Bespoke Satanism
Threading the Needles of Intuition and Institution
This is what you want, this is what you get
This is what you want, this is what you get
This is what you want, this is what you get
This is what you want, this is what you get“The Order of Death” by Public Image Ltd.
DISCLAIMER: This essay is the opinion of me, Satanic Fragment, and not that of The Satanic Temple or anyone else affiliated with it.
The Satanic Temple is a confusing entity. We are a non-theistic religion who praises Satan. We built our Tenets and Mission Statement on Enlightenment values while claiming the Romantic Satan - a character who came into being mostly as an adversary to Enlightenment’s favoured children, Capitalism and Protestantism - as our patron. We then chose an Epicurean fable as our chosen myth followed by a scientifically dubious grand narrative as our philosophical justifier. To wrap it all up, we institutionalized ourselves as part of the same Leviathan that we mock, spurn, and protest. We are legitimacy seeking rebels that demand respect from the exact systems we reject who practice scientific woo with a profound moral certainty. We are, in many ways, the ultimate religious remixers, to steal a term from Tara Isabella Burton.
Given this complicated, messy mix of philosophies and symbolism we often find ourselves falling upon other Satanists with more vigour than our enemies, simply because one Temple Satanist has prioritized the conflicting sets of values in a different way than another and this is seen as a betrayal. This is how we can get some people thrilled to vote with their dollars to see The Satanic Temple’s new abortion clinic be named The President’s Yuge Most Beautiful Tremendous Satanic Abortion Clinic while others will schism over that name because it is making fun of a serious topic. This is also how people who will proudly write “Satan‘s work is defending freedom. Not your feelings.” in their Facebook bio then rage against me for leading a service on Steven Pinker’s The Better Angels of Our Nature because Steven Pinker, like most of the intellectual dark web and new atheists, has become quite transphobic in recent years (though his sexism has been mostly ignored). In fact, that service drew out a number of folks claiming that Satanism should have no texts - canon, primary, or other - despite Temple Satanism having multiple Primary Texts listed on our website going back to 2018, while prior to that TST had a Canonical Text. These two examples of hyper-individualized understandings of Temple Satanism are what Tara Isabella Burton calls Intuitionalism.
What is Intuitionalism?
In her book Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World, Burton says intuitionalism is “a focus on the self, on its instincts and desires, as being not just fine or acceptable, but cosmically good, in tune with the universe”. In other words, it is your feelings, your experiences that determine what is true and moral. The trend of ‘speaking one’s truth’ is nothing more than the expectation of people treating that ‘truth’ as fact even if, maybe even especially if, it contradicts the perspective of someone else. Doubly so if the disagreeing perspective is held by someone with more perceived social status.
This self-focus on one’s needs and wants as truth is a natural fit for Satanism. TST, despite what some want to say, did grow out of the hedonism of LaVey. We also embrace the Satan of The Revolt of the Angels, a great Epicurean who “was worshipped under the names of Evan, Dionysus, Iacchus, and Lenæus.” 1 Sensual, physical, material needs are as much part of Temple Satanism as LaVeyan Satanism. We are our own gods. Self sovereign, our bodies subject to our will alone. What could be more right?
Well, that rhetorical question is complicated. Giving people’s perspectives and experiences credence matters. The moment people say they have been hurt or wronged is the first step in the pursuit of justice. It is also important to remember that many people come to The Satanic Temple because of religious abuse, both physical and mental, meaning this is the first time that many folks have had an opportunity to freely explore their authentic self. Another good, right thing for people to experience.
On the flip side of granting credulity, one must be careful not to grant too much. I have seen people weaponize their perspectives, their traumas to demand accommodation while offering no accommodations to others. One cannot say everyone’s perspective matters and then shut down any perspective that does not match theirs. Nor can someone demand accommodation from all but then decide all accommodations that aren’t their needs can be dismissed as irrelevant.
Another issue of intuitionalism is that things outside of how an individual chooses to interact with The Satanic Temple are seen as unreal and unimportant. I often express this by saying there is not one TST but four - Executive Ministry, personified by Lucien Greaves, the Campaigns that are predominately known through their activism and court actions, our addiction and support recovery program Sober Faction, and the Society of Congregations which is focused on religious aspects of local communities. Depending on how you predominantly interact with the Temple, you will have a completely different experience and view of what The Satanic Temple is, and what its priorities are. This became most clear to me when one particular Campaign Director took very loud and public umbrage with the Our Better Angels service because it made their job more difficult. In other words, a discussion of a Primary Text of our religion should be stopped in the name of advancing our public rights to practice our religion. They saw The Satanic Temple’s primary reason for existence as activism, to stand against Christo-fascism, and that we should sacrifice our religious practices to ease that work.
