Satanic Holiday Display OK'd for Capitol Grounds

The Satanic Temple has received permission to put up a holiday display at the Michigan State Capitol in Lansing, where plans for a Christian nativity scene are on hold.

Local Satanists’ temporary outdoor display has been approved for Dec. 21-23, and must be no larger than 3-feet-by-three feet is size. It must be removed every evening under pre-existing rules on overnight displays, The Lansing News/MLive reports.

The Michigan State Capitol Commission obtained a ruling from the state attorney general’s office that the nativity constitutionality of the nativity scene, and approved it.

But the individual who wanted to put up the nativity reportedly lives out of state and wasn’t able to find anyone to remove it at night.

Jex Blackmore, the founder of The Satanic Temple’s Detroit chapter, said his group’s preference is that “no religious iconography” be displayed on the Capitol or other state grounds.

“But if there was going to be a singular voice represented, we felt it was best to add to that representation of diversity here in Michigan.”

Tell Us:

• Do you think religious icons – regardless of what faith they represent – should be allowed on state grounds?

Blackmore says Satanists aren’t devil-worshippers, but rather seek to “separate superstition from deeply held religious beliefs.”

The display will include the words, “The greatest gift is knowledge,” Blackmore said. It depicts a snake entwined in a cross and the group’s trademark pentagram.

Michigan State Capitol Commission member John Truscott said that though he and other officials are bound by the Constitution to recognize the group’s First Amendment rights, he personally believes it is “absolutely disgusting” for Blackmore and other Satanists “to hijack a Christian holiday.”

Nationally, The Satanic Temple won approval earlier this month to erect a display depicting the fiery pits of hell alongside a Christian nativity scene and a Jewish Menorah at the Florida Capitol.