Vandals have reportedly destroyed yet another Satanic display, with the latest debacle unfolding in Concord, New Hampshire.
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The Satanic Temple’s display was reportedly only up for three days before the black Baphomet’s head was lobbed off and other elements shattered.
The organization reportedly put the Baphomet on display Saturday, though, by Tuesday, the damage had already been done, the Concord Monitor reported.
Before its destruction, The Satanic Temple posted the “unveiling” on social media, proclaiming, “Hail Satan!” before removing a black covering over the structure. The statue, which had yellow eyes, included a tablet with The Satanic Temple’s “7 Fundamental Tenets.”
Mayor Byron Champlin, who didn’t condone the associated destruction, said he doesn’t believe the display should have been permitted to be placed outside of the New Hampshire State House.
“My preference was to deny the permit and accept the risk of the threatened lawsuit,” Champlin said at Concord City Council Monday night, according to the Concord Monitor. “I oppose the permit because I believe the request was made not in the interest of promoting religious equity but in order to drive an anti-religious agenda.”
This is an interesting argument, considering some claim all religious displays — including those of atheists and Satanists — should be permitted at holiday time when nativities and creches are placed on public property.
In recent years, secularists and Satanists have sought to have their own representation, with the resulting elements sometimes seen by critics as mocking or poking fun at faith.
While some argue the display is an example of religious diversity, Champlin takes a different view, seeing The Satanic Temple — a group that doesn’t believe in the existence of the devil — as implementing what he called a “very calculated political effort.”
“We have room in our society for atheists, and for secularists, and for Christians, and for flat-earthers,” he told the Concord Monitor. “That’s what our democracy and our First Amendment is about.”
Champlin continued, “I just don’t like what I view as a pretty cold political calculation on the part of this group, and I’m also very upset with the fact that this whole thing was prompted by somebody who’s not even from Concord.”
Before the statue’s destruction, the City of Concord released a statement on social media explaining that The Satanic Temple received a permit to have its display join the nativity as well as a Bill of Rights scene placed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation, an atheist activist group.
“The Satanic Temple has been making requests to install its monuments at holiday displays as part of a show of unity and religious pluralism,” the statement read. “Throughout the country, the Satanic Temple has both threatened and brought lawsuits under the First Amendment when excluded.”
It continued, “Under the First Amendment and to avoid litigation, the city needed to choose whether to ban all holiday displays installed by other groups, or otherwise, to allow it.”
Police are reportedly investigating the vandalism of the Satanic display.
Democratic State Rep. Ellen Read had reportedly reached out to The Satanic Temple before the holiday season to encourage the presence of the statue. The existence of other religious imagery outside the government building sparked her interest, WMUR-TV reported.
“I approached them as a person who cares about equal representation on public grounds for religions,” she said. “The First Amendment doesn’t mean anything unless we’re actually making it work.”
As for Champlin, he’s hoping to create a city committee to review such displays in the future and to have a more definitive policy in place before the next holiday season.
CBN News has reached out to The Satanic Temple to see if the display will be fixed and returned to its location and to Champlin for further comment. We will update the story as responses come in.
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