Writer: The Satanic Temple
Subject: The Seven
Link: The Satanic Temple / stephenbradfordlong.com.
The Seven
The Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple are fundamental ethical principles that guide our religious philosophy. They are not commandments from any natural or supernatural authority, nor are they laws that Satanists seek to impose on others. They are core beliefs that provide us with guidance and inspiration. These are the seven fundamental tenets of our religion:
I. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.
II. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
III. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.
IV. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.
V. Beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one’s beliefs.
VI. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.
VII. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.
The Seven Tenets should inspire introspection and self-examination. They are deliberately ambiguous, inviting members to explore the complex and varied ways that each tenet can manifest in their lives. Their meaning and implications will evolve as our community evolves, and as our culture evolves.
The Seven Tenets are not a list of beliefs, they are a system of thought. Every tenet interacts with every other tenet. Sometimes they come together to resonate in profound ways, other times they create tension or even apparent contradiction. The self-discovery that comes from thinking deeply about how to apply the Seven Tenets to real-world situations is part of the journey through which members of The Satanic Temple discover and create their own personal Satanism.
Co-founder of The Satanic Temple Malcolm Jarry discusses how the Seven Tenets arose and the philosophy behind them in A Symposium with Malcolm Jarry, available on The Satanic Temple TV (requires membership). Penemue, Director of Ministry, examines and critiques the way the Seven Tenets are used in online discourse in the essay The Seven Tenets Are Not a Sword — available on website mentioned above.