Satanist Monument Shines Light on Christian Privilege
A good article on why the group promoting the Satanist Monument might not succeed.
Now a group called The Satanic Temple has offered to contribute to the monuments at Oklahoma’s capital with “an homage to the historic/literary Satan.” It is hard to deny that belief in Satan is just as important a part of America’s religious heritage—and probably more so—than the Ten Commandments. The Christian magazine Relevant has already called the legislation, introduced in 2009, a “backfire” that invited Satan into the capitol. But will this Satanic stunt actually change anything?
In some states, atheists have successfully erected monuments and holiday displays alongside Ten Commandments monuments and government supported Christmas displays. But while atheists can claim a sincere desire to promote reason and irreligion, The Satanic Temple is a bit different. Founder Lucien Greaves seeks to continue Anton LaVey’s work of challenging Christian hegemony through theatricality and pranks. The goal of announcing a Satanic monument is not to promote Satanism but to demonstrate why government endorsements of religion are undesirable.
Greaves is not the first to challenge the perceived erosion of the separation of church and state by demanding that absurd or deviant religions receive the same privileges as Christianity. In 1966, Arthur Kleps founded the Neo-American Church, which claimed Puff the Magic Dragon as a hymn and demanded a religious right to use LSD. In congressional hearings, Kleps explained that his Church was intended to demonstrate that all religions are invented and silly. In 2005, the religion of Pastafarianism was created to challenge language concerning “Intelligent Design” in the Kansas science curriculum.
