The organization "The Satanic Temple" is officially recognized as a church in the United States. Now they are entitled to tax breaks and other preferences from the state.
For Americans, this is called freedom. The Nazis have their own organizations there and feel great. Now Satanists will flourish. On the one hand, yes, freedom, but on the other, should it be so? Is this freedom normal? Isn't it destructive and destructive?
Representatives of the "Satanic Temple" said that the new recognition will give them access to grants and legal rights that they never had. Prior to the formal ruling of the IRS Commission, the cult was essentially a small group of like-minded people who promoted egalitarianism and social equality of people. At the same time, cult activists ridiculed the American model of relations between the Christian church and the state.
The official address on the website of the "Satanic Temple" says:
We are pleased to announce that for the first time in history, the US federal government has recognized a Satanic organization as a church. The Satanic Temple has received a notification from the IRS confirming our status. The Satanic Temple now has the same access to public spaces as other religious organizations, which will allow us to validate our position in court against religious discrimination, and will also allow us to apply for religious government grants.
Lucien Greaves.
Despite the gloomy name, "The Satanic Temple" positions itself not as a cult of devil worshipers, and refers to Lucifer not as a supernatural being, but rather as a symbol of opposition to patriarchal social norms. The "Satanic Temple" was created in 2013 by two Harvard graduates - Malcolm Jarry and Lucien Greaves. They also came up with the "Seven Fundamental Principles", which formed the basis of the movement. In fact, these are the compiled rules of secular humanism: the struggle for justice, respect for other people's freedoms and the scientific method of understanding the world.
To a large extent, the "Satanic Temple" became famous in the world thanks to provocative actions. Representatives of the cult organized marches in support of abortion, raised money for a statue of Baphomet on the Oklahoma Capitol (as a result, the statue was erected in Detroit), tried to preach modernized Satanism in schools, and even ran for the California State Senate.
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The most famous trick of the head of the "Temple of Satan" Lucien Greaves can be considered the mass at the grave of the mother of the famous pastor-conservative Fred Phelps, who actively opposes gay marriage in the United States. Greaves married several homosexual couples right at the grave, put his genitals on the woman's tombstone and read the satanic curse that was supposed to turn Phelps's mother into a lesbian in the afterlife.
Last November, The Satanic Temple sued Netflix over the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina series. The series featured a statue of Baphomet, whose image is officially owned by the temple. The organization was going to sue the company for $ 50 million, but in the end the case was resolved out of court: how much Netflix eventually paid for the right to show Baphomet is not reported.
Who is interested in reading about the history of Satanism.