Hail Satan? (2019) Movie Script

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Hi, I was wondering

who I would speak to

regarding an upcoming

local news event.

Oh, okay, great.

Uh, I'm calling

from "Big News Publicity,"

and there's a rally

that's taking place tomorrow

at the State Capitol

by the Satanic Temple.

The Satanic Temple.

S... S as in Sam.

Great, thank you.

And there you have it,

and that was an ABC affiliate.

Camera rolls.

Okay.

We thank you for coming

to our convening.

Hail Satan.

Not bad.

Could you hold it

for a beat longer?

Hail Satan.

Damn it.

Test, one, two.

Hey, how's it going?

- It's going fantastic.

- Why are you here today?

We're here to spread

a message of goodwill,

and benevolence,

and open-mindedness,

- and free expression.

- What is your name?

That's not important.

It's a beautiful day here

at the State Capitol...

great day to be a Satanist...

great day to be a human being.

We honor

Governor Rick Scott!

Hail Satan, Rick,

for providing us

this opportunity

to make

the Satanic clause clear

and make our presence known,

and, uh...

I believe it,

and I'm very excited about it.

A satanic temple

fully supports Florida Governor Rick Scott,

who has been

pushing for prayer in public schools.

Jesus Christ became my savior

at a very young age...

That's right,

Satanists pushing for prayer

and backing

a Tea Party favorite.

We spoke to one

of the Satanists today

about why they support the law.

Lucien Greaves,

and yes, that is the name

the gentleman gave us,

told us that the law

would lead to, quote,

"A boom

in religious diversity."

Basically, the argument

being you open the door to God,

you open the door to Satan.

We're not what

you think we are,

and we're here to...

we're here to help people

understand that about us

and also about themselves.

What do you think

of Rick Scott?

Think he's a great American.

- I do, and, uh...

- Man:

No.

Hail Satan!

- Hail Satan.

Hail Satan!

It was awkward.

it was messy,

and it was awesome.

It was national news,

but more importantly,

we realized

that we were on to something.

And where did the name

"The Satanic Temple" come from?

When I was looking

at all the different

Satanic organizations

that existed,

uh, the name wasn't taken.

The Rick Scott rally

was a media stunt

to show the hypocrisy

of what Rick Scott was doing,

and it required a spokesperson.

I didn't want to do it.

He is the leader

of the Satanic Temple,

and we're gonna be on the steps

of the Capitol Building.

Usually when I think

of, like,

a gaggle of satanic,

you know, worshippers,

I think of them wearing, like,

the red hoods.

- Yeah.

Like,

that's like the group color,

and then leader color would be,

like, black, gray, brown.

Oh, I like that.

When we first started,

it was staged,

and there was

an actor involved,

but very quickly, um,

everything got real.

At the beginning,

we didn't have the hubris

to think that we could start

a large global

religious movement.

When the Satanic Temple

got started,

I wanted to be sure

that Satanism

was properly represented.

I very much felt

that I was a Satanist,

but there was no need to kind

of publicly advertise that.

Lucien.

You excited?

Not yet.

You excited?

No. I'm filled with angst.

I wanted somebody else

to be the face of this,

but I... I found very quickly

I didn't want somebody else

to be the voice of this.

God and Satan work

in mysterious ways,

and we're not really sure,

you know,

how all this is gonna manifest.

It became very clear

that there was

no amount of coaching

I could give somebody

who wasn't authentically

attached to Satanism

that would make them a credible

interview subject on the topic.

Why'd you guys pick, uh,

Governor Scott...

When it became my face

and my voice,

it needed to be everything

I believed in and stood by,

or it could not be at all,

so that's when

everything changed.

We will begin

with Lucien. All right, Lucien.

So is it, like,

Lucien as in Lucifer?

Is that where... is that

why you're called that?

Sure, as you like.

As you like.

I don't kn...

Like, is that your birth name?

- No, it's not.

- Okay.

So, what is it that first drew

you to the Satanic Temple?

Well, I... I helped co-found

the Satanic Temple.

Why?

Uh, why?

Because it is an embodiment

of my deeply-held beliefs,

and I think there's a distinct

need for a counterbalance

against the dominant religious

privilege in America today.

What are the deeply-held beliefs

that drew you

to the Satanic Temple?

Uh, essentially, we view, uh,

Satan as a symbolic embodiment

of the ultimate rebel

against tyranny.

Once you realize how

the media is constructed,

it becomes incredibly easy

to manipulate.

Good evening to you,

at six o'clock

I'm Chip Scarborough.

Well, the owner

of a Meridian cemetery

has already said

he plans to pursue charges

against members

of New York's Satanic Temple,

and now police

are investigating

the unusual ritual.

This you have to see

to believe.

A group of devil worshippers

giving Westboro Baptist Church

a run for their money.

God hates fags.

Except you repent,

you shall all likewise perish,

and God is not running

out of room in hell.

How do you fuck

with Fred Phelps?

Well... you fuck with his mom.

A group from New York's

Satanic Temple made the trip

to Meridian to protest

the Westboro Baptist Church.

They performed a ritual

they called Pink Mass

on the grave

of Catherine Johnston,

the mother of Westboro

founder Fred Phelps, Jr.

The ceremony involved

two same-sex couples

kissing over her grave.

They then declared

Catherine Johnston

a lesbian in the afterlife.

One of the things

that I wanted to play on is,

you know,

the Mormons have the belief

that they can baptize the dead

and do

this postmortem conversion,

so I proposed that every time

a same-sex couple kisses,

that she's pleasured

in the afterlife.

You know, which I took

from "It's a Wonderful Life."

You know,

"Every time a bell rings,

an angel gets its wings."

Every time a bell rings,

an angel gets his wings.

That's right.

And then developing,

as these things do,

into the obvious idea,

which is putting your testicles

on the tombstone of the

founder's mother's grave.

It's remarkable,

it hadn't happened before.

It is an unusual crime

that we haven't come across,

to my knowledge, in a while.

There was a desperate

attempt to figure out

what to charge us with.

The headline read, "Police

Want to Arrest," you know,

"Satanists

who Turn the Dead Gay."

Satana, blessed be.

Blasphemy isn't just

directed at other people

to offend them.

Blasphemy is very much

a declaration

of personal independence,

and I don't mind, of course,

when people are offended.

It's a city known

for its witch trials,

but the newest neighbors

on Bridge Street in Salem

are Satanists, the religious

and political organization

choosing this spot

for its international headquarters.

According to the

Satanic Temple's website,

the group is all

about religious pluralism.

What we want to do

is force people

to evaluate their notions

of the United States

being a Christian nation.

It's not.

We're a secular nation.

We are supposed to be

a democratic,

pluralistic nation.

We are supposed to be a nation

that doesn't allow

the government

to dictate what is appropriate

religious expression.

The donors have to wait

to find out

whether those donations

are tax-deductible

once there's a ruling. Uh...

Early on it was agreed

that Lucien would be

the spokesperson

and that I would keep

in the background.

Here's our...

our humble offices.

This is Malcolm's desk,

and this is mine.

Sorry about the mess.

This is, uh, where we're going

to have the shop.

This is where people will be

able to buy prints or T-shirts

or whatever else

we have on sale.

A lot of what we are doing

is going to direct people's perception

of what Satanism

will be hereafter...

but the Satanic Temple

did not invent modern Satanism.

You see now the Reverend

Anton Szandor LaVey,

who is the founder

and high priest

of the First Church of Satan,

who uses,

as somewhat of a credo,

this timeless quote,

"Remember,

evil backwards spells live."

Somehow,

that never occurred to me.

The most interesting thing

about Satanism

is that people...

willingly choose to identify

with an adversarial being.

What are you doing?

I'm giving a blessing

to the audience.

I don't think

they appreciate it.

They were throwing it back.

