Illinois Satanic Temple debuts display at state Capitol next to Nativity scene
Julia Johnson
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The Satanic Temple of Illinois has debuted its latest display in the state Capitol rotunda, placing it next to the annual Christmas and Hanukkah displays.
Earlier this month, the group unveiled a crocheted snake on top of a book as well as a pile of crocheted apples. The book underneath the snake is Nicolaus Copernicus’s On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres. The setup seemingly references the biblical story of Adam and Eve, wherein Satan disguised himself as a snake in order to convince Eve to eat an apple, which had been forbidden by God.
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The display is placed alongside a Nativity scene featuring Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus, as well as a menorah for Hanukkah.
Last year, the group installed a humanlike baby goat deity named Baphomet around Christmastime. Prior to that, the group debuted a statue of a hand holding an apple with a snake wrapped around it.
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Minister Adam of the temple said, “Every year, we do a holiday display and a show of unity and religious pluralism within the state Capitol rotunda.”
“And this year, we wanted to focus on the book bans that people have been trying to do all over the country,” he explained.
Tom Brejcha, who is the president and chief counsel of the St. Thomas More Society as well as a member of the Springfield Nativity Committee, the group responsible for the manger scene, is not particularly bothered by the Satanic Temple’s inclusion.
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“Free speech applies to everybody,” he said. “And I think, frankly, it only underscores the beauty of the message of the Christmas Nativity display, which is a message of hope and care and renewal.”