These personalized, bespoke wants can and do foster a sense of ‘me’ and ‘not me’, an alienation and lack of cohesion that frequently makes coming together as a community difficult. This is not to lay the blame at any one person’s feet. We all swim in the waters of the neo-liberal capitalist consensus. We have been taught to expect everything should be a personalized experience that we can simply buy into and have fulfilled at one’s own whim where the only compromise you need to make is based on the number of digits in your bank account. While this language may feel loaded, I ask that you unload it. These realities are what Satan is talking about when he says “We were conquered because we failed to understand that Victory is a Spirit, and that it is in ourselves and in ourselves alone that we must attack and destroy Ialdabaoth.” 2 These are also the lessons of Max Weber, Paul Kivel, and numerous Satanic political revolutionaries from the 1800s.
Institutionalism and TST
In many ways institutionalism is the opposite experience of intuitionalism, where you are expected to mold yourself around the beliefs and structures of the institution. Is this not anathema to a Satanist? Having one’s will subverted is exactly why Satan revolted is it not? Plus many Temple Satanists come to the Temple after fleeing high control, abusive religious institutions. Suggesting that they replace one controlling church with another is almost evil. I get this sentiment, the spiritual chaffing that many Satanists feel when conversations turn to Just Authority. But like I did just a moment ago, I will ask you to unload these feelings, that emotional reaction before continuing.
When joining any group, not just a religion, there are expectations put upon you. In some cases, like joining a new friend group, those expectations may be very informal, possibly never actually discussed. In other situations there may be very few formal rules - think going to a club night where the only barrier to entry is dressing appropriately and paying your cover - but there are a number of informal standards of that night at that venue, such as you won’t hear ZZ Top at the goth club, or the expectation that you will buy a drink or two at the bar since the cover is going to the entertainment. Some groups have very formal standards that one must meet. Professionals of all stripes must meet skill and education requirements, behave in ways that do not bring disrepute to the profession, pay dues, and more. Religion can fall anywhere from very informal to very formal.
I would also like to point out that if you are part of a congregation, working on a campaign, or a Minister you have already agreed to a number of compromises to be part of The Satanic Temple. While the website states that “Membership is open to individuals dedicated, in action and/or by identity, to the tenets of The Satanic Temple” 3 joining a congregation, campaign, or becoming a Minister means you are held to the standards of the Temple’s Code of Conduct and one or more Non-disclosure Agreements. This is all good and just. Good because it protects us all and sets the bounds of civil discourse. Just because association with The Satanic Temple is voluntary, not mandatory, so if one does not accept the beliefs or behaviours of The Satanic Temple one can choose not to belong to the organization or choose to be involved at a lower intensity.
Another part of institutionalizing The Satanic Temple is the fact that TST and a number of congregations within TST are legal entities. That legal status comes with significant benefits but also significant responsibilities. Our legal status allows Ministers to solemnize marriages, for charity receipts to be given out, and provides our members with significant legal protections. Those same protections are the same rights that campaigns use to ensure fair, equitable, and equal access to the public squares which forms the basis of all of our legal fights. The trade off is that these legal rights come with legal responsibilities such as ownership, requirements to protect intellectual property, reporting to various government entities to name but a few. Lucien and Malcolm have made the calculation that the benefits are worth the responsibilities but it also means that you, and anyone else coming into the Temple, have legal obligations that you may have never thought about.
Of course, it is possible for institutions to go from the facilitation of communal good to stifling individuality quite quickly and easily. That is a position I am not only sympathetic to but wary of. People can, have, and will again abuse institutional systems. There is, to a degree, ableism built into every bureaucracy no matter how much effort we put into overcoming it. Institutions and bureaucracies are rules based, and all rules are imperfect, hence open to exploitation.
Despite these pitfalls institutions do create shared values and communal cohesion, two things that are needed to be effective. But this shared responsibility cannot be enforced by coercive measures even if it is important, potentially even legally required, to have systems of accountability, reprimand, and dismissal as part of operating as an organization.
