A Satanic church with a long history of fighting for its First Amendment and religious freedom is fighting again in Iowa. The Church has a 10-year history of coming under attack for its after-school clubs. This time, it’s the Christian conservatives in Iowa.
The Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple was founded in 2013. Over the years, it has been challenged by many districts over its After School Satan Clubs, most recently in Pennsylvania. The IRS officially recognizes the Satanic Temple as a tax-exempt religious organization.
The Church frequently launches after-school programs in communities with active Christian groups to offer its anti-bible theology. Additionally, the Church began providing mail-order abortion pills from a clinic in New Mexico this year. More recently, it put up a goat-headed display of its spiritual figure, Baphomet, inside the Iowa Capitol this December.
However, last Thursday night, a Christian man told Fox News that he destroyed the goat-headed display. The Iowa State Police arrested him. Unfortunately, destroying the temple’s Iowa display isn’t new for the Church.
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The Satanic Temple has faced constant opposition from Christians who are angry they worship their religion’s enemy. On the other hand, the temple claims that its members don’t worship Satan or believe in him as a magical or spiritual being. For them, Satan is a metaphor that represents opposition to mainstream religions and free thinking.
More so, church members focus more on logic, science, altruism, and bodily autonomy as part of their faith. “People assume that we’re there to insult Christians, and we’re not,” the Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves told the Des Moines Register, part of the USA TODAY Network, last week.
“And I would hope that even people who disagree with the symbolism behind our values, whether they know what those values (are) or not, would at least appreciate that it’s certainly a greater evil to allow the government to pick and choose between forms of religious expression.”
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The Satanic Temple’s display was set up near a staircase on the first floor of the Iowa Capitol. It had a person-sized statue of Baphomet, and its horned goat head was like a mirror. Although Christians felt offended by the display, Gov. Kim Reynolds pointed out that it was just as legal as a Nativity scene.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also condemned the display as he sought Christian conservatives’ support in Iowa for the Republican presidential nomination. Also, DeSantis has offered Cassidy his support and said he would contribute to his legal defense.
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According to him, the Satanic Temple isn’t a real religion. The Church’s founders say that one of its main goals is to remind Americans about their right to worship under the First Amendment.
The satanic display was in the media limelight for several days before former military pilot and Mississippi politician Michael Cassidy destroyed it. However, the Iowa State Police soon arrested him on suspicion of fourth-degree criminal mischief. Cassidy responded by posting a Bible verse about the devil and creating a fundraiser for his legal bills.
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