This is the sign of the horns.

It's a founding aspect

of Satanism

that you troll people.

That's the original troll,

isn't it, is to say to people,

"Yeah, I'm a Satanist,"

and see what happens to people.

I mean, they just... they faint,

or they get angry,

or whatever happens,

and then you move on from there.

- Hail Satan.

Satan is simply a word

that means the adversary

or the opposition

or the accuser.

It doesn't necessarily mean

evil, or brutality, or cruelty.

It simply means the dissenter.

Well, I had a man

come to me the other day,

and he said

that it was just terrible.

When... when he joined

the Satanic Church,

he was masturbating

just about every day,

and now he's masturbating

two and sometimes

three times a day...

...and he's very happy,

much happier

than he's ever been before.

That's an improvement.

I always get a lift

when I come here.

I suppose like other people do

when they go to church,

which I haven't done

for many years now.

Before the Church of Satan,

every time you had someone

who was called a Satanist,

that was because of attribution

by other people.

- Cover her face...

- No!

...with the mask of Satan.

But the Church of Satan

is a watershed moment

in the history of Satanism

because that's where

the attribution

of a Satanic identity

is not just something that

some people do to others.

It's something that people do

to themselves.

One of the differences

between the early Church

of Satan

and the Satanic Temple,

that the early Church of Satan

was much more

of a rat pack carnival.

They were never political,

whereas the Satanic Temple

is actually refining Satanism

and making it into a new tool,

a new weapon

in the ongoing culture wars.

If you're godless,

free-thinking,

and a rebel,

then you are a Satanist

in the eyes of many

in our community and society,

and certainly by people

in your government...

whether you like it or not.

Before I decided

that I was a Satanist,

it was really the Bible

that said,

"This is what

a Satanist is like."

I attended church

when I was a kid,

and funny story

is that I played Eve

in a musical in middle school.

The story of Adam and Eve

is the story

of Eve's original sin.

Eve was very curious,

as her nature was as a woman.

The Devil appeared

in the form of a snake

and offers

the fruit of enlightenment.

We are taught to fear that,

but at the same time,

it seems the most liberating,

because if we did not have

that opportunity,

we would have to be

in total servitude

without free choice,

and ultimate servitude

is slavery.

Reframing it in the light

of it being salvation

is probably

one of the greatest tricks

ever played on humankind.

Satanism is about embracing

that Satanic status

rather than being controlled

by it.

After I learned

about the Satanic Temple,

I set up a time

to meet with Lucien.

Throughout the conversation,

I realized that we have

very similar ideas

of what contemporary Satanism

was evolving to be.

The Devil directly

challenged God...

so as a Satanist,

I believe that

directly confronting injustice

and corrupt authority

is an expression

of one's Satanic faith.

And I believe activism

is a Satanic practice.

Traditionally, Satanists

practiced very privately,

you know, closed doors,

black candles,

black metal music.

But, with the

Satanic philosophy

being one where

Satan represents

rebellion

against arbitrary authority,

we believe it required a level

of political participation.

We are Satanists.

We are also Americans.

We are just as powerful

as those who work

in this institution here.

We do not seek followers.

We are seeking collaborators,

individuals for a visionary

Satanic alliance,

leaders of the new American era.

I think that we need to go

into the public sphere

and announce ourselves

without shame.

- Hail Satan.

- Hail Satan!

Satanic Temple is mostly an idea

between a handful of people

that had potential,

and the problem was how do we

engage more individuals

and how do we make it,

you know, take off?

It's one of the strangest

stories to roil Boston

in recent memory.

A Satanic Black Mass

was scheduled yesterday

on Harvard's campus.

Here to talk

more about the black mass

is Lucien Greaves.

So, Lucien, just for people...

Lucien and Malcolm

had gotten permission

to host a Black Mass...

in Boston. Uh, yeah,

Boston's, uh,

it's pretty fucking Catholic.

A Black Mass is a grotesque,

deliberate perversion of

a traditional Catholic mass,

you know, quite vulgar,

but then again,

a mass is kind of vulgar too,

if you really think about it.

I mean, you're drinking blood

and eating flesh?

I mean, that...

that's just creepy.

They asked if I wanted

to participate, so I flew out,

and there was a lot

of miscommunication

in the beginning.

But I did the work of getting

a lot of people to show up.

The punk scene was mobilized.

We thought this would be

a small-scale event.

A declaration of independence

from superstition

was what it was meant to be,

but the archdiocese in Boston

insisted

on seeing it another way.

Thousands of Catholic

in a more-than-hour-long

procession

through the streets

of Cambridge.

If someone was going to do

a KKK reenactment

or a minstrel show

or something like that,

I would hope the reaction

would be outrage.

This is definitely

an act of hatred,

an act of bigotry

directed towards the Church

and towards

her faithful people.

We've actually got

a little bit of a petition

if anybody watching

would like to sign.

Nearly 60,000 names of people

who objected

to this hateful event.

There was a sense

that we should just give up

and cancel it,

and I just remember feeling,

like this unexpected sense

of justice and feel like,

"No, we can't."

I ended up standing on a table

and saying, like, "We weren't...

We aren't gonna

give in to this."

In just moments

near Harvard University,

some very mean-spirited

students

will be exercising

their First Amendment right

by insulting Catholics

not just at Harvard

but around the globe.

They're about to start a satanic mass,

which they know

is deeply offensive to Catholics.

What do I think?

Well, frankly,

I think they're awful.

It was nuts.

It was way more

than we had prepared for,

and hours before

we were supposed to go on,

Harvard canceled it.

This event was, like,

extremely chaotic,

and there was no plan for who

is communicating with the media,

and, like, I kind of got thrown

in front of a news camera.

A very unproductive

conversation.

Uh, it's just very disappointing.

We're looking for a change

of venue right now.

Um,

we still have our participants.

We haven't quite worked it out

yet.

Now apparently

you've got this

sort of moving Black Mass.

Where do you think

they're going?

Are they, like, going

undercover or underground?

I mean, it's sort of interesting

because we've been chasing them

for the last 90 minutes.

Well, hopefully...

...hopefully they're going away,

that's where they're going.

Some, uh, Chinese restaurant

with a comedy club up top of it

just off campus agreed

to host the Black Mass.

The Black Mass,

featuring four individuals

in hoods,

one man in a white suit,

a cape, and a horned mask,

and a woman revealed to be

wearing only lingerie.

No word on whether they shared

a scorpion bowl after.

We were all slightly broken

the next day,

and I remember just, like,

I had this just wave

of just this core of, like,

sadness. I felt guilty.

I felt just, "What did I do?"

And then it just occurred to me

this is the Catholic Church

of Boston,

which covered up

decades of child rape,

moved priests around,

covered it up,

let them continue

their raping and child abuse

and then had the gall to say

what we're doing was sinful?

I mean, fuck them.

Uh, that was the moment

that I really became a Satanist.

Let's shift gears

a little bit.

Tell me about Oklahoma.

Okay, so Oklahoma had

a Ten Commandments monument

on government property.

In my view, it's clearly

making a religious statement

by doing that,

and the Satanic Temple says

if you're gonna put

your giant piece of marble

that says, "Christianity,

Christianity, Christianity,"

then you also need to put up

our gigantic monument

to Satanism.

Just imagine it,

a statue of Satan right here

next to the Ten Commandments

at the State Capitol.

The statue will be a symbol

of Satan as a goat.

I want to show you

what this is gonna look like.

Take a look here.

It's a seven-foot-tall

goat-headed demon

sitting on a throne

with two children next to it.

They submitted designs,

and they hope construction

will start soon.

If we're gonna do this,

we're gonna do it right.

This is not something

that can be easily ripped down.

Like, we're gonna

do this in bronze.

We're gonna make

something beautiful.

We're gonna make

something permanent.

