Editing Satanism (section)

==== The Satanic Temple ====
{{main|The Satanic Temple}}

[[File:The Satanic Temple, Salem, MA 2023-02-23 01.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The headquarters of [[the Satanic Temple]] and Salem Art Gallery at [[Salem, Massachusetts]]]]
The Satanic Temple (TST), has been called the "most prominent" satanic organization "in terms of both size and public activity" (as of late 2023).<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.7/> Based in [[Salem, Massachusetts]] and active since 2012,<ref>{{Cite web |last=TST |title=New milestone: over 700,000 members! |url=https://thesatanictemple.com/blogs/news/new-milestone-over-700-000-members |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=TST |language=en}}</ref> it claims 700,000 members worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Romero |first1=Dennis |title=SatanCon, poking at religion and government, opens this weekend in Boston |url=https://nbcnews.com/news/us-news/satancon-poking-religion-government-opens-weekend-boston-rcna81275 |website=NBC News |date=25 April 2023 |publisher=NBC UNIVERSAL |access-date=25 April 2023}}</ref>   Like the older Church of Satan, its congregants do not believe in a supernatural Satan, but if the CoS saw Satanism as a "negative mirror" of Christianity, reversing Christian principles of altruism (helping the downtrodden and community-mindedness) to selfishness, the Christian principles TST wants to reverse are  politically conservative activist/fundamentalist ones—the elimination of the right to abortion, of the teaching of evolution, of the separation of church and state, etc. This "left-wing",<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.7/> "socially engaged Satanism",<ref>J. P. Laycock, ''Speak of the Devil: How the Satanic Temple Is Changing the Way We Talk about Religion'' (New York: Oxford University Press, 2020)</ref> involves activism,<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.7>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: 7 Contemporary Developments in Satanism</ref>  rather than the individualism and right-wing-oriented,{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=326}} "getting what you want for yourself",<ref name=CoSPoP/> of the CoS.{{#tag:ref|"The Church of Satan's Policy on Politics"<ref name=CoSPoP/> is that the Church has no  "'official' political position". "Politics are up to each individual member", and those members embrace all sorts of different ideologies (it then lists every conceivable ideology including Communism and Socialism), but most  members will "support political candidates and movements whose goals reflect their own practical needs and desires".<ref name=CoSPoP/> It also describes "the emotional drive to 'change the world'" as a "common stage of early adult development typically beginning around age 16 and lasting until around age 24".<ref name=CoSPoP>{{cite web |title=The Church of Satan's Policy on Politics|
url=https://www.churchofsatan.com/policy-on-politics/ |website=Church of Satan|access-date=7 January 2023}}</ref>
Elsewhere however, Church writings argue for things not at all consistent with any leftward or even centrist politics. According to Ruben van Luijk and Amina Lap,  LaVey thought eugenics could and should be part of the human future, leading to the breeding of an elite reflecting LaVey's "Satanic" principles,{{sfnm|1a1=Lap|1y=2013|1p=95 |2a1=van Luijk|2y=2016|2p=376}} who would come to power, and then hopefully relegate the rest of the human "herd" into ghettoes, ideally "space ghettoes" located on other planets.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=375}}  
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They have been called "rationalist, political pranksters" (by Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen),{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=219}} with pranks designed to highlight religious hypocrisy and advance the cause of [[secularism]].{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=220}} One such prank was performing a "Pink Mass" over the grave of the mother of the evangelical Christian and prominent anti-LGBT preacher [[Fred Phelps]] and claiming that the mass converted the spirit of Phelps' mother into a lesbian.{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=219}} The "Seven Fundamental" tenets of the temple on its website mention compassion, justice, freedom, inviolability of the human body, conforming to scientific understanding, human fallibility—but say nothing about Satan.<ref name="TST">{{cite web |title=There are Seven FUNDAMENTAL TENETS |url=https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/about-us |website=THE SATANIC TEMPLE |access-date=5 January 2024}}</ref><ref name=JPLS2023:sect.7-temple>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: 7. Contemporary Developments in Satanism. The Satanic Temple.</ref><ref name="Oppenheimer">{{Cite news |last=Oppenheimer |first=Mark |date=10 July 2015 |title=A Mischievous Thorn in the Side of Conservative Christianity |newspaper=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/11/us/a-mischievious-thorn-in-the-side-of-conservative-christianity.html |access-date=2015-07-11 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The Temple has been described as using the [[Devil in popular culture#Literature|literary Satan]] as metaphor to  promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity;<ref name="Oppenheimer"/> and as a symbol to represent "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms.<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |title=FAQ |language=en-US |newspaper=TST |url=http://thesatanictemple.com/faq |access-date=2015-12-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=What does Satan mean to the Satanic Temple? – CNN |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/videos/tv/2015/11/30/satanic-temple-lisa-ling-orig.cnn |access-date=2015-12-02}}</ref>

