Ummm.... they are nonbelievers.

@Science-guy and they join a Temple? And why call it that ridiculous name of something that clearly doesn't exist? Seems to me they are not very good at marketing their tenets, anyone with half a brain can come up with better names than The Temple of Satan, as I've read in other comments, if they believe in reason, empathy, compassion, etc, very laudable tenets, why hide that under that stupid name? Even a boring name like Center for Science and Reason, or CSR if you want, is millions of times better than The Satanic Temple, unless of course they want their membership kept to a minimum.

@Mofo1953 Or they did it intentionally to draw those that are attracted to the more rebellious and blasphemous among non-believers... it's not for everyone, but their numbers are growing quickly, and, unlike organized religions, they actually have a vetting process in place to keep out those who would tarnish their image in the real world rather than the ignorance and negative connotations that are already associated with Satan, the fictional literary figure from several different religions. But then again, that's how fear works... it keeps closed-minded people from being drawn to that which they were indoctrinated to fear. It also keeps supposedly open-minded freethinkers that lack imagination from being drawn to them as well. In other words, they have set things up exactly like they should have and they are gathering the exact right sort of members they wish to be populated with, despite your less-than-informed opinion, and others like it.

A story doesn't need to be true to have value. A character doesn't need to be real to draw inspiration from or to relate to. Narratives are powerful. The stories we tell shape our world views.
And Satan has a long literary history outside of the bible.

Why call it The Satanic Temple (note the correct order of the words)? As Lucian Greaves (cofounder and spokesperson) has stated, anything else would be dishonest. We are Satanists. Or as someone else once said Atheism tells up what we don't believe in but says nothing about what we do believe.

If it doesn't make sense to you, that's ok, it doesn't need to. Satanism isn't for everyone, we aren't looking for converts.

@Kafirah i disagree with your opinion.

@PolyComrade I've read the article and it is painfully obvious that TST is looking and is in need of new members or converts, despite your last sentence denial.

@Mofo1953 As is your right...

You should go to their website
Get educated
The point is to stop religion and religious persecution

I’m an atheist and a proud member of the temple
I believe you’re missing the point

the temple is just a community, Satan is just a symbol against the biggest religion around, and a good one, because due to equality of religion, every space that Christians try to occupy, the satanic temple gets the same rights, making this attempts fruitless for them. Any statue of Christ or with biblical theme can be contested by donation of a Baphomet, and if one is accepted, both NEEDs to be. This puts chistians in check because for every cross there will be a Baphomet. It forces them to only use religion in private.
For every hour of christian religion class in a school, they can ask for an hour of satanic class. And as non believers they can teach freedom, science etc and undo christian indoctrination.
Actually using mock religions to fight religion and show how arbitrary they are is genius.

@darthfaja don't have time to waste, sorry but I pass, the article attached was very illustrative and the content was clear enough to make me draw the conclusion that the name chosen is not conducive to disseminate the tenets mentioned, and in fact quite the contrary to being thought as "genius" much less adequate.

@Pedrohbds good for you then.

@kodimerlyn No, I didn't read it. That's what I think regardless what the article say.

A major aspect of Satanism (Especially TSTs Satanism) is a rejection of proselytizing. It is explicit on tsts website and other information that TST does not evangelize or try to get anyone to adopt our beliefs. Satanism is a very individualistic religion, we view it like each are trying to find our own path and support others in finding their own.

@PolyComrade Fair...I hope you notice my comment starts by saying if.

@IamNobody you should have read it before replying. as I indicated with the link, it’s “Not what you think.”

@kodimerlyn I said IF

@IamNobody
You should have read it

‘If’

@kodimerlyn actually I think he has it right. I think religion has value in many aspects, but supernatural hockey pokus bullshit is crap. Stories don't need to be true to have value, and we don't need to believe in nonsense to build community around shared values. Lucian has said this very clearly in numerous interviews, atheists sometimes miss the value that religion can have for people.

@kodimerlyn It all sounds a bit daft to me but then we don't have the problem with religion that you appear to have in the USA

@kodimerlyn I have a cousin in Canada and yes she is a regular church goer and god botherer but I am pleased to say that the UK is becoming more secular year by year. Have to be on our guard though.

Stupidity really. I'd be hiding my identity in fear of looking stupid.

They have succeeded where others failed in having religious propaganda taken out of public areas and schools.

Point granted.

Now that I think about it, I wonder about the ins-and-outs of the process.
Did the 'Satanists ' convince the theists (in and out of government) that they were in the discussion to stay? Was their investment enough to make a statement that they weren't going to be out-waited?

That idea rings pretty true. But I have to admit that I'm disappointed that potentially rational social decisions have to be argued that way.

