Satanists have stopped a town in northern Illinois from adopting religious invocations… without having to say a single word.

McHenry Township was considering the invocations at the request of Trustee Steve Verr, but members of the public were quick to point out that if the goal was to have Christian prayers at meetings, others would quickly follow suit. Just check out the passive aggressive shade from this guy:

“If this does pass, I look forward to having Christians, Jewish people and Muslims,” Wonder Lake resident Mike Tauler said. “I look forward to atheists having their invocation. I look forward to members of the Satanic temple coming to have their invocation. Once you open it up to one, you open it up to all. Don’t forget that.”

He wasn’t alone:

“Somebody on the board thinks they can trigger us to react a certain way,” McHenry Township resident John Sarff said. “We are onto your game, and we’re going to play along. Don’t be surprised by any of the groups that come in to do an invocation. We are going to play, and we are going to outplay you.”

I love it. It’s just a statement of fact now. If Christians want prayer at government meetings, non-Christians will demand the same treatment, and you know it’ll make conservatives uncomfortable. Don’t blame Satanists and atheists for ruining the invocations; blame the elected officials who think wasting everyone’s time by talking to God is worthwhile.

Verr didn’t have much of a comeback other than calling critics “Marxists.” Ultimately, the rest of the board decided invocations were a bad idea. Verr’s proposal was rejected by the haunting presence of atheists and Satanists. This is why it’s so important to fight these battles everywhere; the results eventually trickle out and have a much larger effect.

(Image via Shutterstock)