The temple has also demanded the privileges the government affords Christians, such as giving prayers before city council meetings, erecting (satanic) statues on government property, distributing it is materials in public schools. As the movement became bigger, its congregations volunteered to clean highways and help the homeless, at least in part to demonstrate they were civic minded and not evil.<ref>{{cite web |author=Massoud Hayoun |date=8 December 2013 |title=Group aims to put 'Satanist' monument near Oklahoma capitol &#124; Al Jazeera America |url=http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2013/12/8/satanists-aim-tobuildamonumentonthebiblebelt.html |access-date=2014-03-25 |publisher=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=9 December 2013 |title=Satanists petition to build monument on Oklahoma state capitol grounds &#124; Washington Times Communities |url=http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/world-our-backyard/2013/dec/9/satanists-petition-build-monument-oklahoma-state-c/ |access-date=2014-03-25 |work=The Washington Times}}</ref> It has made efforts at [[lobbying]],<ref name="greaves">{{cite web |last=Bugbee |first=Shane |date=30 July 2013 |title=Unmasking Lucien Greaves, Leader of the Satanic Temple |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/unmasking-lucien-greaves-aka-doug-mesner-leader-of-the-satanic-temple/ |access-date=2014-03-25 |publisher=Vice.com}}</ref> with a focus on the separation of church and state and using satire against [[Christian Church|Christian groups]] that it believes interfere with personal freedom.<ref name="greaves" />

[[Lucien Greaves]] has described the Temple as being a progressive and updated version of [[LaVeyan Satanism|LaVey's Satanism]],{{sfn|Dyrendal|Lewis|Petersen|2016|p=220}} posted a fairly detailed refutation of LaVey's doctrines,<ref name="Greaves-CoS-v-TST"/> accusing the Church of fetishizing authoritarianism,<ref name="greaves"/><ref name="AfterSchoolSatan">{{cite web |title=FAQ |url=https://afterschoolsatan.com/educatin-with-satan/faq/ |website=After School Satan |access-date=29 November 2018 |archive-date=16 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116170111/https://afterschoolsatan.com/educatin-with-satan/faq/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and explaining how elements of [[Social Darwinism]] and [[Nietzscheanism]] within LaVeyan Satanism are incongruent with [[game theory]], [[reciprocal altruism]], and [[cognitive science]].<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://davidpakman.com/interviews/douglas-mesner/ |title=Satanic Temple Founder Talks Atheistic Religion |work=[[The David Pakman Show]] |date=9 October 2014 |access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref> The Church of Satan, on the other hand, has declared the TST members as only "masquerading" as Satanists,<ref name="COS1">{{cite news |title=Third Side Intelligence: Missouri Abortions |website=Church of Satan|url=https://www.churchofsatan.com/third-side-intelligence-missouri-abortions-the/ |date=10 October 2017 |access-date=29 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/satans-lawyers-try-christian-right-tactics-to-erect-winged-goat|title=Satanists Go to Court Seeking Right to Pray at City Meetings|website=Bloomberg Law|last1=Larson|first1=Erik|date=22 March 2021|accessdate=28 March 2021}}</ref> being in violation of the "five decades of a clearly defined belief system called Satanism expounded by a worldwide organization" (i.e. [[LaVeyan Satanism]]).<ref name="CoS-TST-FS"/>