For those unfamiliar, The Satanic Temple is an atheistic organization. Here are its tenets. I often ask people what they disagree with and get very little in the way of meaningful response.
THERE ARE SEVEN FUNDAMENTAL TENETS
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.
https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/the-satanic-temple-tenets/there-are-seven-fundamental-tenets
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.
https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/faq
She’s 13. Does anyone know if she’s allowed to become a member? The website isn’t clear on that.
Unlike actual religions, they aren’t trying to recruit the world. They are just trying to shake up all the others.
The local school leads a Christian prayer circle every morning? The law roughly says that if you let ONE religion practice, you must let them ALL. So, when the SATANIC TEMPLE shows up and says that they want to talk to your kids, the school decides that maybe it isn’t worth hosting Jesus if they also have to invite Satan.
The name scares the shit out of those who believe in it, and just makes the rest of us laugh. It’s perfectly effective as it was intended.
I’m with you on most of that, but please don’t imply the Satanic Temple is not an “actual religion.”
It is removed from the baseless superstitions that plague most religions, but it is important that it be recognized as an “actual religion” so that it can actually fight these legal battles effectively to retain rights for all people, whether they are religious or not.
Valid points. Perhaps “Traditional religion” would be better.