So we decided to raise money

to make

a gigantic Satanic statue.

And I have a friend who studied

traditional sculpting,

so I called him up,

told him the deal.

He said, "Are you serious?"

and I said, "Yes, I am,"

and he said...

"I'm going to clear

the next six months

of my schedule."

♪ There's a call

Comes ringing ♪

♪ O'er the restless wave ♪

♪ Send the light

Send the light ♪

♪ There are souls to rescue

There are souls to save ♪

♪ Send the light

Send the light ♪

- ♪ Send the light ♪

♪ The blessed gospel light ♪

- ♪ Let it shine ♪

- ♪ From shore to shore ♪

- ♪ Send the light ♪

♪ The blessed gospel light ♪

- ♪ Let it shine ♪

- ♪ Forevermore... ♪

I was envisioning,

you know, goat head,

I mean, everything

you associate with Satanism.

Lucien became involved

at that point

and kind of codified it

into an actual Baphomet.

The Baphomet image was taken

from a 19th century drawing

of the sabbatic goat.

I originally wanted

bat wings,

but a Baphomet

does not have bat wings.

It has angel wings.

We decided that Iggy Pop

would be the torso.

And a real Baphomet

traditionally has breasts,

but because we wanted

to get this

in front of the State Capitol,

we were worried that

the breasts would hinder us

from doing that.

One of the things

that I insisted upon

was having two children...

looking up.

Having little kids around it,

that's just ridiculous.

Are we making a mockery

of everything

with regard to Christianity

in this society?

You may not like the Satanists.

Guess what?

That doesn't matter.

- Do you? Do you?

- Everybody is equal.

I don't care. All religions

are the same to me.

So you think it's perfectly fine

to put a satanic

whatever message

they're gonna have up there?

- How crazy is it?

- Yes. I mean... You believe

in an invisible man

in the sky too.

You call him Satan,

you call him God. I don't care.

Whatever I believe in...

I had followed

the Satanic Temple

in the news

when they had announced

that they were making

the Baphomet statue.

I thought it was

genuinely inspired.

I thought it was hilarious.

And I was completely astounded.

These guys are super cool.

These are my people.

This is the best thing

I've ever seen.

- I was like, "Holy shit."

- I want to be a part of this.

I think

I donated 25 dollars,

and then I wrote them and said,

"If you're ever in L.A.

and you need some help,

hit me up."

I think you're

an incredible organization,

and I would really like

to be involved.

From a constitutional

law perspective,

I'm really interested

in the Satanic Temple

because it is basically

making these public bodies

confront the real implications

of their decisions

to allow religion

into the public square.

The government can't say,

"You're a good religion.

You're a bad religion."

- What?

- That's why you should not have

religious artifacts

on public property.

Their figurehead

is an Antichrist.

They should be able to put

the statue up,

and then they should be shot

right next to it,

- and then we take it down.

- So violence is the way

- of dealing with it?

- Yes. You're advocating

violence against people

with religious beliefs...

The Baphomet monument

is far more

than simply some middle finger

to the evangelical right.

Really... we were...

we were giving the Oklahoma

government a civics lesson.

It must be removed.

That is the order on the

Ten Commandments monument

outside the State Capitol

in a seven-to-two vote

by the Oklahoma Supreme Court.

Well, a group

of Satanists

is tonight claiming victory.

Are you still pushing to have

the goat with the horns

and so on put up

on the State Capitol grounds?

No, we don't want

our monument there

without the Ten Commandments there. Um,

the point all along was

that it would complement

and contrast

the Ten Commandments

and reaffirm that we live

in a pluralistic nation

that respects diversity

and religious liberty.

I joined this group

because I saw the TST website,

and it was something

that spoke to me.

- Thank you.

- When people wanted

to start identifying

with the Satanic Temple,

there was no turning back

on that.

People would write us messages

and were wanting

to get involved...

so we decided

to allow people to apply

to run a chapter

in their own city.

I decided to launch

a chapter in Detroit.

Response was incredible.

It was huge.

Hail Satan. Hail Satan.

I don't know

if I was surprised

that people wanted

to get involved.

I was surprised at how many people

wanted to get involved.

All right, friends.

Thanks for coming.

Um, I want to tell you guys

to start with

that we have three people

that we want to make

new members today.

Nick, and Dell, and Erin.

We have a lot of work

to do,

and I think Christian privilege

is a huge problem in our country

because it dictates our laws.

It dictates everything we do,

what bathroom I can use

in some states.

- Hail Satan.

I've just always been

an extremely curious person.

And I used to spend

a lot of time

at the bookstore alone

because I was a huge loser.

'Cause I don't like to be

involved in groups.

I'm not a very social person.

Most of my interactions

are online.

It wasn't until I took

that step to try to meet

these people, that's where

it really all came together,

and I was terrified that I was

just gonna

meet a bunch of people

that were like,

"All right, so we're gonna

meet up at the church.

We'll hand out

spray paint cans,

and we'll kick over

some graves." And...

everyone was amazing.

I came from a very,

like, conservatively

religious background.

I was very much a devout

Christian growing up.

You could almost say a zealot.

I've taught Bible school

in our church.

I've taught Sunday school

in our church,

and at the age of 13,

I was called to be a deacon.

The day that I graduated

confirmation,

you know,

we're sitting in church,

and, you know,

we're supposed to feel

the holy spirit come in,

and I'm just like...

...okay.

When I was in sixth grade,

we went on a field trip

to see the film Gandhi.

The next day

our history teacher said,

"You realize that in spite

of all these great things

that he did for his countrymen

and everything like that,

because he wasn't a Christian,

he went to hell,"

and I'm like, "Really?"

This guy almost invented

the idea of nonviolent protest,

but he's not a Christian,

so he went to hell.

I'm like, "Is that the moral

to this story? Really?

I call bullshit!"

This thing inside me

was just, like...

I want to be the opposite

of what these people are.

That's when I started, like,

looking for Satan anywhere.

- Hail Satan.

When I became a member

of the Satanic Temple,

when I fully embraced

who I was as a Satanist,

uh, it was my coming home.

This is crazy. Isn't this crazy?

You all, like,

came from all over the place.

- Yeah.

Invoking Satan is invoking

the struggle for justice

and equality for everyone.

Invoking Satan

is the firm denial

that only one point of view

is correct.

A willingness to fight

for all points of view

in accordance with reason

is imperative.

Invoking Satan

is to reach out

without reservation

and eat from the tree

of knowledge

rather than be subjected

to the whims of blind faith.

We will no longer choose

apathy over action

and perpetuate

our own oppression.

Ave Satanas.

- Ave Satanas.

Hail Satan!

Oh, those are cute.

Satanism is looking out

for the Other

because we are the Other.

In three years, we have gone

from three people to 50,000.

As we bring the Satanic

revolution to the world,

we do indeed invoke Satan

and all that he means to us.

Join us in reciting,

ave Satanas!

Ave Satanas!

- Hail Satan!

- Ave Satanas!

- Hail Satan!

I was just a member,

a card-carrying member,

and I wanted to get

more involved,

but I had no real

aspirations to be...

you know, I don't know.

I just wanted to do something.

In the capital of Phoenix,

there were these invocations

or prayers before city council meetings.

So please, if you can,

stand for the invocation.

It's usually

a hundred percent Christian,

and then every now and then

they'll throw another group in

to celebrate

how diverse they are.

I was a nobody.

I was kind of, like, you know,

just in this organization

as a bystander,

commenting

and supporting online,

and then I was very interested

in helping out

in whatever capacity

that I could.

Michelle was a radio personality

at the time.

I was an attorney,

and the first thing we did

was we wrote an email

to the city clerk in Phoenix

and said,

"Hey, we see you have

this invocation program

on a rotating basis.

We'd like to be on that list."

