The Satanic Temple in the US vows to fight for equal rights for the gay community
A new documentary 'Hail Satan?' is released in UK cinemas today (August 23)
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
The Satanic Temple vow to fight for equal rights for the LGBTQ community.
Hail Satan? is a new documentary which explores the Satanic Temple in the US and co-founder Lucien Greaves shines a light on how the Temple is mostly LGBTQ people who feel disowned and disenfranchised by the ‘traditional religious institutions’.
The new documentary hits UK cinemas today (August 23) and in Attitude’s September Style issue – out now to order globally or download to any device – David McGillivray speaks to Greaves about the LGBTQ representation in the Temple.
Lucien Greaves
Greaves – who identifies as straight – says: “It would be a conservative estimate to say that more than 50 per cent of our membership is LGBTQ.
“I think that’s because they feel disowned and disenfranchised from the traditional religious institutions.
“So, you have a population willing to embrace a religious identification that is boldly willing to speak out to the contrary.
“From the start, when one of our early actions was the Pink Mass, a lot of LGBTQ people were looking for another community that didn’t see them as defined by their sexual orientation.
“Within the Satanic Temple, we’re all pretty much one and the same. We’re all Satanists and it’s not like we have ‘tolerance’ for trans people or gay people or sex workers, we just don’t fucking care, and a lot of people in those communities appreciate that.”
Greaves goes on to say how the Satanic Temple are always involved in Pride parades around the US and vows to protect and fight for the gay community and their rights.
He continues: “Our chapters are always involved with Pride parades in the United States, they’re always doing something for the LGBTQ community and they’re always open about inclusion.
“One of the earlier things we wanted to do before the Supreme Court ruled in favour of gay marriage in the US was to test rights versus religious liberty in states that were refusing to allow equal marriage.
“We were going to do this by holding a satanic gay wedding in any one of these states and, if the state refused to recognise it, we’d sue on the grounds that it was our religious liberty to have it recognised.
“We never got to do that but there are people who want to roll back other things such as Roe vs Wade [a Supreme Court ruling which effectively legalises abortion throughout the US] as well.
“We will always fight them, we will fight them to the death to ensure that there are equal rights for the gay community.”
Hail Satan? is released in UK cinemas today.
Read the full feature about the Satanic Temple in Attitude’s September Style issue – available to download and to order globally now.
Buy now and take advantage of our best-ever subscription offers: three issues for £3 in print, 13 issues for £19.99 to download to any device.
