The rise of anti-religious bigotry
OPINION:
Anti-religious bigotry is on the rise in America. This is not a new phenomenon. But while previous surges of anti-religious bigotry were rooted in sectarianism — one religious group against another — the scourge we are witnessing today is driven by people who claim not to profess any religion themselves.
Over the summer, the Los Angeles Dodgers — one of the most beloved and until recently family-friendly corporations in America — gave an award to an anti-Catholic hate group, the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.
The group’s members are men who dress up as nuns and priests to engage in grotesque depictions of Catholic traditions and sacred practices and mock people of faith who object. They defend themselves by claiming to be simply a comedy troupe raising money for LGBTQ causes, but their actions are clearly intended to spread disdain for Catholics in particular.
The Dodgers initially rescinded the award after Catholics and other Christian groups protested but ultimately chose to reinstate it to appease the group and allied LGBTQ organizations. This incident confirmed the suspicions of many people of faith that corporate America is now openly hostile to them.
Perhaps most troubling is that many anti-religious bigots who mock people of faith are increasingly choosing to fly the banner of satanism.
Across the country, the Satanic Temple organization, which boasts 700,000 members, is sponsoring after-school Satan clubs as an alternative to religion-based student groups. The same Satanic Temple organization has sponsored a demonic statue in the Illinois Capitol rotunda alongside the official Christmas tree and Hanukkah menorah. And this year, a satanic group in Green Bay, Wisconsin, sponsored a satanic tree at a museum’s annual Christmas tree festival — during one of the most sacred seasons for Christians.
Satanic Temple members swear that they don’t actually believe in a literal Satan or anything supernatural and says that Satan is merely a metaphor for their followers. Yet despite these assertions, satanists are organizing to claim they are entitled to the legal protections of religious freedom laws.
In the last few years, satanists have challenged pro-life laws in states including Idaho, Indiana, Missouri and Texas — all of which have strong religious freedom protections — on the basis that abortion is a practice of their religion.
The Satanic Temple has founded a New Mexico-based online entity selling abortion pills to pregnant women and girls until the third month of pregnancy. it is called Samuel Alito’s Mom’s Satanic Abortion Clinic to mock the Catholic Supreme Court justice who authored the majority opinion overturning Roe v. Wade.
The Satanic Temple also claims that it doesn’t actually worship Satan, but the practice gives optional instructions to women on how to perform a satanic abortion ritual with the pills. The group received a glowing profile in Cosmopolitan magazine.
Satanism and other forms of anti-religious bigotry are beginning to flood pop culture. Singer Sam Smith headlined the Grammy Awards earlier this year with a devil-themed performance of his song “Unholy” on broadcast television.
Rapper Lil Nas X has used his rise to fame to spread satanic imagery and troll Christians and conservatives who object.
Singer Sabrina Carpenter released a music video earlier this month made under false pretenses in a Catholic church in Brooklyn, New York. It depicted her dancing provocatively on the altar, which she covered in profane symbols. After an uproar, Ms. Carpenter laughed off the concerns of Catholics by sarcastically telling Variety magazine, “Jesus was a carpenter.”
Against this backdrop, acts of real violence against Catholic churches have spiked dramatically. CatholicVote has documented nearly 400 attacks against Catholic churches in the United States since the summer of 2020, including more than 200 since the leak of the Dobbs decision in May 2022 and nearly 100 so far in 2023.
Many of the attacks have clear and creepy spiritual motives, like incidents when consecrated Eucharistic hosts have been stolen, but the expensive gold tabernacles holding them were left behind. The epidemic of violence targets Catholic churches most often, but evangelical churches, synagogues and mosques are not immune.
The anti-religionists like the Satanic Temple and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence may dismiss objections to their exploits by claiming to be engaging in parody and satire against organized religion. But Christians of all races and socioeconomic backgrounds find these tactics deeply hurtful at a time when their churches are already under violent attack.
If their anti-religious crusades continue unchecked, there will be darker days ahead, and we will lose the first freedom upon which our country was founded, as well as the blessings that it has brought.
• Tommy Valentine is director of the Catholic Accountability Project at CatholicVote.
