The Satanic Temple Celebrates First Symbolic Satanic Monument on Public Property

SALEM, Mass., July 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to a Supreme Court decision, The Satanic Temple has designated the 40-foot-tall Bladensburg Peace Cross in Maryland to be a Satanic icon. The Satanic Temple will be calling the monument "The Bladensburg Satanic Peace Cross" and will be hosting a ritual in honor of Satanist veterans at the Bladensburg site on July 10 at 5:00 PM.

In 2019, the Supreme Court ruled in American Legion v. American Humanist Association that maintaining the Peace Cross on public land does not violate the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution. Delivering the decision, Justice Alito wrote that "The Bladensburg Cross has come to represent… a place for the community to gather and honor all veterans and their sacrifices for this Nation..."

TST spokesman and co-founder Lucien Greaves notes, "Deciding that the Bladensburg Cross does not just represent Christians, but people of all faiths including Satanists, is a kind of blasphemy that is consistent with Satanism. As a symbol for all veterans, the Cross represents Satanist veterans who we are honoring in our ceremony."

TST has a long tradition of supporting its military members. This has included assisting TST members who want to organize prayer at the US Naval Academy, the appointment of lay leaders to establish a religious ministry in the US military, and the construction of a veterans memorial that was intended to be erected in Minnesota.

While Belle Plaine, MN, has the distinction of being the first city to approve a Satanic monument, consistent with the Supreme Court ruling, Bladensburg, MD, is the first city to actually have The Satanic Temple-designated Satanic monument on state property.

Greaves added, "The Satanic Temple will refer to the memorial as the Bladensburg Satanic Peace Cross. We expect the celebration of this Satanic icon will be a recurring event, and we encourage Satanists everywhere to make pilgrimages to Bladensburg. Outside of Salem, MA, we expect Bladensburg will become known internationally as a destination for Satanists."

About The Satanic Temple
The mission of The Satanic Temple is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits guided by the individual will.

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SOURCE The Satanic Temple