New Hampshire's capital city has announced it will allow the Satanic Temple (TST) to become part of a holiday display in the city's town square to “avoid litigation.”
Concord, New Hampshire; said In a Facebook post Saturday, TST said it had received permission to display a holiday memorial near the city's Nativity scene outside the New Hampshire State Capitol.
The city explained that under the First Amendment, to avoid litigation, Concord had to choose between banning all holiday signs installed by other entities or allowing TST signs. .
“After considering legal options, the city has ultimately decided to continue its policy of allowing unattended exhibits in City Plaza this holiday season and allow the statue to be installed,” the Facebook statement said. ” he said. “The City Council is expected to consider whether to allow an unattended holiday display in City Plaza next year.”
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TST statue (Devil's Temple)
“The Satanic Temple has requested that a memorial be placed at the holiday exhibit as part of a show of unity and religious pluralism,” the city said. The post noted that TST could threaten and sue under the First Amendment if excluded nationwide.
“The Satanic Temple has received permission to install the memorial in Concord's City Plaza during the month of December, along with other holiday displays we have installed across the country,” the city of Concord's Facebook post said. It's dark.
“Not to be confused with the Church of Satan. The stated mission of the Satanic Temple is to 'encourage compassion and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, defend practical common sense, and oppose injustice. and to engage in noble pursuits,” the post added. .
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However, in an interview with the Boston Globe, Concord Mayor Byron Champlin criticized the TST labeling.
“I am not satisfied with this request because it was not made with the purpose of promoting religious equity, but rather because it was made to take advantage of the attention available at this time to advance an anti-religious political agenda. I objected to this permission. he said.
Lucian Greaves, a spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, holds a statue of Baphomet in the Satanic Temple meeting hall in Salem, Massachusetts. (Getty Images)
Along with the post, the city shared a photo of the statue the TST leader unveiled Saturday night, according to a Facebook Live. posted online.
The statue is of Baphomet, a yellow-eyed god and occult symbol, wearing a purple stole with an upside-down cross and a tablet containing the Temple's seven fundamental tenets. I'm wearing it. Boston.com reported..
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TST co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves told FOX News Digital that the city of Concord allowed the holiday display to avoid lawsuits, adding, “The reality is we had no choice but to follow the law.'' I acknowledge that.”
“And the law, of course, requires the government not to interfere in the practice of religious opinions or in matters of identity,” he said. “This is the very essence of religious freedom: that each of us is free to believe or disbelieve, to have and hold our own religious opinions as we wish.”
“Even those who are offended by demonic images will be proud that we live in a country where such freedoms still exist once our exhibits are in public view.” “You should think about it,” he added.
TST told Fox News Digital that the statue was pushed to the sidewalk two and a half days after its unveiling.
TST statue (Devil's Temple)
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