Curiosities, Vol. 13: Satanic Headlines

And the future of Satanic content on Sacred Tension.

Photo by Katelyn Greer on UnsplashHappy Sunday, kittens.

Long-time readers of my work will know that I am a Satanist. I’m not merely a Satanist in the political and cultural protest sense, but I’m a Satanist in the religious sense, too. I venerate the Romantic figure of Satan as a guiding myth that helps orient me to my deepest values which are best articulated in the Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple.

For those new to my writing: no, I do not believe in a literal supernatural Satan, nor do I see the Romantic Satan as the embodiment of evil. My Satanism is symbolic rather than literal, post-Christian rather than anti-Christian, and pro-religious pluralism rather than anti-religion.

My religious community experienced a huge amount of publicity this week. The Satanic Temple is uniquely adept at capturing public discourse. I have my frustrations with all these news items – none of them adequately describe the religious component of The Satanic Temple, which is a pet peeve of mine. They also aren’t entirely flattering. Despite that, I think there is value in these stories, and I will dissect them a bit more below for paying subscribers.

But first, I think a Satanic announcement is in order.

Observant readers might notice a significant reduction of Satanism in my public content, especially since my move to Substack. This is deliberate. I am de-emphasizing Satanic content, particularly content that directly relates to The Satanic Temple.

There are several reasons for this:

1.     My own spirituality is expanding. I am becoming more ecumenical, contemplative, and expansive in my own religious life, and I want my work to reflect that. This does not mean I am leaving Satanism, but it does mean my interests are expanding beyond it.

2.     My Satanism is smaller. Conversely, my Satanic identity is smaller. For years it was all-consuming and the primary spiritual lens through which I understood myself. That’s changing – my identity as a member of a particular sect is still important but now has a much smaller footprint in my psyche. I think this might be due in part to meditation, which can have the effect of making one’s identities blessedly small.

3.     I want to model cosmopolitanism. Our times are horribly divided, and I want to use my platform to cultivate pluralism and dialogue. To do that, I must expand my scope beyond my small religious community and cover topics of more universal appeal. Don’t worry, my work will still be weird and eclectic because I am weird and eclectic. But it’s time to expand the scope.

4.     The Satanic Temple is going through some growing pains. It is figuring out what type of community it wants to be, and this is accompanied by the usual infighting, dysfunction, and drama that every religious community goes through. I will continue to serve the Temple as a minister, but I think that, after this post, it is best to separate the organization from my content for the time being. This is both for my own sanity and for the good of the community.

I’m not leaving TST, and I will still write about nontheistic Satanism on occasion. I think it is a particularly valuable tool when examining religion, spirituality, and culture. But I hope to build a coalition on this Substack that expands beyond Satanism.

With all that out of the way, let’s get to the Satanic headlines.

This week’s content.

-        Why I Am Not a Christian: The Gift of Unbelief

-        House or Heretics: No Orgies

Sunday Curiosities is the weekly series in which I bring you interesting things I found from around the web. Become a paying subscriber to get full access.