The campaign slogan writes itself.
Ron DeSantis: Putting Satanic chaplains in our schools since 2024
I'm sure his base will love that.
this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2024
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The Satanic Temple
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I noticed there wasn't a TST Lemmy community. The Satanic Temple is a modern satanic religion that aims to promote human rights and compassion. Check out their about page on their official website at https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/about-us. Note that this community is not an official affiliation. TST is also separate and not affiliated with the Church of Satan, who have a slightly different viewpoint of what satanism truly is. Dunno what to post in here, but maybe some will search for this and take part. Hello!
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You assume republicans are capable of holding themselves accountable.
Nah, they modern day republican base operates on dog whistles. Near the next election, the Satanic Temple just needs to come out and thank DeSantis for his support with their effort on child outreach and how it wouldn't have been possible without DeSantis fighting for and passing the new laws.
Fuck, I think you're right. Progressives and libs seem to try to fight "conservatism" (fascism) using the same processes progressives themselves tend to value and support: communication, compromise, empathy, rationality, etc. They/we aren't perfect, but we as a group at least have some who tend to try.
Why the fuck aren't we also engaging like a bunch of degenerate apes when battling against christofascism? It's all "strong man right and good, weak man wrong and cuck" with them. Why don't we "out strong man" them? Trump has already shown us you don't actually have to be strong for them to perceive you as such, you just have to brag and bluster, like a yappy little dog.
Because it doesn’t work on liberals. They actively hate that shit. See: Air America
Please donate to the Satanic Temple if you are able. They fight these important cases on our behalf. Christofascists need to be reminded that this isn't a christian nation and that all religions are equal(y bad).
I'm Christian and have donated to the Satanic Temple. Separation of Church and State is good for both institutions. I want the church out of politics and I want politics out of the church.
If there are politics in your church, it's not really a church... and the IRS would very much like to know
Churches can have stances on political issues. They can't have a stance on how to vote.
A example would be gay marriage (to be clear, I'm 100% supportive of LGBT+). Many churches have been opposed to homosexuality for millenia. However, in the second half of of the 20th century it became a relevant political issue. That didn't mean the churches had to stop talking about it. I fact, that would be an example of the state inserting itself into religious teaching.
It's a fine line to walk. Churches don't pay some taxes, but they do pay others (my old church had a building it rented to a for-profit business, and that rent was taxable), and the employees all pay income tax. They also have some very-specific equal-employment exceptions. They can require that employees who serve a religious function be a practicing member of the faith and follow the rules of the church.
That is: the pastor and other religious-leadership employees of a Southern Baptist church can be fired if they're not Christian, are gay, or have an extra-martial affair. But the sound guy, finance director, and janitor cannot, because their job duties don't include religious leadership.
Even the TST?
Yes, it should even have to exist. But crazy judges think you have to be in a religion to be protected from other religions.
So, there's a lot of confusion about what TST is and what it does.
TST exists as a church for Satanism. Its activism is (primarily) based around fighting for the rights of Satanists.
If TST didn't need to fight for the rights of Satanists, it would still need to exist for every other reason that a church exists.
We're talking about the satanic temple here right? It's just a cooler version of pastafarism. That does community outreach mainly to battle the Christian bullshit.
This is a common misconception. TST is not a joke or parody religion.
What makes you say that? Read their faq it spells it out clearly https://thesatanictemple.com/ the goal is to combat psuedo science Christian bullshit.
They don't believe in a supernatural power, but they see themselves as a serious religion with serious beliefs. From your link:
'[Satanism is] a narrative structure by which we contextualize our lives and works. ...[it is] a body of symbolism and religious practice — a sense of identity, culture, community, and shared values.'
They have seven Tenets, none of which are directly about other religions - although one does mention being opposed to 'distorting scientific facts'. Most are about compassion and individuality.
'Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought.'
Agree with them or not, but they see themselves as much more than some kind of shell religion to undermine Religious Exemption statutes
The thing is, I don’t see how the seven tenets should conflict with modern religions at all. It’s fully compatible with what Christianity claims to be. By all logic, following the Satanic tenets should make you a better Christian, a better human
Christianity does not believe in bodily autonomy (tenet 3) or having your beliefs conform to the best scientific evidence (tenet 5). Even if it were 100% compatible with Christianity, though, that still wouldn't make it a parody religion.
I did not mean to imply that. While their main goal seems to be religious freedom, they seem to have a moral code consistent with other major religions. It’s not just that they’re not evil, but seem to believe in the same good
Well I do agree with them, I am a member. My point is they don't believe in western religious tenants like gods and afterlife. Also I'm pretty sure they were founded in a rebuttal to the scotus opinion that athesim isn't a religion and thus doesn't deserve religious protections.
they don’t believe in western religious tenants like gods and afterlife
Yeah, but their whole point is that this doesn't undermine their status as a religion. It doesn't make them 'a joke or parody religion', which is the phrase you initially replied to:
This is a common misconception. TST is not a joke or parody religion.
