The Satanic Temple has announced they are hosting ‘SatanCon 2023’ in Boston, MA, a 3-day event of “presentations, satanic rituals, discussion panels, and a satanic marketplace” which they claim will be the largest satanic gathering in history.
The Satanic Temple (TST) was formed in 2012 and is not to be confused with the Church of Satan. Claiming a membership of over 700,000 people, they reject the existence of a literal devil in exchange for the devil as a metaphor and literary device to further their activism. Their mission is to “encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits” by engaging in run-of-the-mill pagan secular humanist ideals, such as “confronting hate groups, fighting for the abolition of corporal punishment in public schools, fighting for abortion rights, and fighting against any Christian imagery and practices in schools and government.”
After Oklahoma placed a Ten Commandments statue on Capitol grounds, TST installed a bronze Baphomet statue to stand alongside the Christian monuments. TST also hosts “After School Satan” designed to counter Christian “Good News Clubs” in public schools. Last we heard from them, they announced they were raffling a free abortion to promote the organization’s religious abortion ritual.
Topics from last year’s conference included ‘The history of Satan Across Cultures’ ‘Abortion as a (Religious) Right’ ‘Satanism and the BIPOC Community’ ‘Pluralism, Religious Liberty, and the Fight for Satanic Representation’ and ‘Raising Children in a Satanic Household’
Tickets cost $95 and the event is limited to an 18+ audience. Attendees must provide proof of COVID vaccination and “must wear an N-95, KN-95, or disposable surgical mask. gaiters, bandanas, and cloth masks will not be allowed.”