We got a response email

that said,

"Okay, here's your date."

A lot of people talking

about the Satanic Temple

in Tucson,

set to give an invocation

at the Phoenix city

council meeting

coming up next month.

"Let us demand

that individuals be judged

for their concrete actions."

That is just part

of the prayer

that members of the

Satanic Temple plan to read

at the Phoenix city

council meeting.

People that were

interviewing us

were bringing holy water

with them.

Uh, it was...

it was complete insanity,

and there came a point

where Michelle and I were like,

"What have we done?"

You wouldn't let ISIS come in

and give a prayer

at the city of Phoenix.

Are you comparing these guys

to ISIS?

Well, ISIS is evil.

What is Satan?

I'd like to make a motion

to change the practice

relating to invocations

and those chosen

to give the invocation

be residents

of the city of Phoenix.

That's okay to do that.

That's constitutional

to change it,

but what we couldn't do

is apply it retroactively

in this case.

That would be

an unconstitutional suppression

of a minority

religious viewpoint,

which is in contravention

of the First Amendment

of the United States

Constitution.

We knew that there were

gonna be meetings,

but we decided that, uh,

it was probably dangerous

for us to go.

I mean, people were

threatening to murder us.

Uh, people were threatening

to shoot us

on the way up the steps,

um, and it wasn't worth it,

and it was streaming live,

so we watched in horror.

We cannot stand by

while a hate group

stands up

and gives your invocation.

It's our goal to shut down

their agenda,

which is to bring death

and destruction over Phoenix.

We take a Pledge of Allegiance.

It's one nation under God.

- Yes.

That's not out there by mistake.

How many people

actually have a dollar bill

or a piece of money

in their wallet or their pocket?

I do believe it says,

"In God We Trust."

- Yes!

So are we invoking still

the blessings of God

on our state and our city?

Are we invoking the curses

of the deity spoken of

that they serve as Satan?

There are too many curses

on our land,

and we don't need another curse.

Do we want God in this room,

or don't we?

Don't mock God.

We want to lift up

the name of Jesus.

There is no other name

in heaven on earth

whereby a man must be saved

in the name of Jesus Christ.

Let's get that straight.

Make no mistake about it.

Jesus is the way.

Please, as briefly as possible.

We have a lot of cards

to get through.

In a matter of one week,

a decades-old tradition

of public prayer

before the city of Phoenix

council meetings was history.

In its place, a moment

of silent public prayer.

It's kind of shocking

that they would do away

with a 60-year tradition

for something

that was so harmless.

The more hate

that was thrown at us,

the more important this seemed

because it seemed

like such a deeper issue

than a two-minute speech,

where I'm like,

"Is this how everyone

that's different is treated?"

And, you know,

it's not something

that I'd faced in my own life.

For me to get this

from my religion,

a minority religion, um,

it was pretty eye-opening,

and that's what made me realize

how absolutely important

this is.

Thank you.

The bill today

allowing a monument

of the Ten Commandments

to be placed

at the State Capitol

was filed

by Senator Jason Rapert.

State Senator Jason Rapert

says the monument

isn't meant to be

a religious statement,

rather a testament

to what he calls

the historical

moral foundation of law.

These references are woven

into the fabric of our society.

We're one nation under God.

Our national motto

is in God We Trust.

It's time in our country

to remind ourselves of,

really, those things

that were important to us,

that were universal to us.

Senator Rapert,

you know, again...

I'm a taxpaying member

of the state of Arkansas,

and those

are my Capitol grounds,

and I don't want that there.

I was a... I would say

a zesty little atheist,

and I happened to go

to the American Atheist rally

in Memphis.

One of the presenters

is a gentleman

named Lucien Greaves.

You may be aware

of our monument campaign

in Oklahoma.

He proceeds to give

an entire presentation

of how they took a Ten Commandments

monument down

in Oklahoma...

and my immediate thought was,

"I've got to talk to this guy."

- Our Lady Victory.

- Pray for us.

Monuments to both

the Ten Commandments

and Satan could soon

find a home on the grounds

near the Arkansas

State Capitol.

Today the subcommittee

of the Capitol Arts

and Grounds Commissions

held meetings

to review

the proposed monuments.

The American History

and Heritage Foundation

wants a Ten Commandments

monument,

and the Satanic Temple

wants a statue of Baphomet.

I pledge allegiance

to the Flag

of the United States

of America

and to the Republic

for which it stands,

one nation, under God,

indivisible, with liberty

and justice for all.

Thank you.

And Mr. Lucien Graves is here.

Did I pronounce that...

Graves, or...

- Greaves.

- Greaves, I apologize.

I want to get that right too,

but they have proposed to place

a statue of Baphomet

on the Capitol grounds.

Here's a... here's a more recent

picture of our monument, uh,

it stands at eight feet,

six inches in height,

a width at the base

of the throne

of 37 and a quarter inches.

From the back

of the throne to the front

it's 46 and a half inches,

and the widest point

is at the tips of the wings,

which is 55 and a half inches

in width.

If you have any questions?

What are you memorializing,

or what is your monument to?

Well, we think

that our monument commemorates

what makes America great,

and in our case, we believe

that that's religious liberty.

And you mentioned earlier

that if the Ten Commandments

monument doesn't go up,

then you would

withdraw this request?

Correct.

What we're trying to avoid

is the appearance

of one religious viewpoint,

uh, apparently co-opting

the power

and the authority

of a government institution.

We feel that

that is unconstitutional.

And just as

none of the Ten Commandments

are cited

within the Constitution

or...

or in any of your state laws,

um, the principle of this kind

of religious equality

and government

viewpoint neutrality

is enshrined

in the Constitution.

American jurisprudence based

a lot of our initial laws

on the Ten Commandments.

You will find this

in the writings

of our Founding Fathers.

For most historians,

the question,

"Was America founded

as a Christian nation?"

is fairly straightforward

to answer.

The record seems quite clear

that we were not.

You can look

at the U.S. Constitution.

And when George Washington

signed that document,

he laid the foundation

for our great democracy.

G... gee, that's wonderful.

The only mentions

of religion or God

in the Constitution,

uh, in fact, are ones that keep

religion away from the state.

And if you look at the 1950s,

you can see a lot

of the trappings

that Americans point to today

as proof that their nation

is a Christian nation

were invented.

Many people say, well,

what is hell?

- Hell is separation from God...

- We see in the 1950s

the origins of what we might

term an evangelical lobby.

Jesus demanded repentance.

Billy Graham tells Americans

that communism

is directed by Satan.

We thought we could

get along without God.

We thought we could get along

without a moral standard.

We thought we could get along

without the Ten Commandments

and the Sermon on the Mount,

and we're beginning to wake up

to the fact that we can't!

Jesus said, "Except ye repent,

ye shall likewise perish."

Repent!

The country's just learned

that the Soviet Union

has the atomic bomb,

and he warns them

that Armageddon is coming.

Unless the nation rediscovers

its religious roots,

it'll be destroyed.

As America went to war

with the godless communists

of the Soviet Union,

Americans discovered

God themselves.

And so

this is a remarkable moment

when the nation really does

start to think of itself

as Christian.

In just the span

of a few years,

"Under God" is added

to the Pledge of Allegiance,

"In God We Trust"

is placed on paper currency

and becomes

the nation's motto.

For most Americans,

these ceremonies

and slogans

mattered more than anything

that was literally written

in the Constitution

because they were the things

they said day in and day out.

Their kids said the Pledge.

They saw it on their money.

It was all over their world.

It really becomes

an integral part

of who Americans

think they are.

We are what we believe.

Victory today

for the placement

of a Satanic monument

on State Capitol grounds.

That's right. This proposal

is deemed sufficient

by the Capitol Arts

and Grounds Commission,

but now comes the hurdle

of getting the statue

approved by the legislature.

