Satanists Demand Religious Freedom in Strange Ways

By Jeremy Burns

The tables are turning in America. Even though our nation was founded upon Christian principles and values, Christianity is now increasingly repressed in the wake of mounting secularism and anti-Christian sentiment.
One group that is gaining attention and momentum is Satanists. Though the label has come to broadly cover those who actively worship Satan by name, to those who focus on man's pursuit of self-gratification among all else, to those who simply see "Satanism" as a rebuke of Christianity, Satanists' political and cultural pull seem to be growing at the same time that everyone from Hollywood to the mainstream media to our own government is giving Christianity the old heave-ho.
One such event is a Satanic group's argument that abortion is a "religious duty" in its lawsuit over a Missouri state law.
The New York-based Satanic Temple has filed a suit against the state of Missouri on behalf of one of a woman named only as "Mary Doe," railing against the state's Informed Consent Law mandating a 72-hour waiting period between the initial visit to an abortionist and the actual procedure. The suit insists on access to immediate abortions-on-demand, and claims that "an abortion will not terminate the life of a separate, unique, living human being."
"The notion [is] that 'human tissue,' as they describe it, is not in any way a separate and unique human being," Missouri Family Policy Council Executive Director Joe Ortwerth told OneNewsNow. "I don't know what they consider it to be, but devilish concepts and thinking are weaved throughout this lawsuit—and unfortunately it's no longer a sentiment that doesn't have followers in this nation."

The Satanic Temple is also behind plans to unveil an 8 1/2-foot-tall bronze statue of the goat-headed Baphomet, complete with a pentagram and a pair of young children reverently looking up at the devil. The demonic figure is seated on a throne, with his right hand raised in a mockery of the two-finger-blessing gesture Jesus has been shown giving for centuries in classic and modern Christian art.
After the massive statue's unveiling in Detroit, the group plans to move the statue to the grounds of the Arkansas Capitol in Little Rock as a counterpoint to the planned erection of a Ten Commandments statue.
Even secular critics have pointed to the Ten Commandments' contributions to order, rule of law and Western civilization in general, all elements foundational to locations such as the Arkansas State House (or that in Oklahoma for that matter, where a federal court just ruled that an already standing Ten Commandments monument must come down).
Which begs the question, how exactly does Baphomet contribute to the rule of law? Or is this latest display, as some have alleged of atheists' endeavors to erect antireligion monuments next to traditional faith-based ones such as Ten Commandments statues or Christmastime Nativity scenes, yet another thinly veiled attack on Christianity and its place in Western society?