Satanists conduct a ritual on the state Capitol - Seattle

Amid pious protesters, Satanists conduct a ritual on the Capitol steps | 2020 Legislative Session | Bainbridge Island Review

I personally wonder if they were looking to find and recruit some evil souls inside the state capital.

I have a question though. Apparently permission was given for them to do this ritual. Do they permit churches, synagogues, mosques, etc... to do this at the state capital?

 

Prayer of other religions groups must be allowed is my guess. Government can't discriminate. It should be noted that most members of the Satanic Temple are in fact atheists using their "religion" as a means of protest against unconstitutional intrusion of religion, usually Christianity, in American government.

"The Satanic Temple does not believe in a supernatural Satan. The Temple uses the literary Satan as a metaphor to promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity. Satan is thus used as a symbol representing "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms.

"The organization actively participates in public affairs that have manifested in several public political actions and efforts at lobbying,with a focus on the separation of church and state and using satire against Christian privilege that it says interferes with personal religious freedom."

The Satanic Temple - Wikipedia
​

The Seven Fundamental Tenets

• One should strive to act with compassion and empathy towards all creatures in accordance with reason.
• The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.
• One's body is inviolable, subject to one's own will alone.
• The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo your own.
• Beliefs should conform to our best scientific understanding of the world. We should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit our beliefs.
• People are fallible. If we make a mistake, we should do our best to rectify it and resolve any harm that may have been caused.
• Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

The Satanic Temple
​

I agree with every word of that.

 

They are a religion though. They are a tax-exempt organized religion.

just surprised they, or that any religion requires permission and are granted permission.

 

Yep. They get tax exempt status just the same as any other religion.

 

Is this the appropriate time when we ask the 'Donald' how he would like his stake ???

 

derp herp a derp ..

 

Satanist do not believe in a super natural Satan? I think that’s very deceiving.

 

Our master instructed us to be like that muahaha.

 

So this religion are also lobbyists?​

 

christianity is the only religion i can think of that is named after its supernatural entity of choice.

 

I guess so. Bolder Advocacy, a group of lawyers and nonprofit experts, says this about churches and lobbying:

“Churches” (which is how the Internal Revenue Code describes all houses of worship, including
churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques), as with all other public charities, can lobby. Federal
tax law draws a distinction between activities intended to influence public policy, and campaigning for
a specific candidate. Campaigning for a candidate is strictly prohibited, while influencing the passage
of legislation is allowed. See AFJ’s “Election Checklist for Houses of Worship” for more information on
what churches can and cannot do in the context of elections.

"While churches are subject to many of the rules governing 501(c)(3) public charities, there are
important differences, one being the method of determining lobbying limits. Unlike other public
charities, churches may not make the 501(h) election to measure lobbying. Churches are subject to
the “insubstantial part” test because at the time the legislation creating the 501(h) expenditure test
was passed, churches opted out on religious freedom grounds. Faith-based organizations, such as
the National Council of Jewish Women, Muslim Advocates, or the Sikh Coalition, that are connected
to a specific church or religion but do not primarily receive their financial support from internal church
sources are still eligible to use the 501(h) expenditure test."​

https://www.bolderadvocacy.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Lobbying_Rules_for_Houses_of_Worship.pdf
​

I think all that means yes, churches can lobby government.

 

• This would appear to set reason up as infallible. It would also imply that there is a point where empathy and compassion go beyond reason
  Justice is relative man which means that the concept is inherently unjust
  Proof please? Conjecture a truth does not make.
  If one is free to be then encroachment is inevitable. One's freedom must always lead to another's willingness to be enslaved.
  Science is God....science is incapable of sound understanding because it is based solely upon reason (See above on reason)
  Mistakes are relative too. Furthermore it's only a mistake if one expects success ahead of time

Nobility, compassion, wisdom, and justice are all relative man. To guide one's life by them is to accept the light without the dark which only leads to not understanding.
​

As you can see I do not

 

No churches can not lobby. to be deemed a religious group and be exempt you can not lobby.

The primary guidelines for recognition stipulate that any revenue the church earns may not be used to financially benefit an individual or shareholders, or to influence political decision-making (lobbying)

 

satanists do it.

Islam submit, derived from as Aslama meaning submit to Allah.

Christianity, New Testament was written in Greek. In Greek it was Khrien meaning anoint, but not a name. Then changed to khristos meaning anointed, was not a name, but a meaning. Latin christus - anointed. Old English christ meaning anointed. So it is not a name, Jesus is the name, and not what the religion is named after. This name was translated from Hebrew yeshua, but Greek didn’t have an sh sound. Long story, but Christianity is not the name of a supernatural being.

Now jahova witnesses are named after a Jahova in the bible which is what they believe was gods name.

 

I agree with them, too. Whaddya know, I'm a Satanist and I always thought I was a devout progressive Christian. Actually, I still think I am. I think it's the Satanists who are confused, but they have the substance right. It's just a matter of labeling.

 

No more confused than the rest of us. Progressive devout Christian radical atheistic Satanist or fanatic Islamic extremist it is just a matter of labeling. Everybody thinks they've got the answer. Confusion is a marvelous thing man

 

I assume that much of what I believe is wrong--possibly all of it. The best we can do is muddle through on the basis of our best judgment. For this, I try to draw as best I can on reason, evidence, experience & intuition.. In the end, it's a bet, but I try to make educated bets.

 

as was established a few posts back, they don't actually worship the guy, they just use his name.

 

Yes, they can lobby. What they cannot do (and maintain tax exempt status) is campaign for specific candidates. This is covered in IRS Publication 1828.

All IRC Section 501(c)(3) organizations, including churches and religious
organizations, must abide by certain rules:

• their net earnings may not inure to any private shareholder or individual;
• they must not provide a substantial benefit to private interests;
• they must not devote a substantial part of their activities to attempting to influence legislation;
• they must not participate in, or intervene in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office; and
• the organization’s purposes and activities may not be illegal or violate fundamental public policy.

IRS Publication 1828, page 4.
​

Pages 6 and 7 cover lobbying of churches; they may lobby but must pass a "substantial part test." Here are a couple of excerpts:

In general, no organization, including a church, may qualify for IRC Section 501(c)(3) status if a substantial part of its activities is attempting to influence legislation (commonly known as lobbying). An IRC Section 501(c)(3) organization may engage in some lobbying, but too much lobbying activity risks loss of tax-exempt status.

Churches and religious organizations may, however, involve themselves in issues of public policy without the activity being considered as lobbying. For example, churches may conduct educational meetings, prepare and distribute educational materials, or otherwise consider public policy issues in an educational manner without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status.

Whether a church’s or religious organization’s attempts to influence legislation constitute a substantial part of its overall activities is determined on the basis of all the pertinent facts and circumstances in each case. The IRS considers a variety of factors, including the time devoted (by both compensated and volunteer workers) and the expenditures devoted by the organization to the activity, when determining whether the lobbying activity is substantial. Churches must use the substantial part test since they aren’t eligible to use the expenditure test described in the next section.

IRS Publication 1828, pages 6 and 7​

There's a lot of vagueness involved but it gives the courts something to do.

https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf

 

Thanks for your post Dice. . Seems to me all they are truly about is lobbying, as their site states it as being their goal.