Cruz campaign Nativity spurs Satanist group Snaketivity

Justin A. Hinkley | Lansing State Journal

LANSING - The Satanic Temple of Detroit has announced plans to re-erect its Snaketivity display on the Capitol lawn to counter a live Nativity scene planned by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz's presidential campaign.

The Cruz Nativity is planned for the evenings of Dec. 12 and 13. Jex Blackmore, director of the Detroit Satanist group, said at a religious liberty rally at the Capitol on Wednesday that they were waiting for approval from the Michigan State Capitol Commission to perform a live display of their own on Dec. 19. That would be the same day state Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, plans to sponsor a Nativity display.

“The overriding message in our holiday display, and many of The Satanic Temple’s public activities, is one of plurality and religious liberty," Blackmore said in a written statement. "We have no interest in proselytizing Satanism to the public. However, we refuse to allow one religious perspective (to) dominate the discourse."

The Satanic Temple, a loosely organized national group, doesn't actually worship the Christian devil. It is a secular organization closely aligned with atheist groups in protesting religious displays on public grounds.

"Freedom of speech may be inconvenient, messy, and at times offensive, but that is the cost of living in a free country," Wendy Day, Michigan state director for the Cruz campaign, said in an emailed statement. "America was founded on the principles of free speech and freedom of religion ... We don't have to agree on religious principles to stand together for the right of free speech."

At Wednesday's Rally for Religious Liberty, sponsored by the Christian group Salt & Light Global, Blackmore and a handful of her fellow Satanists stood quietly at the back of the crowd on the east lawn with a large banner reading, "The Satanic Temple supports religious liberty," in white letters on a black background. While the event's speakers railed against what they deemed governmental intrusion into religious life — many speakers specifically criticized the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling earlier this year that states must allow gay men and women to marry — the Satanists received numerous raised eyebrows.

But, overall, they received a warm welcome.

After speaking from the Capitol steps, state Sen. Patrick Colbeck, R-Canton, walked to the Satanists and shook their hands and thanked them for coming.

"Beautiful sign," he told them. "I would've probably chosen a different color."

Sean Bertolino, the capital area chairman for the Cruz campaign, also spoke with the group, giving them a Cruz campaign Christmas card that said, "One unplanned pregnancy changed the world." After the chat, Bertolino told the LSJ he was pleased to find a common interest in religious liberty.

"It's a common issue, which is kind of cool," he said.

William Wagner, president and chairman of Salt & Light, said before Wednesday's rally that he couldn't comment specifically on the Satanic Temple's attendance because he wasn't aware of the group or its positions, but he said the rally was about protecting various religious expressions.

"It's about the First Amendment," he said, "and the First Amendment ... and that limitation on the exercise of government power protects the press and protects expressions of religious conscience of all kind."

The event was decidedly Christian, with signs such as "Vote Biblically" spread throughout the crowd.

"We have radical Islam; we need radical Christianity," the Rev. Ellis Smith of Detroit's Jubilee City Church said from the Capitol steps.

State Rep. Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said that the nation's "greatest security" was that liberty was a gift from God.

And "what God gives, the government cannot take away," he said. "When the government destroys God, the government becomes God, and that should be a frightening thing."

During the speeches, Muskegon's Amy Piatt stood by Blackmore's group, her eyes closed and palms heavenward, praying for the Satanists. Asked why, she said, "Because the Lord told me to do it."

The Satanic Temple first brought its Snaketivity display — which depicts a snake wrapped around the Satanic cross, presenting a book as a holiday gift — to the Capitol last December, in response to a planned Nativity scene that was later called off. But the Satanists' announcement spawned a response from Lansing-area churches and from Sen. Jones, who helped pull together a Nativity scene to counter the Snaketivity last year.

In addition to Jones' Nativity on Dec. 19, state Rep. Mike Callton, R-Nashville, is sponsoring a Chanukah Display on Monday.

John Truscott, vice chairman of the Capitol Commission that regulates the statehouse facility and grounds, said Wednesday morning the Satanic Temple hadn't yet submitted an official request for their display, but had sent emails checking dates around Dec. 18 or 19. Truscott said the commission could approve a request within a week of its submission, so there was still time for the display to be cleared.

The commission would be obligated to approve the Snaketivity display so long as it meets the commission's guidelines, which limit the size of the display and prohibit permanent displays, meaning the Snaketivity would have to be placed and removed daily. The Satanic Temple met those criteria last year.

Jex Blackmore of the Detroit chapter of the Satanic Temple Jex Blackmore of the Detroit chapter of the Satanic Temple discusses what's behind the “Snaketivity Scene" Sunday at the Capitol.

Contact Justin A. Hinkley at (517) 377-1195 or jhinkley@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter@JustinHinkley. Sign up for his email newsletter, SoM Weekly, at on.lsj.com/somsignup.