Threading the Needles
As Temple Satanists our job is to thread the twin needles of intuitionalism and institutionalism. Given that we are not black and white thinkers by nature this should be more than doable, with a little thought and effort. Both positions offer banes and boons to Temple Satanists so the goal is to extract the most benefit from both ways of being while using their combined strengths to minimize harm. And given that it is the institution that provides the framework and the guardrails it is through the language of institutions that I will offer my suggestions on how to thread those needles.
1. Dedication to and/or identification with the Tenets of The Satanic Temple is enough to be an associate of The Satanic Temple.
This is right from the website. The basic goals of the Satanic Temple are humanistic values that cross religious and philosophical bounds. These are near universal values grounded in the writings of Hobbes, Rousseau, and Locke that form the foundation of liberal democracy. This base opens us up to many, many allies that we should want because we need them. As such, there is nothing here I would change beyond making clear the closeness of the relationship.
2. Knowing and accepting what Primary Texts are, while supporting the Mission Statement of The Satanic Temple is needed to be affiliated with TST.
Affiliation is where you start to get to know what it truly means to be a Temple Satanist. The mission statement is clear:
The Mission Of The Satanic Temple Is To Encourage Benevolence And Empathy, Reject Tyrannical Authority, Advocate Practical Common Sense, Oppose Injustice, And Undertake Noble Pursuits.4
This Mission draws upon not only the Tenets but the moral and philosophical justifications of our Primary Texts. Combined, the Tenets and Texts focus our intentions, turning action into more than just politics but a spiritual pursuit.
Note: Though I use the word spiritual here, I do not mean spiritual in a supernatural or magical way. The spiritual I am talking about is a feeling of existential meaning that humans experience when doing something that matters to them.
3. Understanding the why of the Primary Texts and doing things the “Temple Way” is what it takes to fully be a Temple Satanist.
This is the deepest connection to the institution, where one understands why the Tenets and Texts truly matter. One can articulate how the Texts support the Tenets, and how the Tenets support the Texts. Entrenchment at this level means Temple Satanists can not only hold the seemingly contradictory ideas of ritual and praising Satan with our non-theistic beliefs. In fact, one should be able to see and navigate the myriad of weird contradictions presented in the introduction to this article.
With regards to the “Temple Way” I mean living and practicing our values in a way that is identifiably Temple Satanism. The Tenets are now your nature. You participate in ritual in a way that is clearly Temple Satanism, not any other flavour of Satanism. In group signifiers like Victory is a Spirit, friendly demons, our religious service invocation, and referring to Baphomet as Baphy, are just part of your daily vernacular when engaging with fellow Temple Satanists. You reflect other Satanists and they reflect you as our language, celebrations, group rituals have a specific feeling, a flavour that is shared between Temple Satanists, across congregations across the world. In many ways this conception of the Temple Way is similar to the Natural Blasphemy described by Stephen Bradford Long5.
Strengths of this Model
I believe that this institutional framework provides a solid, unifying narrative that can be taught and understood across The Satanic Temple regardless of regional contexts. It provides different degrees of commitment that any adherent can connect with. At one end, those simply looking to support The Satanic Temple’s efforts to stand against government over-reach can donate to the cause or buy a t-shirt and know their efforts are valued and appreciated. On the other extreme is a deep rooted religious practice where Ministers and Congregants find cosmic orientation and existential meaning as Temple Satanists. Between these two extremes is a space for people to explore themselves, advancing and retreating as needed as they learn more about themselves or as their ability to commit to deep religious practices wax and wane.
From a strategic standpoint, I believe this framework is robust enough to clear the hurdles of legal religious establishment in multiple jurisdictions where The Satanic Temple operates. More codified ways of doing and being are needed for legitimization in countries beyond the United States. Something that non-Americans feel gets overlooked by our American colleagues far too often.
Making Room for Intuitionalism
This model also creates space for a lot of personalization. It offers few dictates - just enough to create a robust framework based on what I believe should be easily agreed upon codes and texts - to create cohesion and group identity while simultaneously meeting the more stringent requirements of legal recognition in non-US jurisdictions. This allows Temple Satanists in more places to pursue, and eventually benefit, from government protections in their countries. Beyond these minimal requirements, there is a lot of freedom to personalize Temple Satanism.
