{"id":138945,"date":"2019-07-29T12:00:15","date_gmt":"2019-07-29T11:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=138945"},"modified":"2019-11-19T10:45:28","modified_gmt":"2019-11-19T10:45:28","slug":"the-us-government-just-officially-recognized-the-satanic-temple-as-a-religion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2019\/07\/the-us-government-just-officially-recognized-the-satanic-temple-as-a-religion\/","title":{"rendered":"The US Government Just Officially Recognized the Satanic Temple as a Religion"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><em>The Satanic Temple has earned the same tax-exempt status as a church by the IRS.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The Satanic Temple is growing rapidly, with around 20 chapters across the US, and affiliate groups in Canada, Australia, Germany, and the UK. <\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>While members of the Satanic Temple see the mythological, and literary, figure of Satan as a symbol of rebellion against tyranny, they do not worship Satan in any way.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_138946\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138946\" class=\"wp-image-138946\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa.jpg 937w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa-768x433.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-138946\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lucien Greaves is one of the founders of The Satanic Temple. He is standing at the group\u2019s headquarters in Salem, Massachusetts, in front of a bronze statue that the group commissioned and is fighting a court case to have placed on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol building near a stone statue of the Ten Commandments. Matthew Bell\/The World<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em>6 May 2019 &#8211; <\/em>There\u2019s a new religion in America.<\/p>\n<p>The Satanic Temple has earned the same tax-exempt status as a church by the IRS. The group has been around for a half-dozen years and grabbed news attention for its political activism. But the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/culture\/culture-news\/irs-satanic-temple-church-tax-exempt-826931\/\" >official US government recognition<\/a>\u00a0and a recent\u00a0documentary film are\u00a0bringing a new level of attention to the group.<\/p>\n<p>The Satanic Temple headquarters is a handsome, old,\u00a0New England house \u2014 which was also a funeral home \u2014\u00a0in the center of Salem, Massachusetts.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, that\u2019s the same Salem where the witch trials played out.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>Related:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pri.org\/stories\/2017-05-13\/17th-century-alleged-witch-inspired-margaret-atwoods-handmaids-tale\" >A 17th-century alleged witch inspired Margaret Atwood&#8217;s &#8216;The Handmaid&#8217;s Tale&#8217;<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis is our primary events room,\u201d said\u00a0Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesman of the Satanic Temple. \u201cWe weekly have people get together here; I guess you would say congregate.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_138947\" style=\"width: 610px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa2.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138947\" class=\"wp-image-138947\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa2-724x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"849\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa2-724x1024.jpg 724w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa2-212x300.jpg 212w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa2-768x1086.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-138947\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Satanic Temple has been granted tax-exempt status.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Greaves gives a tour of the temple building and art gallery, pointing out some of the ways that the place functions as a religious center.<\/p>\n<p>Besides the gathering area, there is a small library with significant works of Satanic literature and history. A historic relic is on display. It\u2019s a 2-foot\u00a0tall monument for veterans, in the form of a metal cube with a reversed pentagram on the front and an upturned military helmet on top.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_138948\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa3.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138948\" class=\"wp-image-138948\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa3-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa3-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa3-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa3-768x432.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-138948\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A historic relic is on display at The Satanic Temple. It\u2019s a 2-foot tall monument for veterans, in the form of a metal cube with a reversed pentagram on the front and an upturned military helmet on top. Matthew Bell\/The World<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The Satanic Temple is <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.startribune.com\/satanic-temple-sues-minnesota-city-over-proposed-monument\/509184632\/\" >suing the city of Belle Plain, Minnesota<\/a>, for reversing a decision to install the monument in a memorial park.<\/p>\n<p>The main attraction, though, is an 8-foot, 6-inch\u00a0bronze statue of a goat-headed, winged icon called Baphomet. Asked if the Satanists here consider\u00a0the monument to be holy, Greaves says\u00a0it&#8217;s\u00a0a loaded term.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>Related:\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><strong><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pri.org\/stories\/2019-04-01\/atheism-has-been-part-many-asian-traditions-millennia\" >Atheism has been part of many Asian traditions for millennia<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWords like \u2018spiritual\u2019 or &#8220;holy,&#8221;\u00a0I think \u2014\u00a0one of the first things that people need to realize about us is that we don\u2019t advocate for any supernatural beliefs. We\u2019re a nontheistic religion. We don\u2019t subscribe to supernatural explanations or accept them as legitimate,\u201d Greaves said.<\/p>\n<p>He explains that while members of the Satanic Temple see the mythological, and literary, figure of Satan as a symbol of rebellion against tyranny, they do not worship Satan in any way.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>\u201cThis idea of worship, it\u2019s usually kind of insulting to people who identify with Satanism, because that implies a sense of servility. Satanism is about personal sovereignty and independence and freedom of will.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>&#8212; Lucien Greaves, co-founder, The Satanic Temple<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis idea of worship, it\u2019s usually kind of insulting to people who identify with Satanism, because that implies a sense of servility. Satanism is about personal sovereignty and independence and freedom of will,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_138950\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa4.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138950\" class=\"wp-image-138950\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa4-1024x687.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"335\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa4-1024x687.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa4-300x201.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa4-768x515.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa4.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-138950\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lucien Greaves, spokesman for The Satanic Temple, with a statue of Baphomet at the group&#8217;s meeting house in Salem, MA.<br \/>Josh Reynolds for The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The group is also about trolling the religious right.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, that can be part of the fun, but it\u2019s certainly only just part of it,\u201d Greaves said.<\/p>\n<p>The trolling, the beliefs and the short history of the Satanic Temple are on vivid display in a new documentary called\u00a0\u201cHail Satan?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=27RtJp-rhHk<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI also assumed it was basically a joke,\u201d said\u00a0the filmmaker behind the documentary, Penny Lane.