The Satanic Temple has purchased a former funeral home in Salem, Mass.for an international headquarters and says it “will also house the seven-and-a-half foot tall bronze statue of Baphomet until an offer to donate the statue for presentation on Arkansas State Capitol grounds alongside the Ten Commandments is accepted.”

Baphomet is a goat-headed statue that’s a symbol of the Satanic Temple’s national effort to encourage separation of church and state. It’s been offered for the Arkansas Capitol as a counter to the religion-motivated placement of a Ten Commandments monument approved by the legislature. Secretary of State Mark Martin has said the Ten Commandments are going in, it’s just a question of placement. He also says he hopes that the Satanic Temple monument won’t be approved by his Capitol grounds commission. It’s a near certainty the legislature won’t give approval in any case. Martin says that is required. And so a lawsuit, similar to one won in Oklahoma against a commandments monument by the Satanic Temple, is a certainty here. Presumably the Satanic Temple would withdraw its monument offer to Arkansas if the Ten Commandments monument was withdrawn. The group’s newsletter explains:

Our monument, as we stated in our application to the AR Secretary of State’s office, commemorates the Judicial trial and error that “that helped us to realize our need for a rational, secular legal system. Standards such as the accuser’s burden of proof, the presumption of innocence, a respect for material evidence.” These modern legal standards, we argue, have roots in corrective measures against moral panics and witch-hunts, and “are all a result of our finding ways to subdue brute mob intolerance.” And so, in contrast to the 10 Commandments, We, The Satanic Temple, are offering to place a bronze 1-ton 8 and ½ ft. goat-headed “Baphomet” monument alongside it (or, failing that, directly before it).

The temple’s announcement of a temporary home for Baphomet includes an update on the group’s effort to establish after-school Satan Clubs in public schools where evangelical Christian groups have been given meeting privileges.

On our ASSC website (also launched on July 30th) we explained that “the pre-existing presence of evangelical after school clubs not only established a precedent for which school districts must now accept Satanic groups, but the evangelical after school clubs have created the need for Satanic after school clubs to offer a contrasting balance to student’s extracurricular activities.”

Jason Rapert’s head explodes again.


Find out more about the temple and sign up for its newsletter at its website.