You missed the point here. Us Satanists don't believe in a real Satan, nor worship anything, but that doesn't mean we don't have deeply held beliefs and shared values. Rather that we don't think you need to believe a story to be literally true in order for it to have value. The Satan of The Satanic Temple is the romantic Satan of the writers of the enlightenment, a fantastic character that embodies rebellion to arbitrarily authority, who stands up for what is right, and represents the embrace of reason. Sure he might be a fictional character, but that doesn't mean we don't relate to that character as a role model to embody. Christian supposedly means christ like, well then we likewise strive to be Satan like. It doesn't matter that Satan has only existed in literary tradition.... Christ and God are made up too, the real difference is we acknowledge that rather than pretending or deluding ourselves

@PolyComrade
I have to admit, I did miss the romantic, rebellious, representations of Satan.

I'd always associated Satan with images of evil(tm) and of hell(tm).
Stories like Beckford's Vathek or Dante's Inferno were what I'd always thought of -- very dark imagery even if the sufferers deserved it.
I made the connection of being able to 'Own' theists by using an imaginary deity to point out their imaginary deity. But I missed the good Satan sometimes presented. Even Cabell's Janicot in The High Place only reluctantly saves Florian at the end.

I'd only noticed the rebellious character heroes Satan was failing to recruit like in the more modern Spawn or Ghost Rider. The Devil himself was always the source-of-suffering(again tm) and the enemy-of-mankind(tm).

I'll try to pay better attention.

@RichCC Satan means adversarie, Satan is the antagonist. If God represents authority, God is the tyrant, then Satan becomes the hero. "The original rebel, the first free thinker. The emancipator of worlds"

@PolyComrade are you not holding on to aspects of Christianity regardless of if you believe in a deity or not? Because to me you are, otherwise you wouldn't be talking about it so much. To me you are participating. I'm actually even more badass than you and I'm just agnostic.

@nastynifty good for you. I wasn't trying to be a bad ass though so I guess that's an easy win.

We all rely on others ideas of those who came before us. Everyone does. If you think your ideas are original to you you are deluded

@PolyComrade actually there are an infinity of choices you can make. If you are relying on someone else to make a choice before you can make one, you are actually relying on someone else's brain. Nice try though.

@nastynifty your reply makes no sense. Nobody is making choices for anyone as far as I can tell. We were talking about ideas, then you switched to choices as though we had been discussing choices all along... then you go in this anti-binary argument despite that I was never arguing for any binaries...
My point was that all ideas are built upon various influences and older ideas.

Not sure if you're trying to claim Satanism is just inverted Christianity, if so you don't know much about it. I'm also guessing you never bothered to read the article you're commenting on?

@PolyComrade I'm not making the statement that Satanism is inverse Christiany. I'm just saying it doesn't make sense to me to connect yourself with them.

@PolyComrade I prefer to throw out all my religious connections completely and look to our closest relatives, like in archeological digs, chimps and bonobos as examples for my reflection on humans, so why would I use a deity like Satan to represent me?

@PolyComrade You have been very polite at arguing your points by the way.

@nastynifty
I have no reason to be a dick, nothing to prove. Besides the first tenent of The Satanic Temple is compassion.

Thats true, but it's also not just a mockery. Some of us believe religion has value, it's just superstitions that don't need to be part of it.

One blog I read the author stated that Atheism says what we don't believe in, Satanism is what we do.

Beyond that, Satanism also has culture to it, and shared values. There's a certain type of people who become Satanists... and not everyone is drawn to Satanic imagry or esthetics. To most people it will never make sense. it's often even quipped that one doesn't become a Satanist, but rather is born one. That rebellious nature and innate sense of individualism, and that draw towards the strange and dark. The goat who goes their own way no matter how much pressure there is to conform.

@kodimerlyn That's why Satanism is done without indoctrination. It's for the community of those who are attracted to the more macabre aspects of life, but still want to do good in the world at large. Those that question authority and rebel against it in ethical ways.

@kodimerlyn
Plenty of ways. But you confuse religion with theism and superstition. I am not advocating for belief in any Gods or afterlife or other nonsense. But religion is more than that.

It's shared practice, shared values, ritual, coming together, knowing you part of something beyond you, community in many ways. And for many it's having a base to ground oneself. It's identity, shared culture. And never mind religion is afforded many legal rights and protection that if we turn our back on religion we are giving those away to the theists who believe in a magical sky wizard, as though their ridiculous beliefs and fucked up values drawn from those stories are more deeply held than ours.

What I absolutely love about them is that they're beating the believers (primarily the christians) at their own game.

@KKGator absolutely! and we sorely need them in the US. I'm seriously considering becoming a member.

@Kojaksmom I joined a few months back. It's an easy process through their very official email link. I haven't worked up the nerve to go to any group meetings or participate yet. I did notice today The Facebook page for my local group changed name from "Friends of the Satanic Temple" to "Satanic Temple" so I'm thinking they may have succeeded in becoming an officiall chapter.

@Kojaksmom I did!

I like the intentions, but the means to the intentions are cringe worthy to me. Can you somehow remove the religious conentations to make it sound less religious therefore turning less of the atheistic minded off?

@nastynifty it is a religion though, not just a club for atheists to pretend we have a religion.

Look if you don't get it, if you're not drawn to it or are turned off by it, that's fine. Satanism isn't for everyone, and it's not trying to be for everyone.