Satanists in the statehouse

Score one for Satan – a New York-based group of Satanists plans to submit their design for a monument they plan to donate to the Oklahoma State Legislature. 



As a display of faith, conservative lawmakers in Oklahoma authorized a privately funded Ten Commandments monument to be erected on the statehouse grounds, according to the Associated Press. But the move may have accidently paved the way for a wide range of religious groups, including servants of the Dark Lord, to propose their own monuments.

Approved in 2009 and installed last year, the Ten Commandments monument caused a stir, according to the AP. Legal experts critical of the monument have questioned its constitutionality, and the Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a lawsuit for the Ten Commandments' removal.

According to the Satanic Temple’s crowdfunding page, the ACLU expressed concern that the Ten Commandments monument, by nature of its exclusive position in front of the statehouse, demonstrates Oklahoma “supports and endorses the faiths and creeds of some churches and sects.”

The Temple feels that, if allowed to donate and install their own monument, it will show that Oklahoma legislators are not discriminating in favor of certain faiths, and that the legislators “espouse the basic freedom spelled out in the constitution,” according to the site. 

A spokesperson for the Temple, Lucian Greaves, credits Oklahoma Rep. Mike Ritze (R), a driving force behind the funding and installation of the Ten Commandments memorial, for helping his organization gain a voice, according to The Washington Post. “He’s helping a satanic agenda grow more than any of us possibly could,” Greaves said.

The AP reports Ritze declined to comment on said satanic agenda.

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