SPRINGFIELD, IL — A Satanic display at the Illinois Capitol Rotunda is causing a stir, including Illinois Republican State Sen. Paul Schimpf's letter to the secretary of state. Schimpf, who represents the 58th District, called for the removal of the display.

The sculpture, sitting by a Christmas tree, nativity scene and menorah, is entitled "Knowledge is the Greatest Gift." It depicts a woman's left hand, wrapped in a snake, offering an apple to the viewer. "For it is knowledge that Satan gifted to Eve in the garden like Prometheus gifting fire to man," Lux Armiger, chairperson of the Satanic Temple's Chicago chapter, told Patch. But Sen. Schimpf complained in a letter to Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White that the Satanist sculpture should be removed. "The Satanic display should not have been approved. It does not celebrate or recognize the observance of a religious holiday," Schimpf said in his letter.

However, Armiger says, celebrating holidays is not at all a requirement for displays in the rotunda. "No such specification exists," Armiger told Patch. "These displays are permitted by the Constitution, not because they are recognizing a holiday, but because the space is a public forum." This is "something someone with a law degree like Sen. Schimpf should understand. If he does not, Southern Illinois University School of Law should consider rescinding his degree," Armiger added.



Permitting one group, and not another, to use the forum would be "government-imposed viewpoint discrimination," he said.

Some Illinois lawmakers are openly condemning Secretary of State Jesse White over allowing the display, according to a House resolution shared by the Satanic Temple's Chicago chapter.

Lucien Greaves, co-founder and national spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, had a simple response to Schimpf's letter: "No. In fact you aren't within your rights to deny a religious organization access to a forum for religious expression based simply on your assumptions regarding their intentions."



The State of Illinois is legally required to allow the Satanic display, just as it's required to allow the nativity scene and menorah. The First Amendment means they must "allow temporary, public displays in the state capitol so long as these displays are not paid for by taxpayer dollars," according to WBEZ.

Sen. Schimpf's office did not immediately reply to Patch's request for comment. See more on Patch: Satanic Sculpture Joins Christian, Jewish Displays At IL Capitol