https://www.salon.com/2023/12/12/an-...only-for-them/
Quote:
It's become a holiday tradition, especially in the red states. Every year, in response to overtly Christian displays put up in government buildings, the Satanic Temple petitions to set up a display honoring Lucifer in state capitols. They usually succeed. See, the Supreme Court long ago created a loophole in the First Amendment to allow religious displays, by arguing that as long as every group gets to have one, it doesn't violate the "no establishment of religion" clause. By putting up altars to Satan next to the annual nativity scenes, the Satanic Temple makes their point about the silliness of this loophole.
More important, however, is the trolling part. Every year, Christian conservatives discover the Satanic display and have a loud, public temper tantrum about it. In this, Satanists prove their point: Conservatives claim to respect religious plurality, but it's a lie. The overt religious iconography on government property was always about promoting the Christian nationalist view that theirs is the only "real" American religion.
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This kind of thing is why it's so gross to see Republicans cynically exploit fears of anti-semitism to promote their culture war narratives about "campus leftism" and "political correctness." The Satanic Temple's trolling exposes the bare truth, which is the GOP is rapidly becoming a Christian nationalist party full of people who want to find a way to use government power to marginalize and silence non-Christians, or who are even those who are just critical of conservative Christianity. Right now, feigned concern for Jewish people gives cover to this "free speech for me, censorship for thee" mentality. But, one would be a fool to see all this outrage over the Satanic Temple's little joke and not conclude that these folks aren't going to be satisfied with only kicking out Satanists. This is about limiting who gets rights to free speech and religious liberty to conservative Christians.
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I bolded some parts which I found to be most funny. Any Reds care to debate against religious stuff in the capitol building for Satan, Thor, Zeus, or Anubis? All are equal with Jesus in the eyes of the law!