Hail Satan?

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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.

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. - 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