Dec. 9—Some Concord officials are hoping their City Council reconsiders its decision last week to grant a permit from the Satanic Temple to install a statue of an occult deity on Main Street in front of the State House.
Over the objection of a “strongly opposed” Mayor Byron Champlin, the council majority approved a permit for the black goat-headed Baphomet with bright yellow eyes to be placed near the Nativity scene installed by the Grange and a scene about the Bill of Rights installed by the Freedom from Religion Foundation.
The Satanic Temple is not the Church of Satan that advocates devil worship. The temple is a “non-theistic religion and sociopolitical movement that promotes empathy, equity, and social justice.”
The group espouses seven principles of harmony such as, “One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason” and “The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.”
According to its website, the group’s “Satanic Representation Campaign … promotes pluralism and fighting for the religious liberty of (temple) members who seek to freely and openly express their beliefs.”
The icon is holding a bouquet of artificial lilacs in its right hand and an apple in its left, the latter depicting the group’s “quest for knowledge,” according to a spokesman.
The statute and a glass plaque with the group’s seven principles was unveiled Saturday evening, witnessed by about a dozen followers from New Hampshire and Vermont and streamed live on Facebook.
City officials posted a statement defending the decision to grant the permit.
“Throughout the country, the Satanic Temple has both threatened and brought lawsuits under the First Amendment when excluded,” city officials posted on its Facebook page.
“Under the First Amendment and to avoid litigation, the city needed to choose whether to ban all holiday displays installed by other groups, or otherwise, to allow it.”
After the holidays, the Concord City Council will review whether to grant permits for unattended displays in the future.
Minority opposed
City Councilor at Large Amanda Grady Sexton was in the minority that opposed the permit.
“This is an unfortunate distraction for the city of Concord. The voters in Concord want their councilors to focus on public safety, trash pick-up, and road paving and plowing,” Grady Sexton said.
“We’re not here to debate the merits of Satan. If political groups want to have unattended displays located outside the State House they should apply for permits through the state of New Hampshire, not the city of Concord.”
Mayor Champlin voiced his opposition as well.
“I am disappointed and hope that the council will reconsider this decision,” Champlin said. “In a season when most major religions celebrate peace, hope, joy, and light, an image of the prince of darkness on city property, sponsored by an organization based in New York, is inappropriate.”
Other councilors said in granting the permit it was giving preference to respecting everyone’s First Amendment.
The city’s statement attracted nearly 200 comments on social media, coming down on both sides of the issue.
“The satanic church is not a sincere belief system for almost any of its ‘following,’ it is a protest movement made to offend and go against Christianity,” wrote A.J. Kierstead. “It is not made to show unity, it is made to disgust. It can’t believe the city would post something in this fashion.”
But Travis Beeson disagreed.
“Love all the angry reactions this will get. Like y’all speak of the 1st Amendment but forget to realize this one part of it; glad to see Baphomet make an appearance,” Beeson said.
Briana Therrien wondered what the fuss was all about.
“There shouldn’t have even needed to be a discussion” Therrien said. “If the city so willingly includes the Nativity scene, then there’s no reason for any other religious statement to be discussed. The mission of the Satanic Temple is nothing but positive.”
klandrigan@unionleader.com