they?” so they tested out the thesis. Armed with the First Amendment and an outstanding First Amendment Lawyer, they began attacking such policies. In short, they play “Devil’s Advocate” when it comes to issues relating to intermixing government and religion, both figuratively and literally.

The cases they like to run against most often are where cities push for The Ten Commandments or Nativity scenes on public property. The general rule as approved by the Supreme Court is that such displays are OK so long as they also contain a secular message and it’s primary purpose is not meant to advance or inhibit any religion (which usually means other religions must be treated equally). What the Satanic Temple loves to do is where any public display of the Commandments or a Nativity creche or a Hannukah menorah on public grounds gets approved, they seek to be able to display a statue of Baphomet, a goat-like rendering of Satan, under the same pretenses. They have a 14 ft version of this statute they usually keep outside their offices in, of all places, Salem, Massachusetts. More often than not, they win, which usually results in the city taking down all religious symbols, which of course was what was originally intended to begin with. Interesting occasions are when the town goes along with it and next to a statue of Jesus and Buddha and Vishnu is one of the Prince of Darkness himself.

Among other things the Satanic Temple has done to anger the pious are:

• In February, 2023, following the Dobbs decision, the Temple announced the creation of a New Mexico–based telemedicine service called “Samuel Alito’s Mom’s Satanic Abortion Clinic.”

• Greaves gained nationwide media attention for resting his scrotum on the gravestone of the Reverend Fred Phelps’s mother—a stunt designed to protest the homophobia of the Westboro Baptist Church, an ultra-conservative group that was then regularly featured on the news. Phelps’s church had a habit of protesting soldiers’ funerals with placards telling gay people that they were going to hell. So Greaves claimed to have performed a “Pink Mass” that turned the mother of Westboro’s patriarch gay in the afterlife.

• They regularly sign up for local parades where churches and religous organizations are allowed. People walking the parade routes usually wear risque regalia and the float praises the Satanic Temple.

Because of their antics, they were able to grow the organization to well over 250,000 followers on social media. Mostly, they’re the same kind of sarcastic performance artist gung ho atheists that Greaves and Jarry are. However, many of them began taking things to a next level of believerism; starting to hold actual Satanic Temple ceremonies and calls for more political action. Because most atheists veer toward the radically liberal and libertarian end of the political spectrum, much of the policy positions they began advocating were in kind. Because most of them don’t do anything half way, and like to openly advocate for extreme positions, they tend to be very vocal and hardcore activists in public life. Many of the adherents were already living alternative lifestyles so a small jump to a “church of Satan” seemed minor. There are a large number of LGBTQ+ members, and a large contingent come from the fringes of society to begin with.

Which brings us to why they are falling apart at the seams.

Social Justice, Meet Satan

Discontent had been brewing within the organization for awhile now, over what was perceived as Greaves lack of interest in getting involved in social justice issues. Again, many of the group are strong advocates on liberal causes. Greaves, has an interest in not injecting the organization into more political areas, specifically when such actions can drastically backfire; remember, this is somewhat of a satiric organization and pushing for ACTUAL change beyond their religious focus in that regard is a bit of a paradox and counterproductive.

Many supporters began rubbing other supporters the wrong way over various social justice issues and causes, and the extent they should go to advocate for those positions. Like many organizations such as Planned Parenthood, The ACLU, The Sierra Club, The Human Rights Campaign and others, these individuals wanted the overall groups to be much more broadly progressive and become more “issue plus social justice” groups, where they still support their main cause but also vocally support social justice causes. This kind of hardening of support usually results in those organizations becoming nothing but social justice organizations. The Satanic parishioners characterized the Satanic Temple’s neutrality on it as a cover for harboring more pro-right wing views.⁴

Then this past June, Greaves put a picture on Twitter that brought the whole thing to a head. He’s outside his Salem offices, next to his Baphomet statue, with former American Atheists President, David Silverman. Silverman had been ousted in 2018 over what was discribed as sexual improprieties. The rank and file Satanists went after Greaves by association and demanded he at least make overtures to social justice causes; Greaves refused, claiming he did not want to be the universal spokesperson for progressive causes, nor should the Satanic Temple be portrayed as such. Many left to form their own Satanic organizations.

The whole ordeal has resulted in the Satanic Temple splintering into many individual factions, more localized and regional, and more politically oriented.⁵ Everyone seems particularly upset at Greaves and ruffle at his refusal and lack of accountability.