It will be a very cold,

cold day in the pits of hell

before you'll ever see a statue

from the Satanic Temple

or some other group like that

at the Arkansas Capitol.

For Greaves,

it's a monumental task ahead,

stirring up what could be

a controversy

of biblical proportions

on the Arkansas

State Capitol grounds.

Do you think

that most people think

you're kidding

or that most people think

you're evil?

You know,

it's really interesting

because people

who don't understand the value

and concepts of Satanism

are so ingrained

in this Judeo-Christian

concept of good and evil.

Of course, why would anybody

claim to embrace evil?

But we're not doing that.

Holy Mary, mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and at the hour

of our death, amen.

The bagpipes had just started

playing once again.

This is all happening

because the newly-formed

After School Satan Club

is holding an open house.

Organizers say

the After School Satan Club

is designed to counter

after-school Christian clubs

holding meetings

inside public schools.

The Satanic Temple

says that the club is meant

to broaden

the mindset of students

through critical

thinking skills.

You know, I understand

you guys don't want to follow

the status quo of religion.

That's fine.

What you guys do

on your own time

- is your own business.

- Mm-hmm.

If you really just want

to help the community,

- then go help the community.

- We can help

the community as Satanists.

How are you guys gonna help

the community as Satanists?

- We have been.

- When people already have...

Around the country.

We are providing

an alternate viewpoint,

an opportunity for kids

to have an understanding

that there is different ways

of looking at the world.

That's fine.

You're not their parents.

Why don't you go do this

at your kids' school?

- Please, please...

- You guys are horrible people.

You have scared

an entire school district.

You have frightened

an entire community.

I hope that falls in line

with your guise

of enlightenment

and prosperity.

- Time to go, lady.

- Bunch of assholes.

Hey, watch your language

with the kids.

Looking good.

I was gonna say.

When people ask

what kind of child

would want to be involved

in a club like this,

the answer is,

I was that kind of child.

Devil Worship.

Exposing Satan's Underground.

Whether a Satan exists

is a matter of belief,

but we are certain

that Satanism exists.

To some it's a religion.

To others it's the practice

of evil in the Devil's name.

It exists,

and it's flourishing.

You can't really

fully understand

the Satanic Temple

if you don't understand

the Satanic Panic

of the 1980s and '90s.

The United States was caught up

by anti-Satanist hysterics.

Baby killings,

ritualistic rape, cannibalism.

I was a young child

seeing these claims

about satanic cults,

a criminal network,

abusing babies,

and driving children

to Satanism.

Unsuspecting young people

are drawn to the occult

by seemingly

harmless pleasures.

They start by participating

in fantasy role-playing games

like Dungeons & Dragons.

Okay,

you enter a very small room,

and there's a large black coffin

right in the center.

The gates shut behind you.

As a kid in the '80s,

I loved Dungeons & Dragons...

and I played

Dungeons & Dragons constantly,

and several of my friends'

mothers forbade them

from hanging out with me.

That was, like...

you know, my childhood brush

with the Satanic Panic.

Millions enjoy D&D,

as the game is called,

but we don't really know

how many find

unsuspected dragons

in their psychic dungeons.

How, then, do we deal

with our demons?

And then I was

a young teenage metalhead.

I loved heavy metal

and Dungeons & Dragons,

which meant that there was,

like, a social campaign

against everything I loved.

If one or more

of these warning signs

are evident, you should look further

for ritual items

such as a pentagram

or other satanic symbols.

Experts advise you contact

your local law enforcement

agency at once.

The church

called it satanic,

and, you know, I didn't mind

antagonizing them,

so I just embraced

some of these symbols

and ideas, you know,

but what it really was,

is, like, these were the things

that made my life great.

D&D was awesome.

I'd play D&D all night,

whole weekends, whole weeks

at a time sometimes,

when I could, you know?

And then, you know,

heavy metal shows

is what my life

was built around in my teens.

Chris Edmonds

is a Detroit disc jockey

whose specialty is finding

secret recorded messages

by playing music in reverse.

A lot of people hear the phrase,

"My sweet Satan."

♪ Here's to my sweet Satan ♪

- You hear it?

- My sweet Satan.

With Dungeons & Dragons

and heavy metal music,

parents were like,

"Well, those are the doorways

to the Devil," and it's like...

In hindsight it's like,

"Yeah, maybe you're right."

You'll note on our model

the pentagram on the right

and the left side

of the upper chest.

Today people laugh

about the moral panic

surrounding things

like Dungeons & Dragons

or backwards masking in music,

but the fact of the matter is

the Satanic Panic

ruined people's lives.

- Pardon me?

- Do you worship Satan

- in any fashion?

- Not at all.

People who got accused

of satanic crimes

were not Satanists

and... and innocent.

The thing that I think

is really remarkable

and that everyone

has to pay attention to

is that the Satanic

Panic fantasies

were being indulged

by Christians.

A Pennsylvania

grand jury report

released last month

found more than 300

Catholic priests

sexually abused more than

1,000 children since 1947.

The Satanic Panic, we now

know in an entirely verified

and publicly known way,

was projection.

They were doing it.

I was playing D&D.

I came to see

that these cults themselves

never actually existed,

that the real evil

was in the witch hunt itself.

I know

not if she be a witch.

No, no, no, no!

You have the wrong woman.

In just a few minutes' time

the trial

of Bridget Bishop,

accused of witchcraft.

Unlike the Salem witch trials,

where there was some degree

of introspection afterwards,

there was even an apology

from one of the judges.

There was a general recognition

that something had gone wrong

and things needed to change...

no such thing happened

with the Satanic Panic...

and so I feel like

this is very much our fight,

forwarding

what it actually means

to be a Satanist,

and not allowing witch hunters

to define that for us.

In the coming months...

The Satanic Temple

of West Florida

is collecting socks.

To help bring dry socks

to local homeless people.

It doesn't matter

about the name

or where it's coming from,

as long as, you know,

they're doing what they can.

Ah! We have donations.

Menstruatin' with Satan

is a charity campaign

that focuses on collecting

menstrual products, tampons,

pads, to distribute these

to local shelters in our area.

The Seattle chapter

of the Satanic Temple

did a blood drive,

which was really, pretty fun.

For drivers

along the I-10

near Casa Grande,

the Satanic Temple

of Arizona

has now adopted

a two-mile stretch of roadway.

They even use

pitchforks to pick up trash.

Yes, pitchforks.

This is a group who just wants

people to know they exist,

they're friendly,

and they also hate litter.

As of yesterday, uh,

Seabright State Beach

was officially adopted

by the Santa Cruz chapter

of the Satanic Temple.

The Satanic Temple will serve

as the caretaker for it,

constantly helping

keep it clean

for the next year.

In order to help manage

the expansive growth

that we were experiencing,

we decided to start

the National Council.

We've become pretty much

the de facto governing body

of TST.

We work directly

as a point of contact

with the chapter heads

of the chapter

to address any concerns,

to help them develop ideas,

and to make sure that they're

on the right track

in terms of what

the overall mission of TST is.

That's our overarching thing

to do

as...

as part of the National Council,

is to work with the chapters.

Yeah, Kym, do you think that

that's an... a reasonable pivot?

Like... God,

I'm using corporate buzzwords.

Um...

We just want

to be conscientious.

We want to do as much good

as we possibly can.

- Mm-hmm.

- Cool.

I initially imagined

that the Satanic Temple

would have

no central authority,

but at this point

we're very keen to make sure

chapters don't put out

the wrong message.

There is a prescribed

set of rules

about how you are supposed

to protest.

You go to

your local politician.

You register

to hold a rally

that is approved

by the city council.

But I feel very strongly

that you can't dismantle

corrupt systems of power

while functioning within them.

We don't have money.

We don't have power.

