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  • Election 2024
    • Even if Voters ‘Get What They Asked For’ it’s More Likely to Cause a Fascist Death Spiral Than a Lesson Learned
      Even if Voters ‘Get What They Asked For’ it’s More Likely to Cause a Fascist Death Spiral Than a Lesson Learned
    • Loyalty and Chaos Play a Role in Trump’s Nominations, But This Schoolyard Tactic May Provide a Better Explanation
      Loyalty and Chaos Play a Role in Trump’s Nominations, But This Schoolyard Tactic May Provide a Better Explanation
    • Progressive Christian Election Response ‘Give us Barabbas’ May Be Well-Meaning — But Functions as Anti-Jewish Dogwhistle
      Progressive Christian Election Response ‘Give us Barabbas’ May Be Well-Meaning — But Functions as Anti-Jewish Dogwhistle
  • Racial Justice
    • Phoning It In: ‘Heathen’ Isn’t a Neutral Religious Description — It’s Also a Significant Force in the Creation of Race in the US
      Phoning It In: ‘Heathen’ Isn’t a Neutral Religious Description — It’s Also a Significant Force in the Creation of Race in the US
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      With no Viable Alternative on Ballot, Anti-immigrant Movement Claims Victory and Releases Wish Lists
    • New Doc Claiming Columbus was Jewish May Have Some Accuracy Issues — But There’s a Far Bigger Issue We Need to Reckon With
      New Doc Claiming Columbus was Jewish May Have Some Accuracy Issues — But There’s a Far Bigger Issue We Need to Reckon With
  • Sex/Gender/Justice
    • With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
      With Election Takeaways Like ‘Too Transgender’ or ‘the US is Shifting Right,’ Dems are Determined to Learn the Wrong Lesson
    • Packed with Threats of Political Violence, Media Largely Ignore the NAR’s ‘Million Women’ Rally in DC
      Packed with Threats of Political Violence, Media Largely Ignore the NAR’s ‘Million Women’ Rally in DC
    • New Doc Strives for Christian Unity—But What if Unity is the Problem?
      New Doc Strives for Christian Unity—But What if Unity is the Problem?
  • Christian Nationalism
    • Phoning It In: ‘Heathen’ Isn’t a Neutral Religious Description — It’s Also a Significant Force in the Creation of Race in the US
      Phoning It In: ‘Heathen’ Isn’t a Neutral Religious Description — It’s Also a Significant Force in the Creation of Race in the US
    • Trump’s Fervent Christian Zionists Poised to Lead the Military — And US-Israel Relations
      Trump’s Fervent Christian Zionists Poised to Lead the Military — And US-Israel Relations
    • Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
      Meet Pete Hegseth, the Man Who Will Lead the Entire US Military — A Man Deemed an ‘Extremist’ by the US Military
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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).

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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Christian Nationalism, OMFG, Religious LibertyAugust 14, 2018

Neo-Nazis Call on ‘White Christians’ to Oppose Satanic Temple Rally

By Joseph Laycock

The convergence of conservative Christian and White Supremacist groups suggests this is really a struggle over who is a “real” American and who is not.

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Culture, Politics/Law, Religious LibertyAugust 13, 2018

Satanic Temple Organizing a Rally for Religious Liberty

By Joseph Laycock

The trouble started in 2015 when Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert sponsored a bill to erect a Ten Commandments monument at the capitol.

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(A)theologies, Archive, Joseph Laycock, OMFG, Religious LibertyMarch 20, 2017

Satanists Take Aim at School Spanking

By Joseph Laycock

There’s a connection between hitting children and cultural identity. Growing up in Austin, Texas, I…

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(A)theologies, Archive, Science & Technology, The CubitAugust 23, 2016

CERN: Where Particle Physics Collides with Human Sacrifice (Apparently)

By Joseph Laycock

Almost no one was fooled last week when footage surfaced of what appeared to be…

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