Devil in Detroit: Satanic group to build temple in Motor City
The Satanic Temple, a New-York-based religious group, is to build its first chapter house in Detroit, where it will perform services such as marriages, including same-sex, and funerals. It says the sacrificing of people or animals will not take place.
READ MORE: Satanists unveil 7-foot monument they want to erect at Oklahoma Statehouse
Detroit was picked as a location for the flagship chapter house
because of its “underdog” reputation and history of
nurturing rebellious underground artistic communities, Satanic
Temple founder Doug Mesner, aka "Lucien Greaves," told the
Detroit Metro Times.
The chapter house's location, as well as the opening day, are
still to be decided, said Mesner, who was born and raised in
Detroit.
A 32-year-old woman known as “Jex Blackmore” will be heading
operations at the Detroit premises. Mesner explained that members
are encouraged to use pseudonyms rather than their real names, as
they get “a lot in the way of death threats and that kind of
thing.”
Blackmore said the temple is considering several properties, and
preference will be given to the place where everyone feels safe
and comfortable.
“If it doesn't meet the needs of our members to be public,
then we might make a decision to make a private location. We
would prefer not to do that, though,” she said.
The plan is to open the chapter house to the public during
certain scheduled hours. It will provide literature for visitors,
as well as a meeting space, and perform traditional services like
marriages and funerals.
According to Blackmore, the temple also seeks to offer same-sex
marriage ceremonies in Michigan, where gay marriages have been
put on hold awaiting the 6th US Circuit Court of Appeals
decision. In an interview with the Detroit Free Press, Blackmore
said the Satanic Temple was hoping to use the same-sex marriage
issue to challenge the law on the grounds of religious freedom.
READ MORE: Preteens stab their friend 19 times to prove loyalty to fictional monster
Earlier, the controversial group sparked quite a stir among the
public when it announced it wanted to erect a seven-foot tall
statue of Satan near the Ten Commandments monument at the
Oklahoma State Capitol. The proposed sketch suggested that the
temple wanted to depict Satan as a goat-headed Baphoment figure
with a long beard, horns, and wings, with a pentagram design
placed overhead. Two smiling children would be placed both sides
of the statue.
However, the group’s leaders say they do not worship Satan.
“We believe in a metaphorical, literary construct of
Satan,” Blackmore said. “He’s a symbol for rebellion, a
symbol of human nature, the thirst for knowledge.”
In Mesner’s words, the difference between the Satanic Temple and
other places of worship is that it promotes “a distinction
between religion and superstition.”
“We don't endorse supernatural explanations of the world. We
do, however, have a community that has shared values and
aesthetic and symbolic structures and practice that provides all
the necessary elements of a religion,” he added.
The group also underlined that it is purely peaceful and does not
practice any kind of sacrificing of animals or humans.
“The idea of sacrifice specifically is to appease some demon
or some god, and that’s a supernatural belief that we don’t
subscribe to,” Blackmore told the Detroit Free Press.
The temple currently has about 20 members in Detroit – its first
chapter out of 15 to be announced in the near future.
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