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.startribune.com\/devil-worshipper-doc-hail-satan-is-both-funny-and-unsettling\/509380901\/\" >Lane spent a few years following the founders of the Satanic Temple <\/a>as they got their movement up and running with\u00a0a range of public pranks, social protests and legal action, many of them centered around issues of separation of church and state. But Lane says she came away from the film believing that there is something deeper going on with the Satanic Temple \u2014 something religious.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI had never understood why people are religious and what they get from it,\u201d Lane said. \u201cBut it was really doing this project that made me see that religion, in and of itself, is not the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>\u201cReligion is a human impulse that has to be satisfied one way or another. We still need to come together in communities organized around values and mythology. I think the Satanic Temple is just showing me a new way.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>&#8212; Penny Lane, filmmaker<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cReligion is a human impulse that has to be satisfied one way or another. We still need to come together in communities organized around values and mythology. I think the Satanic Temple is just showing me a new way.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_138953\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa5.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138953\" class=\"wp-image-138953\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa5.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"306\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa5.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa5-300x184.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa5-768x470.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-138953\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Satanic Temple, a group of political activists who identify themselves as a religious sect, are seeking to establish After-School Satan clubs as a counterpart to fundamentalist Christian Good News Clubs.<br \/>Josh Reynolds for The Washington Post via Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But what makes a religion legitimate in the eyes of government?<\/p>\n<p>Different countries handle that question differently.<\/p>\n<p>In China, there are just <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cfr.org\/backgrounder\/religion-china\" >five officially recognized religions<\/a>, and they\u2019re all overseen by the State Administration for Religious Affairs. Some Western countries have official state churches, like the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/evl.fi\/en\/frontpage\" >Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland<\/a>\u00a0and the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.churchofengland.org\/\" >Church of England<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The United States has no state church and no religious bureaucracy. That means it\u2019s really up to the IRS to decide if a new entity claiming to be religious deserves tax-exempt status and the official recognition that comes with it.<\/p>\n<p>Benjamin Zeller is a religion scholar at Lake Forest College. He says he was not surprised with this IRS decision. But does he think the Satanic Temple is a real religion?<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>\u201cThe way we tend to use the word is really based on a very sort of Protestant Christian understanding about what counts as a religion.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>&#8212; Benjamin Zeller, Lake Forest College, religion scholar<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe way we tend to use the word is really based on a very sort of Protestant Christian understanding about what counts as a religion,\u201d Zeller said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe tend to think about institutions that have leaders, texts, buildings, adherents, beliefs, rituals. The Satanic Temple actually checks those boxes, at least most of them. We may not like it. We may not think of it as a conventional religion, but it seems to fit the characteristics.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_138954\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa6.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138954\" class=\"wp-image-138954\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa6.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"369\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa6.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa6-300x221.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/satanic-temple-religion-usa6-768x566.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-138954\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Chris Bridges holds a sign for The Satanic Temple during a protest outside of an all-day prayer rally. Associated Press\/Jonathan Bachman<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Thanks in part to the IRS decision and the new documentary, the Satanic Temple is entering a phase of rapid growth. It\u2019s got something like 20 chapters across the US, and affiliate groups in Canada, Australia, Germany and the UK, with more seeking approval from the Satanic Temple.<\/p>\n<p>Co-founder Lucien Greaves also gives credit for this to some of his biggest critics.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><em>\u201cIn a way, the Satanic Temple has enjoyed such expansive, explosive growth because of the rise of the theocratic right in the United States. Our expansive membership numbers are a response to the Trump administration and Pence being vice president. People are horrified.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>&#8212; Lucien Greaves, co-founder, The Satanic Temple<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cIn a way, the Satanic Temple has enjoyed such expansive, explosive growth because of the rise of the theocratic right in the United States,\u201d he said. \u201cOur expansive membership numbers are a response to the Trump administration and Pence being vice president. People are horrified.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The core beliefs of the Satanic Temple are laid out in its so-called seven tenets. They mention personal freedom, including the freedom to offend, the pursuit of justice and the value of scientific understanding. Tenet No. 1\u00a0reads, \u201cStrive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Greaves says the group is serious about nonviolence. Maintaining ideological consistency could be a challenge the organization faces right now as it grows quickly.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re to the point now where we\u2019re already big enough and our message has resonated with people strongly enough that we\u2019ve developed schisms, and people disagree with some of our tactics with how we approach injustice and other types of activism.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>No spoiler here, but there\u2019s an episode that plays out in the \u201cHail Satan?\u201d film, when one of the group\u2019s leaders does something that crosses the line in the view of some other leaders. Greaves needs to make a difficult decision.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s the sort of problem comes with the territory, as the Satanic Temple evolves from being a small band of pranksters into something more like an established religious organization.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pri.org\/stories\/2019-05-06\/satanic-temple-gets-religious\" >Go to Original \u2013 pri.org<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s a new religion in America.<br \/>\n\u2022\tThe Satanic Temple has earned the same tax-exempt status as a church by the IRS.<br \/>\n\u2022\tThe Satanic Temple is growing rapidly, with around 20 chapters across the US, and affiliate groups in Canada, Australia, Germany, and the UK.<br \/>\n\u2022\tWhile members of the Satanic Temple see the mythological, and literary, figure of Satan as a symbol of rebellion against tyranny, they do not worship Satan in any way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":138946,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65,183],"tags":[107,1319],"class_list":["post-138945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anglo-america","category-religion-2","tag-religion","tag-satanism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/138946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}