Satanists use Hobby Lobby decision to ask for exemption from anti-abortion laws

[Blue3]

http://theweek.com/article/index/265471/speedreads-satanic-temple-seeks-hobby-lobby-style-exemption-from-anti-abortion-laws

Since the Hobby Lobby decision says conservative Christians can be exempt from a law they say violates their beliefs, a Satanic Temple is asking for exemption from state anti-abortion laws based upon their own beliefs.

[Blue3]

Because Satanism isn't actually a religion.

Yeah, it is.

[Blue3]

Some of them have filed for tax-exempt non-profit status, others have not.  The Satanic Temple is an example of one that has not.  From its website:  "Please note that The Satanic Temple believes that religious organizations should not be tax exempt and for that reason contributions are not tax deductible."  In fact, it is officially a Limited Liability Company (LLC).  (They also have a Facebook page which makes a similar claim regarding their philosophy about contributions to religious organizations.)  My guess is that a taxpaying LLC is not a religion, at least in the eyes of the government.

That's a truly stupid reason to think something is not a religious organization.


Also, you don't even need to belong to a religious organization to have religion.

[Blue3]

Some people would say the same about Christians.

Don't go judging what is and isn't a "real religion."

[Blue3]

Hobby Lobby was about the use of an employer's funds to subsidize birth control.

Violating abortion laws is a completely different story, and the OP knows this.

I'm no lawyer, just think it's ironic and fitting. Maybe it will stand, maybe it won't, have no idea.

[Blue3]

Some people would say the same about Christians.

Don't go judging what is and isn't a "real religion."

But that would make sense if Satanism, at least of the LaVeyan kind, wasn't an atheistic movement that simply appropriated devil-worship imagery.

Theravada Buddhists (the original Buddhists) don't believe in God or worship anything. Yet they're a religion.

[Blue3]

Well that's because they have a metaphysical framework. Satanists merely allude to one while not actually believing in it.

Not really. Many of them don't even believe in the literal version of reincarnation that we have in the West.

Many self-proclaimed Christians don't actually believe in it either.

Again, nobody can judge whether something is a religion or not. If a person says they have a religious belief in x, then no one has a place to tell that person it's not a religious belief. Least of all the government, especially since we have the first amendment.

[Blue3]

No religions are legitimate or illegitimate.

[Blue3]

Hell Scientology is actually a pretty legitimate religion in relation to Satanism. Satanism is as serious a "religion" as the Flying Spaghetti Monster. It's nothing but people of a selfish libertarian bent doing anti-Christian trolling.

Treating Satanism as a "religion" would be like allowing hardcore Star Wars fans who want to call themselves "Jedi" and claim "Jedi" as a religion like some did as a joke on the UK Census once to be considered a serious religion.

Let them all be considered religions. It's not the place of the American government to judge what is and what isn't a religion. See the first amendment.