By Heather Kittle
Before we get into it, I will answer you now. No, no is the answer. How do I know, you may ask? Simple.
Hi, I’m Heather, and I’m a Satanist.
You might be saying well, why should I believe you? You’re just a heathen trying to convert me! Sacrificing our children and drinking their blood!
First of all, there’s no sacrificing happening by any means. Or blood drinking. But you should get checked out for anemia if you are craving blood.
Second, The Satanic Temple (TST), co-founded in 2012 by Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry and given tax-exempt status as a church in 2019, is modern-day satanism with no association with the Church of Satan (Anton Lavey, founded 1966). It is a non-theistic and non-supernaturalist organization. We don’t believe in Satan or God. Renard Seir, group expert and member of the West Michigan chapter of TST, said, “TST recognizes that the existence or not of any Gods or the supernatural is just a distraction from our core tenets.”
Although the organization began as a way to troll the religious right, starting with its mock rally held in Tallahassee, Florida, in 2013 in response to Gov. Rick Scotts’ bill allowing students to read inspirational messages during school events, it has grown to focus more on political activism while allowing members to seek out what they want from their religion and themselves.
TST, as a whole, seeks empath, reason, and advocacy. As it says on the About section of their website, ‘The mission of The Satanic Temple is to encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits.’
The seven fundamental tenets (see insert) are our guides. As Seir said, “The second coming of Jesus could walk across Lake Michigan, and it would not affect our beliefs or our goals.” The Satanic Temple attempts to accomplish our goals and fuels our beliefs through advocacy, campaigns, and initiatives.
For instance, the Sober Faction is an ongoing campaign geared towards individuals recovering from addiction and seeking sobriety through group therapy.
Another would be the Religious Reproductive Rights campaign. This campaign fights for bodily autonomy through religious rights with the Religious Abortion Ritual and has filed multiple lawsuits against various states with restrictive abortion laws.
So why are we called Satanists, then?
Symbolism. Satan represents the rebel and inquisitor. Questioning and opposing arbitrary authority and tyrannical impositions. The illustrative representation of Satan in The Satanic Temple comes from the literacy of Paradise Lost by poet John Milton and Romantic Satanists such as Anatole France, author of The Revolt of Angels.
There’s no need for satanic panic. Unless you force your beliefs on others and take away bodily autonomy, you’re good! Hail Satan!
This is the most ridiculous and self-contradictory article I’ve read in recent memory. If this is the kind of article Delta College thinks will improve the community and make society a better place, our country would be better off without the institution.