Satanists Want Oklahoma To Give The Devil Its Due; Want Satanic Statue Next to Ten Commandments Monument at Statehouse; Conservatives Brought This On Themselves
Satanists want equal time in Oklahoma. Because of conservative efforts to push faith in public, they opened the legal doors to all faiths, even those who have no faith. Satanists want to erect their own statue next to a monument of the Ten Commandments on the Statehouse steps.
A satanic organization out of New York wants to put a classy pentagram in the middle of the Bible Belt.
In 2009, Oklahoma's legislature, which was controlled by the religious right wing of the Republican party allowed a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments to be given a home on the grounds of the capitol. Legal experts said it was not allowed under the doctrine of the separation of church and states. The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued to have it removed.
The Satanic Temple, based in New York, saw this legal battle as an opportunity to show exactly what this opened up for the state. The Satanic Temple got in touch with Oklahoma's Capitol Preservation Commission and told them they would like to donate a monument themselves. The satanic organization said they plan to submit one of several possible designs this month In a letter to Oklahoma officials, Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for The Satanic Temple wrote "We believe that all monuments should be in good taste and consistent with community standards. Our proposed monument, as an homage to the historic/literary Satan, will certainly abide by these guidelines." Greaves said one of the designs his group will submit is a pentagram, long associated as a symbol of Satanism, though it actually just denotes male magick. Another design was described as an interactive display for children. Greaves said the monument would cost about $20,000, if Oklahoma officials give it the okay. Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, who was behind the Ten Commandments monument efforts and whose family helped pay the $10,000 to have it build, has not made any comment on the Satanic Temple's offer. Greaves says it was Ritze who opened the door that made the satanic offering possible. Greaves said "He's helping a satanic agenda grow more than any of us possibly could. You don't walk around and see too many satanic temples around, but when you open the door to public spaces for us, that's when you're going to see us." The Oklahoma Legislature has been eroding the division of church and state for years. The speaker of the Oklahoma House announced that he wants to build a chapel inside the Capitol to celebrate Oklahoma's "Judeo-Christian heritage." Rep. Bobby Cleveland, who introduced bill for the public display of the Nativity Scene, dismissed the satanists' offer, saying "I think these Satanists are a different group. You put them under the nut category." Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you don't. Crazy Satanists calling on the law to do justice. Brady Henderson, legal director for ACLU Oklahoma, said "We would prefer to see Oklahoma's government officials work to faithfully serve our communities and improve the lives of Oklahomans instead of erecting granite monuments to show us all how righteous they are. But if the Ten Commandments, with its overtly Christian message, is allowed to stay at the Capitol, the Satanic Temple's proposed monument cannot be rejected because of its different religious viewpoint."
