I had heard about them originally during the attention they had gotten for some political activism a few years ago. Like any other person, I thought they genuinely worshipped or believed in a Satan, which wasn’t compatible with me as an atheist. I don’t think I took the time to learn more about them from there.
Then more recently, I came across them again. I began to read into what and who they are, and I aligned with their values. I spent a long time just reading and reading, watching ‘Hail Satan?’ and member testimonials. It’s basically atheism 2.0 for me. A way to do, be, and represent more. I am from Iowa, so the desecration of the display also caught my attention further.
My story starts with becoming an atheist about 15 years ago, hearing about TST fighting to put a Baphomet statue on the state capitol grounds in Oklahoma, and then not thinking about them much for the next 9 years except when they’d pop up in the news and I’d laugh my ass off at whatever antics they were engaged in. I legitimately didn’t realize it wasn’t an elaborate troll for a long, long time.
That all changed last year when the draft Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v Wade was leaked. I saw that as a call to action. I went to protests and looked for any organizations I could find that are fighting for reproductive rights. Naturally, atheists on reddit at the time reminded me about the Temple, so I gave it a hard look for the first time ever and realized it was a serious religion. And, not just that, one whose core tenets I agreed with wholeheartedly. I was officially a Satanist by that month’s end and haven’t looked back!
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