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The Satanic Temple’s foremost spokesman has reportedly faced internal backlash after he posed for a photograph with an atheist activist who condemned "crazy woke sh--" among LGBTQ+ activism.
The Satanic Temple (TST) co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves has a history as a provocateur against Christianity in public life, but now is reportedly facing uproar from members of his own religion. In June, Greaves had appeared in a photo with former American Atheists president David Silverman, who thanked him in a tweet for a "great tour" and declared, "Great to see you again and thanks as always for your activism!"
"[I]n the small world of radical atheist activism, the image was instantly divisive," The Atlantic’s Helen Lewis reported in a piece about TST’s leadership feud. "Silverman had been pushed out of American Atheists several years earlier amid accusations of sexual misconduct, which he denied, and he had drawn criticism more recently for arguing that it wasn’t transphobic to say, in reference to transgender rights, ‘[live] your life as you see fit, but stay out of women’s showers and don’t groom kids.’"
Silverman, who frequently shares posts from trans ideology-skeptic organization Gays Against Groomers and whose current bio describes him as "Ex-Left ex-woke," responded to the backlash at the time by arguing, "Lol. I've been a civil rights activist in support of trans people for 25 years, since before anyone was looking. I also love my trans kid unconditionally." Silverman went on to say, with ostensible sarcasm, "But sure. I disagree with some of the more crazy woke sh-- so I'm in the same category as those who throw trans kids out. Maybe read a book and do some research."
Lucien Greaves spent years protesting Christianity's role in American public life, now he is being targeted for failing to cater enough to the political demands of groups in the modern Satanist community. (Lucien photo by Josh Reynolds for The Washington Post via Getty Images, Trans rights protestor photo by Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images )
"Many Satanic Temple members objected to their leader posing with such a figure," Lewis at the Atlantic reported.
"People immediately hated on me, but they had no idea why," Silverman told Lewis via email. "They just knew I was an outsider and therefore a hateful, anti-trans, evil person, and Lucien was guilty for knowing me."
Meanwhile, Greaves reportedly dismissed the backlash and downplayed his relationship with Silverman, arguing he could not vet every person who wanted a photo taken with him.
"The discontent with that response quickly spread into a full-blown Satanic schism. There were calls for Greaves to apologize, to cede power, to reaffirm his support for trans rights," Lewis reported.
Her article observed some satanists voted to splinter off entirely, such as a sobriety oriented satanist group who hosted a Zoom event to "air the concerns of trans and non-binary Satanists." Some speakers at this event "argued that the photograph had caused harm" and the group eventually left altogether, denouncing "TST and the patriarchal, white supreme [sic] structure of its leadership."
The Atlantic piece juxtaposed how many satanists go out of their way to "offend many Christians and Republicans" such as with an abortion clinic named after a Supreme Court justice, yet are highly sensitive about catering to modern far-left social politics.
Minister Adam gathers with other members of the Satanic Temple of Illinois in front of the Abraham Lincoln statue on Dec. 6, 2022, outside the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield before installing their seasonal display alongside a Christmas tree and menorah inside the rotunda. (Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Yet even so, Lewis noted that Greaves refused to condemn Silverman and objected to the demand itself, "I have no interest in re-litigating the transgressions of somebody I now understand to be entirely and effectively canceled," he wrote. "One does not look upon the barbarity of medieval torture devices and ask, but were those who were subjected to this guilty?"
Lewis then described the base of TST itself, which grows increasingly wary of its establishment leadership.
"They want the Temple to be an avowedly progressive organization that puts out statements supporting child gender transition and Black Lives Matter. They want Greaves to be more careful about his associations, because his friendships and professional relationships reflect badly on them," she summarized. "Above all, they want to know that, if necessary, they could discipline or remove him."
Lewis noted that Greaves, even after a life of progressive activism, has "explicitly rejected" increasingly progressive political demands.
"I didn’t realize necessarily how oppressive this culture was, to me, until this explosion happened with the Silverman thing," the Satanic leader told the reporter.
When Fox News Digital reached out to Greaves to explain what he meant by "this culture" being "oppressive," he responded by declaring that "There is a crippling culture within progressive activism that preferences ‘optics’ over tangible results and insists on endlessly hunting enemies within before ever confronting the core mission of the cause that is allegedly being championed."
He went on to write that amid his long battle against what he calls "encroaching theocracy," he now has had to contend with people in Satanism pushing for "safety" from "uncomfortable ideas."
"My focus is, and always has been, securing our religious liberty and defending pluralism. The Satanic Temple has been leading from the front in a war against encroaching theocracy, and I expect that those who join with us will be willing to be challenged, to face uncomfortable ideas and situations, to stand strong as an outsider," he wrote. "If they have joined The Satanic Temple insisting that we provide them 'safety,' they have come to the wrong place."
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