So to summarize, a group of people worshipping an idol representing the antithesis of fairness, equality, respect and positiveness all splintered off because they didn’t think things were fair, equal, respectful or positive. Social Justice? I couldn’t think of anything less associated with Satan than social justice. Justice, equality and progressivism aren’t really Satanic virtues. I’m pretty sure if Satan exists, he’s laughing his ass off at the irony here.⁶

As the Atlantic article closes, it contains this paragraph:

I came back to something that Joseph Laycock had told me, that the rebellious ideology of the Temple made it particularly prone to internal dissent: “How can you have an organization of people dedicated to total individual freedom and empowerment?”

An organization ironically centered on anarchy, individual expression, and the antithesis of what is good does indeed seem to be a bit of a paradox. It was only a matter of time before it fell apart.

PurpleAmerica’s Cultural Corner

If you want to actually see what this organization is like, there was a documentary a few years back that looked into it, titled “Hail Satan.” You can get the gist of the nonconformity pretty much just from the trailer.

But now that that’s over, and seeing how Halloween Season has begun, let’s cover my Five Favorite movies that incorporate an angle of Satanism or Satanic things into it. As a general rule, any movie where Satan is a character usually kind of sucks, but there are still a few that are scary to watch.

5. Hereditary. Have to admit, this got great reviews and aside from overall creepiness, it didn’t really register with me as scary until the last half hour. Then it kind of clicked into overdrive.

4. The Witch. This one is all mood and atmosphere. It’s perenially overcast, the dialogue is archaic and the characters all dour. The one light spot is the main character Anya Taylor Joy. Things don’t go well.

3. Rosemary’s Baby. Again, most of the movie is quite dumb, but those last 20 or so minutes are just eerie creepy.

2. The Omen. I first saw this movie as a teenager on television and it completely creeped me out. It still holds up, even the bad shock jump scares. That kid smiling at the end is downright scary.

1. The Exorcist. Only the greatest horror movie of all time.

As a bonus, here’s a clip of the famous “Satan v. Jesus” match on South Park. The townspeople look at the size of Satan and the puniness of Jesus and bet heavily on the side of the Prince of Darkness, who gets the better of them all.

PurpleAmerica’s Obscure Fact of the Day

If we’re going to talk about justice and Satan, we have to talk about Dante’s Inferno. Dante is guided through Hell and witnesses the punishments doled out, each according to the sin. The Gate of Hell reads:

"THROUGH me you pass into the city of woe:

Through me you pass into eternal pain:

Through me among the people lost for aye.

Justice the founder of my fabric mov'd:

To rear me was the task of power divine,

Supremest wisdom, and primeval love.

Before me things create were none, save things

Eternal, and eternal I endure.

"All hope abandon ye who enter here."

In Dante’s Inferno, Satan is alone in the deepest, darkest, lowest circle of Hell, reserved for Traitors, himself being the biggest traitor of all. He’s stuck in a lake of ice (Cocytus) and as he flaps his wings to try and escape, all it does is beat cold winds across the ice harder, resulting in him only getting further stuck.

PurpleAmerica’s Final Word on the Subject

“Long is the way, and hard that out of darkness leads up to light.”

-Satan, Paradise Lost (O.K., John Milton).

Like what you are seeing here at PurpleAmerica? Share and Comment. Let your friends and family know! Repost on Twitter and Threads. Forward us topics you’d like us to discuss! It’s an open community here.

Footnotes and Fun Stuff

1. Although some of the more serious about the group may use those things as themes and forms of expression.

2. Old schoolers will say “Wait a minute, Satanism has been around longer than that.” It’s true. The first church created supporting Satanism was created in the 1960’s by an out of work actor in California named Anton LeVey. He was a typical Hollywood character, which is to say he was a total flake popular with the more fringey people in Hollywood, and a regular on Geraldo’s talk show. His appeal as a known oddity coincided with the “Satanic Panic” of the 1970s and 80s, which was eventually revealed to be completely unfounded. The whole organization along with LeVey just faded away. When they do venture out into publi, its usually in some provacative way intended to ruffle the feathers of the religious.

3. These may in fact be pseudonyms. Because they receive extensive hate mail and defamatory attention, many of the Satanic Temple members use pseudonyms.

4. I have to find this point extremely laughable. Because nothing screams “ultraconservative” more than a Satanist.

5. As any good political consultant would tell you, association with a Satanic Church is a death knell for any political group, candidate or movement. As devoutly as these advocates believe in their social justice causes, they are actually hurting the overall political movements they support by being both “Satanist plus…” It doesn’t matter to them though as being visible and vocal and demonstrative on the issue is the whole point, as it’s their whole raison d’etre.

6. Not to mention the evangelicals continuously mocked by the group. They must love watching uber-progressives eating their own.