The Satanic Temple is gaining public support by assisting women facing unwanted pregnancies

How did Satanism become so mainstream that the US edition of Cosmopolitan published an article in its November/December 2023 issue about performing a ‘Satanic abortion’?

If you haven’t heard of The Satanic Temple, the group behind the new abortion ritual, they have 1.5 million members worldwide, and unlike some Satanists, don’t actually believe in the devil. One thing the Cosmopolitan article got wrong is implying that all Satanists don’t worship the devil.

Many do, it’s just that The Satanic Temple seems to be a different, newer form of Satanism, where the devil has been adopted as a kind of mascot to spearhead their cause of fighting for issues such as the separation of church and state, and ‘body autonomy.’ The group see the devil as a symbol of ‘rebellion, rational inquiry, personal sovereignty, and resistance against tyranny.’

This particular branch of Satanism is actually trying to be nice, and they think that helping women secure abortions is the way to go about it.

 This particular branch of Satanism is actually trying to be nice, and they think that helping women secure abortions is the way to go about it.

Post Roe vs Wade it haas been more difficult for women in the US to seek abortions and so the Satanic Temple is sending abortion pills to women along with instructions on performing a ritual where women can worship their right to choose and their own free will.

Why are people worshipping a devil they don’t believe in, and why are they offering abortion rituals to prospective followers? I watched Hail Satan, a documentary about The Satanic Temple to learn more about their beliefs.

The Satanists in the documentary kind of reminded me of people I used to know back when I was a teenager and used to go to a Goth nightclub called The Dungeon. Outsiders thought it was scary, and were intimidated by the tattooed, pierced, solely black wearing attendees. However, I knew they were just regular people. They were kind and gentle, and not outwardly involved in anything they thought of as evil.

The Satanic Temple have performed initiatives such as litter picking and donating socks to the homeless. In some schools they have offered an after school club focused on ‘free inquiry and rationalism.’ The driving force of their activism seems to be in response to the state forcing Christianity on people.

I can actually see their point. In the Bible, it’s clear believing in Jesus is about personal choice.

Jesus told his disciples that if they weren’t welcome in a city to dust off their feet and move on. In the documentary the Satanic Temple object to Ten Commandment monuments outside of state buildings and responded by creating their own baphomet statue. In response the Christians get angry and protest against their statue. Is this how Jesus would have wanted us to behave?

I suspect the devil loves these arguments between the Christians and the Satanists. I can imagine him laughing at those who don’t believe but invoke his name for ‘fun,’ and activism.

Watching the documentary made me consider just how important it is to think about how we communicate our message. We aren’t meant to throw our pearls to pigs, or get involved in arguments, but instead try and save as many souls as possible. It seems that when Christians get pushy and want to impose their religion on others, that’s when people rebel and Satanism starts to seem appealing.

I suspect the devil loves these arguments between the Christians and the Satanists. I can imagine him laughing at those who don’t believe but invoke his name for ‘fun,’ and activism. My time in New Ageism has taught me that the devil doesn’t care about our intentions. Spiritual warfare can wreak havoc on the lives of people who don’t know what they’re messing with.

I feel sorry for the Satanists in the film, who at least publicly, genuinely appear to believe they are doing good. While there’s nothing wrong with giving socks to the homeless, abortion is another matter.

When it comes to abortion, many non-Christians have been deceived into thinking that it is a kind and compassionate option. I was one of them. Just before I became a Christian two years ago I started to gradually change my opinion as I saw governments shifting the cut off point for abortion later and later.

After becoming a believer I became aware of the cognitive dissonance I’d held in my mind; that we can save the life of a premature baby, but kill one of the same age. I watched the documentary Unplanned, about Abby Johnson who used to work at Planned Parenthood in the US. Johnson changed her mind about abortion when she observed an ultrasound of baby attempting to fight for its life during the procedure. One day I broke down and cried, as the numbness surrounding abortion in my mind melted, and I realised how wrong it is. I realised I’d held the pro-choice position, because I’d always been left wing, but I’d never really thought beyond my own cultural programming about it.

As Paul said in Romans 3:10-12, ‘none of us are good, no not one.’  Here’s the problem; the Satanic Temple is a group of humans, deciding on what is good, without God. It’s dangerous.

One of the Satanic Temple’s seven tenets is that ‘beliefs should conform to one’s best scientific understanding of the world.’ We have historical evidence for the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. There are scientific experts such as biochemist Dr Sy Garte, author of ‘Science and Faith in Harmony,’ who actually became a believer because of gaps in scientific knowledge that he believed could only be filled by a creator.

I can understand the desire to reject Christianity, I rejected it most of my life. I wasn’t keen on being forced to sing hymns at school about a God I didn’t believe in. As an adult I thought Christians were boring, stupid and unspiritual. But, eventually a hunger for truth led me to Jesus. My prayer for all the atheists Satanists out there is that they’d get curious about the truth.

Watching Hail Satan made me realise that both sides misunderstand each other. It made me realise it shouldn’t be about getting into debates and protests but instead sending out a dove with an offer of peace, to meet in the middle with the words of the Gospel. And if not we move on and dust off our feet.