DES MOINES, Iowa (KCRG) - On Thursday, the Satanic Temple of Iowa announced that their display at the Iowa Capitol had been significantly damaged.
The controversial display, which Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds called “objectionable,” featured a ram’s head covered with mirrors on a mannequin before being damaged.
Organizers say it’s a symbol of their right to religious freedom.
The Satanic Temple of Iowa posted the following message on their Facebook page:
“This morning, we were informed by authorities that the Baphomet statue in our holiday display was destroyed beyond repair. We are proud to continue our holiday display for the next few days that we have been allotted.
We ask that for safety, visitors travel together and use the 7 Tenets as a reminder for empathy, in the knowledge that justice is being pursued the correct way, through legal means.
KCCI has reported that 35-year-old Michael Cassidy of Lauderdale, Mississippi, was charged with Criminal Mischief in the 4th Degree. He has since been released.
Solve et Coagula! Happy Holidays! Hail Satan!”
Yes. That’s the point.
The Baphomet display is essentially a protest of those displays being allowed. Christians want their display at the capital, so they allow religious displays. But now a Satanic display is put up next to theirs, which is also allowed by the exact same rules.
So they either have to put up with it, just like non-Christians have to put up with theirs, disallow all of them, or just go mask-off Christian state and start getting specific about which religions are acceptable in their laws.
It’s also important to note the group that put the Baphomet there isn’t a theological one, it’s the Athiest Satanists, so to them this is purely about trolling Churches that try to influence the state.
Yeah, the Satanic Temple is a fucking amazing group of people and if there is anything approaching a good religion, its theirs, since they use religion to fight for the people and give, while the evangelicals only use theirs to take.
They’re not really a religion, more “just” a protest movement.
No, they’re really a religion. They are recognized as such by the US government and are tax exempt just like the church.
They do pay their taxes though, also out of protest.
No, they don’t. You’re thinking of the Church of Satan.
Well hot damn, I’ve found myself in the pool of people that get these two mixed up.
Unlike the Church of Satan, which is not tax exempt because they explicitly believe churches should be taxed.
Also because they aren’t recognized as a religious organization in the USA and this can’t apply for tax exemption.
The other part of TST being tax exempt falls in line with them basically doing everything the church does to point out hypocrisy. If TST made the billions that the church does, I’m sure they’d also be doing far more campaigns
They meet all the requirements to be a religious organization in the USA (it’s easy enough that John Oliver created one ex nohilo just to prove a point on his show), they explicitly do not seek tax exempt status at all because they expressly believe religious organizations should be taxed. From The Devil’s Notebook, an essay titled Pentagonal Revisionism:
"2) Strict taxation of all churches – If churches were taxed for all their income and property, they’d crumble overnight of their own obsolescence, and the National Debt would be wiped out as quickly. The productive, the creative, the resourceful should be subsidized. So long as the useless and incompetent are getting paid, they should be heavily taxed. "
Weird take, but interesting. You’d think they’d want to keep as much of that $300 membership fee as they can, I’m not sure how much they make off those - especially these days.
In any case, a big part of what TST is doing is bringing the he hypocrisy of the Christian hegemony to light. By taking tax exemption, they can continue to not just do this, but use their money for good instead of personal jets and ridiculous buildings.
Man, thats a hard enough WOOSH that it could provide 3 days of clean power to Denmark.
It’s about equal representation. We are as much of a religion as they are.
When you put it like that, it is absolutely brilliant.