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Religion Dispatches - Religion Dispatches Religion Dispatches
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    • Today’s Inauguration Was a Reconsecration of Sacred Space
      Today’s Inauguration Was a Reconsecration of Sacred Space
    • Christian Nationalists Didn’t Seek to Desecrate the Capitol But to Purify It
      Christian Nationalists Didn’t Seek to Desecrate the Capitol But to Purify It
    • Christians Must Confront the Lies at the Heart of Whiteness
      Christians Must Confront the Lies at the Heart of Whiteness
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    • ‘We’re Through the Looking Glass Now’: Talking Deradicalization with Dr. John Horgan
      ‘We’re Through the Looking Glass Now’: Talking Deradicalization with Dr. John Horgan
    • The Inauguration’s Beautiful Call for Unity Was Undermined by the Invocation of Religion
      The Inauguration’s Beautiful Call for Unity Was Undermined by the Invocation of Religion
    • Today’s Inauguration Was a Reconsecration of Sacred Space
      Today’s Inauguration Was a Reconsecration of Sacred Space
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    • The Inauguration’s Beautiful Call for Unity Was Undermined by the Invocation of Religion
      The Inauguration’s Beautiful Call for Unity Was Undermined by the Invocation of Religion
    • We Can’t Have Religious Freedom Without Reproductive Freedom
      We Can’t Have Religious Freedom Without Reproductive Freedom
    • As We Survey the Damage of Yesterday’s Violence, What Will Christian Nationalist Politics Look Like in 2021? New Report Offers Clues
      As We Survey the Damage of Yesterday’s Violence, What Will Christian Nationalist Politics Look Like in 2021? New Report Offers Clues
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    • It’s Time for Democrats to Read the Bible Verses on the Wall and Stop Courting White Evangelicals
      It’s Time for Democrats to Read the Bible Verses on the Wall and Stop Courting White Evangelicals
    • We Can Finally Put the Lie to Trumpism: 5 Myths Debunked By a Biden Victory
      We Can Finally Put the Lie to Trumpism: 5 Myths Debunked By a Biden Victory
    • 11 Election Tweets to Amuse, Infuriate, Enlighten, and Amuse You
      11 Election Tweets to Amuse, Infuriate, Enlighten, and Amuse You
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    • Watch: Is The Religious Left a Mirage or Are Journalists Just Missing the Story?
      Watch: Is The Religious Left a Mirage or Are Journalists Just Missing the Story?
    • Pulitzer-Prize Winning Historian’s Latest Reveals the Problem with Today’s ‘Religious Freedom’
      Pulitzer-Prize Winning Historian’s Latest Reveals the Problem with Today’s ‘Religious Freedom’
    • ‘God Made Them Male and Female…and Eunuch’: Why the Biblical Case For Binary Gender Isn’t So… Biblical
      ‘God Made Them Male and Female…and Eunuch’: Why the Biblical Case For Binary Gender Isn’t So… Biblical

Joseph Laycock

Joseph Laycock is an assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University. In addition to Speak of the Devil (Oxford University Press, 2020), his books include The Seer of Bayside: Veronica Lueken and the Struggle for Catholic Tradition (Oxford University Press, 2014) and Dangerous Games: What the Moral Panic Over Role-Playing Games Says About Religion, Play, and Imagined Worlds (University of California Press, 2015).

(A)theologies, Archive, Sex/Gender/JusticeAugust 8, 2020

Satanic Temple’s ‘Satanic Abortion Ritual’ May Challenge States’ Anti-Abortion Laws

By Joseph Laycock

Last week, The Satanic Temple (TST) introduced “the Satanic Abortion Ritual”—a ritual designed to provide…

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(A)theologies, Archive, OMFGMarch 25, 2020

Satanists Want You to Respond to the Pandemic with Compassion. And Reason.

By Joseph Laycock

The Coronavirus is changing America’s religious landscape as social distancing forces most religious communities to…

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Archive, New Books, RD10QFebruary 17, 2020

Is the Satanic Temple Just an Elaborate Prank? 10 Questions for the Author of ‘Speak of the Devil’

By Joseph Laycock

What inspired you to write Speak of the Devil? I started writing on The Satanic…

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Archive, Politics/Law, Religious LibertyJanuary 20, 2020

Satanic Temple Attorney Discusses Cancelled Scottsdale Prayer Invite

By Joseph Laycock

This week, on the 22nd and 23rd of January, The Satanic Temple (TST) and the…

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Archive, OMFG, Politics/Law, Religious LibertyOctober 7, 2019

Satanic Temple Considers Legal Action Against School Censorship

By Joseph Laycock

The task of determining which web content students can access is outsourced to an Austin, Texas-based company called Lightspeed Systems, which had manually tagged The Satanic Temple’s website as “mature.”

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Culture, History/Theology, Politics/Law, Religious LibertyMay 3, 2019

Satanic Temple’s IRS Recognition Rekindles Fierce Debate Over What Is ‘Really Real’ Church

By Joseph Laycock

While TST is not the first Satanic organization to obtain this status, it is the first group that clearly intends to deploy this status in legal challenges. TST’s demands for equal treatment under the law are going to be much harder to dismiss from here on out.

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Culture, History/Theology, Politics/Law, Religious Liberty, Sex/Gender/JusticeDecember 21, 2018

What the Hail: Satanists Got Busy in 2018

By Joseph Laycock

From defending reproductive rights to run-ins with several TV shows, the Satanist community had a busy 2018. The only question going forward: Will internal tension sink the movement?

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History/Theology, Politics/Law, Religious LibertyDecember 19, 2018

Will Infamous ‘Candy Cane Memo’ Resurrect Flailing ‘War on Christmas’?

By Joseph Laycock

A principal recently made headlines by banning candy canes. At a time when separation of church and state is facing so many legal challenges, it’s absolutely critical to understand the establishment clause.

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Culture, OMFGNovember 5, 2018

Should Satanic Temple Have Threatened Netflix Over Baphomet Statue in ‘Sabrina’ Series?

By Joseph Laycock

“Would they be as understanding of a fictional show that used a real mosque as the HQ of a terrorist cell? A fictional Blood Libel tale implicating real world Jews?”

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Politics/Law, Religious LibertyAugust 20, 2018

Satanist Religious Freedom Rally Successful Despite Neo-Nazis and Christian Heckler

By Joseph Laycock

When the police chief asked whether a requested garbage can would be used for blood, he was informed that it was for Satanists to pick up any litter after the rally.

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