We have

relatively little voice.

When we go and we do a political action,

it's more than just a protest.

To us it is the celebration

of our Satanic spirit.

It's a ritual in and of itself.

In much of our ritual practice we are taking

traditional symbols

of what we see

as an oppressive

religious institution

and destroying those symbols

as a form of empowerment.

We often use nudity

because there is a sense

of shame surrounding nudity

that still exists

and is pervasive today.

If I can,

I like to use bodies of men.

I'm very interested

in staying away

from the fetishization of

the beautiful female body.

We have used wine

in the past,

the idea of kind of,

like, choking on wine...

because the Church uses wine

as a metaphor for,

you know,

the blood of Christ,

but we see it as a form

of oppression and control.

Hail Mary, full of grace.

The lord is with thee.

Blessed art thou among women.

Holy Mary, mother of God,

pray for us sinners...

If there's anything

that anti-choice protesters

have been good at,

it's the spectacle.

We wanted to create a context

where we can start to understand

that people who are protesting

outside of clinics

are doing something

that's somewhat perverse

and disturbing.

So anyways, that was where

our starting point was,

"How do we do this?

How do we match them?"

And then it was a lot

of brainstorming and spitballing

and conversation

until somebody made a joke

about how they fetishize

the fetus,

how it becomes this kind

of object

that is revered in a way

that seems somewhat unnatural,

and, um,

you know, we landed

on fetish babies,

adult babies.

Uh, we're talking

about the abstraction

and fetishization

of the fetal image

as one that speaks

and diminishes

women's power and voice.

A lot of people

look at performance art

and are a little bit confused by it,

but that's exactly how we feel

when we see these people

in front of clinics.

Pray for us.

What the heck just happened?

Why are they doing this?

- I have no idea.

- All right.

They're worshiping...

they're worshiping Lucifer.

I mean, they're...

they're Satanists.

I don't know much

about Satanism. What is it?

Is it the worship of Satan?

No, we're actually non-theistic,

and modern Satanism

has been recognized

as non-theistic

for some time now.

So the word Satanist has

nothing to do with Satan.

Like,

if somebody wants to worship

a pickle jar full of sand...

- What did you say?

- A pickle jar...

- A pickle jar full of sand?

- That's what it sounds like.

That's exactly what

it sounds like.

If you don't believe

in the Devil, why call yourself

- a Satanist?

- It's called Satanism

'cause there's nothing else

to call it.

This wasn't pulled out of a hat.

This wasn't something

that was made up

just to screw with people.

This is a sociopolitical

counter-myth.

The reason I'm pressing you

on this

is... is because I sort of know

a fake media story

when I see one,

and the whole Satanism thing

seems like that.

Who calls me

from out of the pit?

The most important thing

about modern Satanism,

in my opinion,

is that it has

a lot of symbolic impact

on a global level.

- Hail Satan!

- Hail Satan.

No!

I mean, everybody knows Satan.

He's as famous as Santa Claus

or the Grey aliens.

I am a part of you all.

In the literary concept

John Milton wrote

that Satan

was derived from heaven.

He was ousted for not stepping in line,

like the rest of us,

and now we fight back.

You're not wanted here.

Out. Get out, Devils.

When I tell people that

I don't actually believe

in a literal Satan,

they're almost disappointed

and upset.

They don't like the idea

that we've taken

a religion's villain

and made him sort of

our champion for rebellion.

What it's preaching is evil.

It's preaching

against Christianity.

It's anti-Christian.

To say that a Satanist

is anti-Christian is, again,

a half-truth.

They are anti-Christian

in the sense that

they are post-Christian.

They are...

They've actually left

Christianity.

They are

taking Satan with them.

I like the story of,

like, Abraham,

who's gonna kill his son,

and Satan comes over.

He's like,

"Hey, don't do this."

And on one side

it's... Everyone goes,

"Well, that's him

tempting Abraham,"

and you go... On the other side,

it's him going, like,

"Hey, asshole,

don't kill your kid."

Satan didn't sit on his ass

and just watch that happen.

He got up and did something.

Jesus walked into the desert

with no food, right?

Satan comes to him,

and he tempts him

with water and food.

He's starving in the desert.

Like,

"Hey, dude, don't do this.

Have some water.

Like, you're fine."

Shouldn't they just

call themselves atheists

if they don't believe

in anything supernatural,

a supernatural being?

Being an atheist is boring.

There's no community.

There's no iconography.

There's no history.

There's no code of conduct

or ethics.

There's no tenets.

It's just defining

what you're not.

And with modern Satanism,

you can define what you are.

I mean, we've defined Satanism

for the Satanic Temple

with our Seven Tenets.

One should strive

to act with compassion

and empathy

towards all creatures

in accordance with reason.

The struggle for justice

is an ongoing

and necessary pursuit

that should prevail

over laws and institutions.

One's body is inviolable,

subject to one's own will alone.

The freedom of others

should be respected,

including the freedom

to offend.

To willfully

and unjustly encroach

upon the freedoms of another

is to forgo your own.

This is my favorite one.

Beliefs should conform

to our best scientific

understanding of the world.

We should take care

never to distort

scientific facts

to fit our beliefs.

People are fallible.

If we make a mistake,

we should do our best

to rectify it

and resolve any harm

that may have been caused.

Every tenet

is a guiding principle

designed to inspire nobility

in action and thought.

The spirit of compassion,

wisdom,

and justice

should always prevail

over the written

or spoken word.

- Hail Satan!

I am very surprised

to find myself

part of an actual religion.

I wholeheartedly

agree with the Seven Tenets

of the Satanic Temple.

I believe they far outweigh

the Ten Commandments

in terms of morality

and, uh, best-case practices

to live your life,

and why can't that be

a religion?

Why can't me following

a code of ethics,

having fellowship

with brethren,

why... why can't that be

a religion?

- I'm recording.

- All right.

Well, I want to thank you

for tuning in to get an update

on the Arkansas

Ten Commandments monument.

In Little Rock,

while the Ten Commandments

continue to be watered

throughout the morning,

they stand tall

in their new home.

Take a look. This is exactly

where it sits right now.

It was installed

on the back side

of the Capitol Building

this morning.

And I want to say thank you

to everyone

who has contributed

to erect this monument.

This is absolutely

a declaration of faith,

and this monument will

almost certainly come down.

When our first Ten Commandments

came up, she had a short life.

She lasted about 24 hours

before a fervent believer

in the separation

of church and state

took her down with his car.

Freedom!

I wake up, and I'm like,

"Oh, my God."

Get this. Police say around 4:45

in the morning local time

a 32-year-old man

rammed his vehicle

straight into that monument.

This man drove his vehicle

into the statue,

streamed it all on Facebook.

He's now facing charges.

I felt a huge pressure

come over me,

and I heard inside,

"Destroy it tonight."

He says

he's a Christian

who supports

the Ten Commandments

but not when they're replicated

on State Capitol grounds.

This was not a good thing

in my eyes

or in the Satanic Temple's eyes

because we wanted this

to come down the correct way

and not this way,

and of course, this did nothing

but help Rapert's cause.

We have to take a stand

for civility in this country.

All of this radical talk

from the Satanic Temple

that would cause

unstable people to get out

and carry out these acts.

What culpability do they have?

Journalist:

I don't even know

how to quite respond

to that question.

You see, you got to understand

the kind of people

you're dealing with here.

The man that claims to be

the head of the Satanic Temple,

this guy runs around the country

using the name Lucien Greaves.

It's not even his real name.

Fake names, fake arguments,

coming into Arkansas

to take advantage

of gullible people.

The leader of the

Satanic Temple,

he's using a fake name.

His name

is actually Doug Mesner.

My name

isn't Douglas Mesner either.

I have

double-layered pseudonyms.

The Ten Commandments

monument will be back up.

