Challenging religious liberty in public square could open door to Satan. Good.

[Newsposter]

Satan has been having a hell of a year. Just two months ago, the IRS announced that it now recognizes the Satanic Temple (TST) as a bona fide religion, qualifying the Salem, Massachusetts, based organization for tax exempt status.

In Penny Lane's documentary "Hail Satan?" (released in April) viewers learn how TST has challenged the Christian domination of public life in the United States. When government puts up a Ten Commandments monument on public property, TST might ask to put up its own goat-headed monument nearby. When government starts a legislative session with a Christian prayer, TST might apply to give a satanic invocation at a later session. When the Christian Evangelical Fellowship starts up a Good News Club to proselytize public elementary school students, TST might seek to introduce an After School Satan club in a classroom down the hall.

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[MadZealot]

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Heh.

Conservatives be like: "Wtf, we hate free speech / free exercise / tax exemption now."

[RandallS]

Conservatives be like: "Wtf, we hate free speech / free exercise / tax exemption now."

I've encountered such conservatives. They seem to have thought that the rights they want for their religion  would somehow only apply to their religion (and, perhaps, others they don't disapprove of). All the religions they don't like would not somehow have the same rights.

[MadZealot]

I've encountered such conservatives. They seem to have thought that the rights they want for their religion  would somehow only apply to their religion (and, perhaps, others they don't disapprove of). All the religions they don't like would not somehow have the same rights.

Yep. Same ones who argue that when a private business refuses to bake certain cakes, it's a matter of free speech.  But when a private business refuses to offer platforms to certain voices, it's a violation of freeze peach.
The fucking goalposts are so well-lubed, they don't squeak when you move 'em.

[Klaw]

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If they followed separation of church and state there would be no need to feel threatened.

[RandallS]

If they followed separation of church and state there would be no need to feel threatened.

I don't believe many of those who get upset really want separation of church and state. Instead they want (at best) their church/beliefs to be favored by the state or (at worst) their church and beliefs to be the law of the land.

[Klaw]

I don't believe many of those who get upset really want separation of church and state. Instead they want (at best) their church/beliefs to be favored by the state or (at worst) their church and beliefs to be the law of the land.

Yeah, I attended a high school with that thinking. I was even Christian at the time, but to them the wrong denomination. I had a teacher who believed I was a Satanist and docked my grade. I also had several students damn me to hell daily. I would just smile or say something like you first. It made me a huge supporter of separation of church and state. Hopefully this gets the ball rolling on acceptance of all faith, beliefs and practices.

[Castus]

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The Satanic Temple is not my cup of tea. They irritate me with their pettiness and their smirking atheism.

[Uneryx]

The Satanic Temple is not my cup of tea. They irritate me with their pettiness and their smirking atheism.

Sometimes pettiness gets the job done, though.

I say  more power to them. They're performing a very important civil duty of pointing out how wrong something is with outright absurdity.

[Castus]

Sometimes pettiness gets the job done, though.

I say  more power to them. They're performing a very important civil duty of pointing out how wrong something is with outright absurdity.

Civic duty? Feh. Equal religious access is all well and good, but I wish the advocates thereof wasted less ink on whinging about 'theocrats'. Neither would I mind less revelling in their self-appointed task of tearing down anything which impinges on their narcissistic individualism.