The Satanic Temple kicked off SatanCon at the Marriott Copley Place Hotel in Boston on Friday. The sold-out three-day convention included satanic rituals, entertainment, and discussion panels. But soon after it was announced a counter-response Christian event called Revive Boston! was organized for the same weekend.
In addition to the angry protestors, there was a truck with a billboard condemning the event from the Christian Action Network parked outside. But organizers maintain that The Satanic Temple is simply misunderstood. “We don’t worship anything, God or devil. We don’t believe they exist,” said SatanCon organizer Dex Desjardins.
In an earlier interview, The Satanic Temple member explained a bit more in-depth. “Satanism is a very misunderstood religion,” said Desjardins. “A lot of people think we just picked the name Satan out of a hat to troll Christians or something, but we honestly don’t really care what anyone else thinks about us. So, we’re not doing anything to troll anybody.”
Which can be seen as contradictory. While the event is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of The Satanic Temple. They dedicated the event to the mayor of Boston Michelle Wu after the group was barred from delivering a satanic invocation at City Hall. You have to admit, that comes off like a bit of a troll. “Neither Mayor Wu nor the City of Boston are sponsoring or affiliated with SatanCon 2023,” Wu’s office said in a statement. “Mayor Wu will be out of town this weekend.”
The Satanic Temple members and organizers continue to reiterate they do not believe in Satan. That shouldn’t be confused with other Satanic religions, since they are often mistaken for The Church of Satan. The group advocates for the separation of church and state and empathy for all.
“It’s about supporting human rights,” SatanCon attendee Richard-Lael Lillard explained to WBZ-TV. “It’s about supporting women’s bodily autonomy. It’s about freedom of religion, freedom from religion.” Adding “Most don’t believe in Satan, not a literal Satan. It’s not some 1980s horror film.”
Despite the protests, most conventiongoers seemed unfazed. Many were probably expecting this reaction given the organization’s history of butting heads with local governments and the religious right. Most seem to understand how videos like the one shown below may upset some people.