The law will be fulfilled.

There are a lot of

Ten Commandments monuments

of the same exact sort

in many places

all over the United States

which were put up

around the same time

because they were distributed

by Paramount Pictures

in connection

with "The Ten Commandments"

movie.

Wait, what?

Paramount Pictures?

Yeah, the story

is that Cecil B. DeMille

was involved in making

these Ten Commandments

in connection with the film

and then donating them

to governments

around the country,

and that's the story.

To promote a movie?

It's connected to the promotion

of a movie.

That's crazy.

The Ten Commandments

monuments

are designed to look

like the stone tablets

that are carried down

by Heston in the movie.

The stars from the film,

they're spreading them

all across the country,

and it becomes

much more present

in the everyday life

of Americans

where it hadn't been before.

The Ten Commandments

need no interpretation.

Like all good law...

they are simple and basic

and immutable.

Donations are pouring in

to replace the

Ten Commandments monument,

including the maker of a film

made at the State Capitol.

The people behind

"God's Not Dead"

pledged to donate

25,000 dollars

to rebuild the monument.

Pure Flix is a Christian

film production company...

that made the flick

"God's Not Dead 2"

here at our State Capitol.

People seem to forget

that the most basic

human right of all

is the right to know Jesus.

Melissa Joan Hart was here.

I'm not gonna be afraid

to say the name Jesus.

This was a "real movie" here

in Little Rock, Arkansas...

...and so the conservative

Christian base in this town,

it was all about the fact

that they were helping

Senator Rapert

and his godly mission.

Most of our viewers

are born-again believers

or Christians,

and they applaud

the Ten Commandments monument

on the State Capitol.

It's a...

it's never happened before.

The... the church in America

has been silent for too long.

The Satanic Temple,

as much as they posture

and much as they holler

at the State of Arkansas,

they cannot force

a monument of Baphomet

on our Capitol grounds.

Nothing would make me happier

than to see Baphomet

on our Capitol grounds.

I would love to see Baphomet.

I would love to see

the Hindus, the Buddhists,

everyone have their fair piece

of the lawn out there,

their piece of the grass.

When I look at Baphomet,

I see the voice of the marginalized,

the voices of the hated,

the voice of the misunderstood,

the voice of the folks

who don't agree mindlessly

with what the majority

is telling them.

You know,

I'm an ordained minister

before I got

into politics as well,

and I want to say on this,

what this nation needs

is an overflowing

of the anointing of God.

We will not live

by your commandments.

We're free!

Those who will not live

by the law...

...shall die by the law!

I think

we can all come together

and have a reconciliation

and all coexist.

I would love

to see the Baphomet

standing next to a

Ten Commandments monument

to represent

religious pluralism,

one of the greatest features

of the American experiment.

It's... It's...

I... It's probably

never gonna happen.

I actually chose a couple spots

I thought would be nice for it,

and they said,

"Well, how about this spot?"

they...

they kind of wanted me to take.

- So is that something...

- Most easily run into

by a truck from the road.

We're trying to do this

within the system

because that's the best way

to challenge the system

is to kind of use their laws

and the system

they've created against them.

Satanists sue Missouri.

Abortion rights

were the focus today

in the Missouri Supreme Court.

Current Missouri law

requires a woman

be given an informational

booklet on abortion.

Paperwork that said,

"Life starts at conception."

Mary Doe is suing

Missouri Governor,

Eric Greitens.

I think that if we're being sued

by the Satanic Temple,

we got to be doing

something right.

We're doing something right

here in the State of Missouri.

Thank you. Thank you.

This lawsuit

by the Satanic Temple

on behalf of one of its members

is like the Hobby Lobby case.

The evangelical Christian owners

of Hobby Lobby

craft stores

challenged Obamacare

that requires

for-profit companies

to provide comprehensive

birth control coverage,

saying it violated

their religious beliefs.

Given the court's ruling

in favor of Hobby Lobby,

the Satanic Temple

has some sincerely-held

religious beliefs of its own.

The Satanists believe that, quote,

"The body is inviolable

subject to one's

own will alone."

And they say they strive

to make all decisions

regarding personal health based

on the best scientific

understanding of the world.

It's brilliant, right?

Because one of the things

the Supreme Court said

in its Hobby Lobby decision

is we can't question

people's religious beliefs.

If they say it violates

their religious beliefs,

so be it. She should be exempted

from that law.

We're ready to proceed

on the first case.

- Good morning.

- Morning.

May it please the court,

it's appalling that the state

of Missouri legislates into law

that a human life

comes into existence

at conception. And if you...

What creates the presumption

that the statute

that says

life begins at conception

is solely based

on a religious tenet?

There is no scientific basis

for it.

It's just a proposition.

It's like saying,

"Jesus rose from the dead."

You can believe that,

but you'd be appalled

if the Missouri legislature

legislated that into law.

The thing is I know we...

if we talk with our lawyer,

he's gonna say, like,

"No,

people just don't understand

what this really means."

Lawsuits move so slow.

I mean, nothing's been resolved,

you know?

Nothing's happened,

and it's... it's... And yet

it's a pi... It's a massive...

it's a massive legal bill...

and there's really nothing

so far to show for it.

We're paying for it through...

just the regular donations

we receive and proceeds

from merchandise sales.

It broke the

100,000 dollar mark

some time ago,

and I'm not sure how far

it's exceeded that by now.

I mean... it just hurts

my feelings to look at it.

There's no doubt that

this is my life's work...

and I don't want

the Satanic Temple

to be known for me,

but the success or failure

of the Satanic Temple

has always been,

uh, you know,

either my vindication

or failure.

As the

Satanic Temple developed,

we would hear less and less

from Jex.

And Detroit became

a bit of a mystery even to us,

um, in terms of what was

going on with the chapter...

which was under her control.

After centuries of biblical

patriarchal dominance,

the annihilation of native

and diverse cultures,

the propagation of racism

and homophobia,

we owe our oppressors!

We owe them hostility,

inextinguishable justice,

and uncompromising destruction.

We outnumber them.

We possess the fortitude

to bring down powerful men

and dismantle racist systems.

Their existence

is only made possible

by our own inaction.

They have given us just enough

to have something to lose.

They have built a system

that grinds us down,

and they tell us

to swallow our grief

and our rage in the name

of respectability,

that obedience is patriotism.

There is no model

for moving forward.

We are the model.

Who taught you how to protest?

Who taught you how to get mad?

Who taught you how to speak up?

'Cause we are going to disrupt,

distort, destroy,

and reclaim, resist,

and rebuild!

- Hail Satan!

Hail Satan!

How do I put this?

Hmm. Let me think.

She called for, um,

Donald Trump to be killed.

Um, that's obviously problematic

because we are a completely

nonviolent organization,

and that's completely

against our ethics.

It was glaringly obvious

that Jex,

being the wild card

that she is,

wasn't really gonna fit

in the organization anymore,

so Jex Blackmore is no longer

part of the Temple

at this point.

Um, I called her,

ultimately, but that was, uh,

that was a National Council

discussion. Uh...

she said what she said,

and we just couldn't have

a double standard for anybody.

I don't want to go off

on camera right here.

- I understand.

- About the injustice of that

in many different ways,

but yeah, it's been a lot.

I have to say

it does feel a little bit

satisfying to be...

you know,

fired from the Satanic Temple

for being too extreme.

There's a great fear

that we are going to do

something that is so offensive

that it's going to somehow

discredit our work.

I mean,

we're a Satanic organization.

There's, like, this...

this fear of our legal system

that is part of what

I'm fighting against,

and part of what I think

is important for us

to be liberated from.

I love Jex.

I worked with her

from the beginning,

and it's really quite sad,

but... you know, as we cohere

this organizational structure,

we have to have a kind

of uniform set of rules.