What makes you say that?
They don't exist as a semi-serious troll organisation to undermine Christianity is my point, they take their beliefs and religious status seriously.
I never said they were a joke. You're the one disregarding pastafarism here.
Ahh I see you believe I implied that. No that wasn't my intent. My point is they were created to combat religious encroachment on secular society. Let's not act like they are performing mass here though. They exist as a tool to rebuff religion. Not sure that makes them a religion, but I'm no theologian.
Which SCOTUS decision is that?
Atheism itself isn't a religion; it's just non-belief. You can have an atheistic religion, however.
There are some more too but I'd like to take a nap vs reading more case law. https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA140409171&v=2.1&it=r&linkaccess=abs&issn=0021969X&p=AONE&sw=w&userGroupName=anon%7E7a751ffa&aty=open-web-entry this one didn't make it to scotus it seems so maybe my memory is fuzzy. But the point is by forming a "religion" here is a hedge to gain those rights. TST in my opinion is a reactionary group, formed by atheist because of Christians overstepping.
I think maybe you are confused. From their FAQ
DO YOU WORSHIP SATAN? No, nor do we believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. The Satanic Temple believes that religion can, and should, be divorced from superstition. As such, we do not promote a belief in a personal Satan. To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions. Satanists should actively work to hone critical thinking and exercise reasonable agnosticism in all things. Our beliefs must be malleable to the best current scientific understandings of the material world — never the reverse.
There is a church of Satan, how they compare is here
Also from their FAQ
IF YOU DO NOT BELIEVE IN THE SUPERNATURAL, HOW IS TST A RELIGION?
The idea that religion belongs to supernaturalists is ignorant, backward, and offensive. The metaphorical Satanic construct is no more arbitrary to us than are the deeply held beliefs that we actively advocate. Are we supposed to believe that those who pledge submission to an ethereal supernatural deity hold to their values more deeply than we? Are we supposed to concede that only the superstitious are rightful recipients of religious exemption and privilege? Satanism provides all that a religion should be without a compulsory attachment to untenable items of faith-based belief. It provides a narrative structure by which we contextualize our lives and works. It also provides a body of symbolism and religious practice — a sense of identity, culture, community, and shared values.
If you want to compare and contrast TST and the Church of Satan, there's an excellent in-depth article here.
Neither one worships Satan. They are both religions. However, their values are very different.
So it's the fact that it is needed that is bad, not the thing itself. If it's helping the problem I'd call that a good thing. Like medical care, or firefighting.
Yes, I am a member of the TST, and we are going to corrupt children in public schools with the help of Christians who have opened the door to us. They also want to corrupt the children, but we're better at it, so we will win. Hail Satan!
Unless they want to close that door again and respect separation of church and state. If they did that our whole plan would be ruined. Under no circumstances should they do that...
Purely technically speaking, isn't the Satanic Temple free to choose who is an official Priest of the Satanic Temple..? Could they make someone a Priest even if they don't volunteer for the role? It would make some fun headlines, I'm just sayin 👉👈
That would be funny, but it violates the fourth tenet: "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."
I mean the tenets really are more like suggestions otherwise more of us Satanic Temple Enjoyers would be vegan according to the first tenet lol
"One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason."
It's the "in accordance with reason" part, it is fair to interpret the consumption of meat as a natural and reasonable thing. I don't eat meat, but I also don't begrudge those that do so without causing undue suffering (such as kosher butchering or sustainably farmed fish)
I don't think you can be made a priest non consensually from a legal perspective, and from just a PR angle, I think it would undermine a lot of what they're trying to do. It would be funny as fuck though.
You could proclaim that a random person is Beelzebub reincarnate and worship them in a non-harassing manner, but honestly some edgelord would take it too far and cause a legal fuss.
It'd be like when the Mormons were posthumously baptizing Jewish Holocaust victims, except maybe only 1/100 as awful and actually funny.
@thesatanictemple HELLIONS ENDORSED :verified_hellion: #TheSatanicTemple #FloridaSchools #RegiousFuckwits #FuckRonDesantis #FuckFlorida #b3d #challengecoin
@dannotdaniel@hellions.cloud @thesatanictemple how's this for "shaking weak followers" @blenderbrit 😂 🔥
I combine Blender WITH the politics you see. And then there's cheese.
I would worry about the safety of these chaplains.
Yo, can we get a radical socialist patriotic organization to sign up for this too. I want to see an IWW vs American Legion brawl in a high school. It'll be good for the history students.