SPRINGFIELD, IL — A Satanic holiday display under the Illinois State Capitol Dome in Springfield is not a holiday miracle, according to some protesters, despite the installation’s message of plurality and reconciliation.
This is the second year that the Illinois congregation of The Satanic Temple has joined other groups in displaying religious symbols of the December holidays, including a Nativity scene and Menorah. The rotunda holiday displays were canceled last year due to the pandemic.
Earlier this week, The Satanic Temple hailed the arrival of new artwork at the Illinois Capitol Rotunda in celebration of the Satanic holiday Sol Invictus, which is celebrated on Dec. 25. The new display, created by horror artist Chris P. Andres, depicts the deity Baphomet as a swaddling babe, not unlike Chicago’s infamous legend of the Devil Baby of Hull House.
“This year’s tradition marks a greater urgency in the Baphomet’s message of harmony and reconciliation,” The Satanic Temple’s director of campaign operations Erin Helian said in a news release.
The Satanic Temple is less of a true religious group than it is a social activist organization, which claims a half million congregants. Its members have publicly confronted hate groups, support women’s reproductive rights, the separation of church and state, and other social justice issues, according to the group’s mission statement.
Earlier this month, Springfield Catholic Bishop Thomas John Paprocki, a vocal critic of the satanic display, said that not all religions should have access to the state capitol. Paprocki called out The Satanic Temple as an entity that seeks to divide rather than unite. He insisted the organization should not be permitted to participate with other religious groups in hosting displays at “this Capitol or any other place.”
In keeping with the display’s theme of unity, the group invited Bishop Paprocki “to hold hands with members of The Satanic Temple while we come together and stand before all the religious displays at the rotunda.”
“It is my Sol Invictus wish that Bishop Paprocki will accept our invitation, so we can share with him our message of compassion and empathy, so we can come together and spread the harmonious holiday spirit of the Baphomet to the entire Springfield community,” Helian added.
Members of the Catholic group “American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family, and Property” gathered to protest Baby Baphomet. Parishioners held banners reading, “Satan has no rights” and “Mary crushes the serpent.”
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“Protestors are always welcome,” said a spokesperson from The Satanic Temple. “We are non-violent, but our feet are firmly planted in free speech for all. Even people who don’t agree with us and don’t want us around.”
The state of Illinois is legally required to allow the Satanic display in the Capitol, just as it is required to allow a nativity scene and a menorah to be displayed.
