Satanism may get a bad rap due to its name but according to the co-founder of the Satanic Temple Lucien Greaves, Satanism and the Temple are inclusive and will fight to defend LGBT rights, reports Attitude.
This inclusivity was revealed in a new documentary titled Hail Satan? in which viewers get to explore the Satanic Temple and how it is mostly comprised of LGBT people “who feel disowned and disenfranchised by the ‘traditional religious institutions.'” Greaves himself identifies as straight but understands that the Satanic Temple is comprised of mostly LGBT people because mainstream religion has cast them aside so they found a group that would accept them.
According to Greaves, one of the earliest actions the Temple performed was a Pink Mass as many LGBT people were looking for a community that wouldn’t judge them solely on their sexual orientation. He explains that within the Satanic Temple exists a homologous group, as he says “We’re all Satanists and it’s not like we have ‘tolerance’ for trans people or gay people or sex workers, we just don’t… care and a lot of people appreciate that.” Greaves also mentioned that the Satanic Temple is frequently involved in Pride events across the country and promises to uphold and fight for LGBTQ rights.
It makes sense that the Satanic Temple would be in favor of LGBT rights as its tenets mostly focus on compassion, freedom, bodily autonomy, and justice. The Temple supports the freedom to let people live their lives the way that they want to and demand justice when that freedom is threatened and are compassionate to those who feel alienated.
I’m not saying that people should join any religious organization but as far as religion goes, Satanism seems to be the most open-minded (to me at least). People can learn a lot from the Satanic Temple but they have to be willing to get past the negative connotation of “Satan.” More and more organizations should adopt similar mindsets.
Source: Attitude