The Satan Temple – Non-Fiction

Writer: Atheist Republic

Subject: The Satan Temple

Link: 24.07.2021 / Atheist Republic Newsletter

The Satanic Temple Celebrates First Symbolic Satanic Monument on Public Property

In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled in American Legion v. American Humanist Association that displaying the so-called “Bladensburg Satanic Peace Cross” on public land does not violate the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution. Lucien Greaves, The Satanic Temple’s (TST) spokesman and co-founder, announced that the TST would symbolically adopt the Peace Cross, as the Supreme Court decided that the cross-shaped war memorial was a “dechristianized” monument. He stated, “Deciding that the Bladensburg Cross does not just represent Christians, but people of all faiths including Satanists, is blasphemy that is consistent with Satanism.” As such, he declared it as a site of pilgrimage for TST members. The Satanic Temple has a long tradition of helping its military members, so the adoption of the monument commemorating those lost during WWI is apt. While Belle Plaine, MN, was the first city to establish a Satanic monument in the country, Bladensburg, MD, is the first city to have a Satanic Temple-designated monument on state property.