We lose some things and we gain

some things from that, I guess.

One, two, three, four.

Like, the reality

is the Satanic Temple

has become formalized

in a way

that is a much more

traditional institution.

I fear that that special space

that was created for people... is gone.

Yeah, more or less.

I mean,

I assume they need to drill?

Yeah.

Hey, good morning, guys.

We are here

at the State Capitol.

In just a few hours

we are expected to see

the Ten Commandments

monument back up.

So Article Two, Section 24

of the Arkansas

State Constitution

says that there shall never be

any preference given by law

to an establishment

of religion, a denomination...

Your head's cut off.

- Okay.

- Yeah.

Anyways, the point is,

is when a senator tries

to take ownership

of your religion,

give it over to the government,

uh, that's a...

Any Christian

should be offended.

Yeah, yeah.

- Hello?

- Hey, it's Stu.

I did. I saw it.

Wake up, America.

Wake up, church.

Wake up, Christians.

It's about time

in the United States of America,

as a Christian nation,

we get back to upholding

what we believe in.

- Amen!

This is a Christian nation.

I can't see

how they could possibly

get around this stuff.

This is a violation,

and they just

completely ignored it.

You know, once the thing

is going, we'll file.

I...

I'm just really hard-pressed

to come up with a way in which

we could lose this case.

We want to put up monuments

in every state,

every county, every city

and every town

and every organization

that wants one,

we're gonna help you do that.

Why are there Ten

Commandments monuments bills

simultaneously

in multiple states?

Why are there abortion

restriction bills,

anti-LGBT bills simultaneously

across different states?

Clearly there

is a concerted effort,

and that

is not religious liberty.

That's Christian supremacy.

♪ I put a spell on you ♪

♪ Because you're mine ♪

♪ I can't stand

The things that you do ♪

♪ No, no, no

No, I ain't lyin' ♪

No, I don't care

If you don't want me... ♪

I mean,

we have to push this back

because what they're

looking for is, essentially,

some kind of Christian Sharia law,

their version of it...

where legislation

and their view of morals

is implemented by a church

that a lot of us

aren't a part of,

and we just

can't let that happen.

♪ I love you, I love you

Yah yah gow ♪

♪ I put a spell on you ♪

♪ Lord, lord, lord ♪

♪ 'Cause you're mine

Yeah ♪

♪ I can't stand the things

That you do ♪

♪ When you're foolin' around ♪

♪ I don't care

If you don't want me ♪

♪ 'Cause I'm yours

Yours, yours ♪

♪ Anyhow, yeah ♪

♪ Yeah yeah yeah ♪

One, two, three.

The Satanic Temple

will hold a rally

at the Arkansas

State Capitol

Thursday, August 16th.

The centerpiece of the rally

will be a Satanic statue

of Baphomet.

The Satanic Temple

says the organization

is being discriminated against

because the state

will not install

a Satanic monument

on the Capitol grounds.

I'm Shiva. I'm the Director

of National Events for TST,

and I thought we could start

by going around the room.

I'm from right here

in Little Rock,

and I am tickled pink

that all of you

are here in our fair city.

Tomorrow's gonna be fun.

I'm from El Paso, Texas.

I'm with Frontera Satanica.

I'm one of the cofounders

of Satanic Arkansas,

and we are super stoked

that you guys are here.

I'm Lanzifer Longinus.

I'm... I'm head

of the San Marcos chapter.

I was the head

of the San Antonio chapter,

and, um, the Devil's work

is never done.

I'm Jeremy, Skullcrusher

if we're using pseudonyms.

And I am the Monster

from Atlanta.

And, uh,

I'm just here

to support something

that's very important to me.

Glad to be here.

Fuckin' hail Satan.

Are you excited?

No.

They're gonna have, I guess

a nine-foot-tall statue

of Satan.

Well, we came here today

in order to negate that.

Honk the horn.

God bless you.

Their platform

is separation

of church and state,

which makes it sound

really nice, so yeah.

They just want to irritate,

if you want to know the truth.

We're a Christian country,

and so they don't have

the right to alter that.

They don't have a right

to put their monstrosity

on the State Capitol.

But do we

really wanna believe

there's no consequence

but God?

There is this individual

that has,

like, a previous conviction

for planning,

- you know, mass shootings...

- Hmm.

...and our anonymous sources

have said that he will

definitely be there,

and that is a concern.

And what happens

if you see somebody

that I don't see

pulling some shit?

So we've got

the outer team,

which I think at this point

is gonna be six people,

so they should see

something first.

Somebody's gonna have to really

get through two layers

of people to get to you.

That makes it very implausible.

Well, I don't think

anybody else around here

is really considered a target,

so I think that's really all

we're worried about.

This is the infancy

of the Satanic Temple.

In our own humble little way,

we are changing the world.

More and more as time goes on,

people are seeing that we are

a genuine movement.

This would be very difficult

to maintain

if somewhere

in any of our minds,

those of us who are actively

working on this,

we didn't truly believe

in every element

of what we're doing...

and to be doing this

as anything other

than an authentic expression

of who we are...

I just can't see doing that

without being psychotic,

which I guess...

is... is a theory.

It is out of not only Satanism

but patriotism

that I am motivated

to come to protest events,

to have the pilgrimage,

to visibly be a part

of a declaration

of those beliefs.

That's an ancient

human religious tradition.

I mean,

that's the pilgrimage.

I think it's a sense

of duty to do this.

I don't even feel like

it's optional at this point.

You know,

you see Christian theocracy

just, you know, creeping itself

into our government, you know,

and they're not gonna stop.

They're just gonna continue,

and it is our duty

as the adversary

to stand up to this.

I could just go along

and just be a quiet

little secular individual,

like a lot of people do.

I... I don't want to say

the phrase, like,

"this has given

my life purpose,"

but I would say

that this makes life fun.

Radical Satanism

has its claws...

...in the hearts of people

across America,

and I think that's... that's...

that's something

to pay attention to.

♪ Hallelujah ♪

♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪

♪ Hallelujah ♪

♪ Hallelujah... ♪

Good people of Arkansas

and supporters

of religious liberty,

I present to you Baphomet.

Holy Mary, mother of God,

pray for us sinners,

now and in the hour

of our death, amen.

Holy Mary, mother of God,

pray for us sinners.

Baphomet

on the same grounds

as the Ten Commandments

does not represent the conflict

but a resolution.

If Christianity

abandons liberal democracy,

it will have forfeited

the future to Satan.

- To which I say, hail Satan.

- Hail Satan!

♪ Satan never sleeps ♪

♪ He walks behind you ♪

♪ Through the night ♪

♪ And through the day ♪

♪ Silently he creeps ♪

♪ He's always there ♪

♪ To put temptation ♪

♪ In your way ♪

♪ So ♪

♪♪ If you're ♪♪

♪ Burning with desire ♪

♪ He'll find

A way to fan the fire ♪

♪ Then in the embers

Of the flame ♪

♪ You'll have

Your foolish heart to blame ♪

♪ Oh, oh ♪

♪ Satan has a plan ♪

♪ He's out to capture you ♪

♪ In any way he can ♪

♪ Ever since the world began ♪

♪ He's tried to come between ♪

♪ A woman and a man ♪

♪ And so no matter ♪

♪ If you're great or small ♪

♪ He knows there's evil

In us all ♪

♪ And that is why ♪

♪ Satan never ♪

♪ Sleeps ♪

And I do want to clarify,

we actually had just somebody

two seconds ago

drive past asking us where

this Satanic Temple statue is.

Just to clarify, that was here

just for the rally

and was taken away

when that rally was over.

Now, currently

there is a lawsuit pending

in federal court,

the Satanic Temple claiming

religious discrimination,

while the state responding,

calling the Satanic Temple

a satire group.

Hail Satan? (2019) - full transcript