Across the country, the Satanic Temple, an IRS-recognized atheist church with some 300,000 devotees, is waging a legal battle it says is for religious liberty, using tactics that have proved effective for Christian groups. The church, which preaches both empathy and the "freedom to offend," has filed at least seven lawsuits in as many states, challenging the limits on what qualifies as religious expression. It says it’s looking for equal treatment in the public square. Its opponents say it’s just mocking Christianity and calling it a high-minded struggle for justice. Lucien Greaves, who co-founded the church in 2013, says he hopes the lawsuits will expand religious equality and free speech in a way that benefits all Americans, whether they approve of his faith or not. "People get a laugh when they see us fighting to put a Satanic monument on the same grounds as the Ten Commandments, but whether we succeed or fail is not of minor importance," Greaves, 45, said in an interview. When Christians seek to put up monuments in public spaces, "that’s not all they’re asking for," he said. "That’s just a first step." The church’s argument in Little Rock, where it intervened in a lawsuit […]