Personal practice is not prescribed, at least not beyond non-supernaturalism. You can incorporate old and new practices into your personal Satanism. Feel free to turn your Christmas Tree into a Sol Invictus Evergreen, swapping an angel for Baphomet if you so choose. You can still have Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, or The Great Pumpkin if they bring you joy. Or you can drop all of those old traditions as meaningless non-sense and forge new traditions that work for you and your family. I myself have done both. Sol Invictus with my partner doesn’t resemble Christmas with my family but both have deep, personal meaning to me. Let what sparks happiness in you guide you in these personal practices.
The Tenets also provide space and permission for Satanists to explore kink, gender, and sexuality without invalidating what it means to be a Temple Satanist, so long as you respect the choices of others. You can merge your various identities together, creating new Satanic infused identities to express who and what you are. That can not only be personally empowering but legally protective as well.
You can even reach outside of your personal experiences and bring in other metaphysical conceptions into your personal Satanic practice. For example, Sorin Malcontent has drawn upon his interest in Japanese culture to begin a philosophical identity of his own making called The Satanic Warrior that blends Bushido with The Seven Fundamental Tenets, creating an ethical technology focused on moral action.
Much of my writing here does the same thing that Sorin is doing. From the Primary Texts I’ve branched out to Hobbes, and Epicurus, then into Rawls, Berlant, Kohlberg and others. I’ve delved into religious theory and Satanic fiction to help understand what our new religious movement is and what it could be.
For you, you may be inspired by other things. Pop culture, classic horror, and Satanic works outside of Primary Texts are all ripe for harvesting inspiration and meaning to incorporate into your Temple Satanism. You don’t have to limit yourself or follow the path I am walking. Intuition matters because you matter.
At the most extreme of one’s personal practice, one is free to dislike authors or the Primary Texts and Tenets, even arguing against them or to remove them, but to do so it is expected that they know why they are important to begin with. What follows from this expectation is that anyone arguing for changes to our core theology must be able to present a compelling case as to how the removal, replacement, or addition of your preferred texts will drive Temple Satanism forward into a more noble, wise, just and compassionate future for all TST practitioners. Simple dislike, no matter how morally contaminated one thinks an idea or author is, is not and should not be the bar.
Stitching This All Together
Writing all of this down is certainly a lot easier than putting it into practice, especially since I am offering not a recipe for success rather a starting point for deliberation and reformation. The only thing I know for certain is that any move towards a more open institutional structure starts with rebuilding trust, something that is in short supply within TST based on many private conversations that I have had. But those same conversations have also revealed that people are wanting to trust, wanting to come together. This gives me hope. Typically when parties want the same thing then a compact can be struck so long as people are willing to talk. There is an actual way forward that can stitch the many TSTs into one but it will take a shared vision to do so.
I do believe that whatever compact gets struck will require The Satanic Temple to more clearly lead with religion. Our positive, religious values should not be obfuscated even when they are scary, complicated or politically inexpedient. Nor can we allow ourselves to be dismissed as political trolls simply because political trolling is a religious sacrament to us. Temple Satanism is a religion, and it is by practicing Temple Satanism that we justify all the activism and motivate the charity we do. Silencing the religion suffocates the political and the social. We must lead with our religious values.
To bring all this to fruition means a reorientation of Ministerial training and organizational structures to incentivize and reward the behaviours that we all deem as necessary. This means hard conversations, deliberations with the intent to forge a new relationship between Temple Satanism and its practitioners. We will need to practice radical openness and radical compassion to navigate these discussions. The good thing is I believe we all want this.
Everyone I have talked to says they come to Temple Satanism to gather in a community of shared values. If people are being honest when they say that, to create that community means discussing what those values are, what obligations come with those values, and what are the shared practices that we will all agree to participate in to foster those values. My wish is that this essay may spark more good faith conversations about what it means to live together as Temple Satanists.
France, “The Revolt of the Angels”, 178
France, “The Revolt of the Angels”, 348
The Satanic Temple Website, Join Us
The Satanic Temple Website, About Us
Long, Sacred Tension, Varieties of Satanic Blasphemy
We discussed your article during "Writers' Coven." I had another thought...Isn't the essence of The Satanic Temple about thinking and moving past knee jerk reactions?
Your essay sparked me to ponder much. Hail you🤘