Satanic group says Oklahoma must give the devil his due
Oklahoma officials have no intention of allowing this statue of Satan to be placed on the Statehouse lawn the Satanic Temple
The Prince of Darkness won't see the light of day in Oklahoma, if lawmakers have their way.
A satanic group commissioned a statue of the devil, raising money to pay a sculptor who it won't identify, as a way of protesting the Sooner State's placement of a Ten Commandments monument on the Statehouse lawn in Oklahoma City. The statue, being sculpted in a New York studio, is nearly complete, according to Lucien Greaves, spokesman for the Satanic Temple.
“We’re really coming along fast,” said Greaves, whose group claims to have raised more than $20,000 for the project through an online crowd-funding site.
Oklahoma officials say there is no way in hell that a statue of Satan will ever assume a position at the Capitol.
"There will never be a satanic monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol and the suggestion that there might be is absurd," Alex Weintz, spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin, said in a statement to FoxNews.com.
Pictures of the partially-completed monument were first posted on Vice.
The Satanic Temple hatched the plan last December after the Ten Commandments monument, presented as a gift from state Rep. Mike Ritze, was placed on the lawn. Because it was a donation, state officials declared that it was permissible to place it on state property. But that prompted Greaves and the Satanic Temple to say they could do the same with a monument of their own.
“When we reach out to them and told them of our intentions, the response we got was asking for the design sketches but we never heard back from them," Greaves said. "As soon as we are ready, we will reach back out to them.”
The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued Oklahoma over the Ten Commandments monument, and the state has placed a moratorium on issuing permits for any other monuments.
“We don’t think the state should place religious artifacts on state property unless the people of the entire state agree with its message,” Brady Henderson, legal director of the Oklahoma ACLU, told FoxNews.com. “One of the concerns is that even if you allow all faiths to place something in a public area, it quickly becomes a farce.”
Henderson cited an incident at the Florida State House, in which the local government decided to allow all faiths to place holiday decorations in the Statehouse rotunda next to a manger scene.
“What happened is that you had someone placing a festivus pole made out of beer cans and one group placing a pile of spaghetti on top of a chair,” he said. “So these types of things do nothing to uplift people’s faiths and beliefs. There’s nothing served by belittling them.”
Oklahoma officials have no intention of allowing this statue of Satan to be placed on the Statehouse lawn the Satanic Temple
The Prince of Darkness won't see the light of day in Oklahoma, if lawmakers have their way.
A satanic group commissioned a statue of the devil, raising money to pay a sculptor who it won't identify, as a way of protesting the Sooner State's placement of a Ten Commandments monument on the Statehouse lawn in Oklahoma City. The statue, being sculpted in a New York studio, is nearly complete, according to Lucien Greaves, spokesman for the Satanic Temple.
“We’re really coming along fast,” said Greaves, whose group claims to have raised more than $20,000 for the project through an online crowd-funding site.
"There will never be a satanic monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol and the suggestion that there might be is absurd."- Alex Weintz, spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin
The statue of the Baphomet, or Sabbatic Goat, a figure that has been used to represent Satan for centuries, is to be made of bronze, poured over a clay mold. Images provided to FoxNews.com show the hideous figure on a throne, with smiling children at each knee. Greaves' organization seeks to force Oklahoma to allow placement of their statue or demonstrate what it considers an unconstitutional double standard.Oklahoma officials say there is no way in hell that a statue of Satan will ever assume a position at the Capitol.
"There will never be a satanic monument on the grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol and the suggestion that there might be is absurd," Alex Weintz, spokesman for Gov. Mary Fallin, said in a statement to FoxNews.com.
Pictures of the partially-completed monument were first posted on Vice.
The Satanic Temple hatched the plan last December after the Ten Commandments monument, presented as a gift from state Rep. Mike Ritze, was placed on the lawn. Because it was a donation, state officials declared that it was permissible to place it on state property. But that prompted Greaves and the Satanic Temple to say they could do the same with a monument of their own.
“When we reach out to them and told them of our intentions, the response we got was asking for the design sketches but we never heard back from them," Greaves said. "As soon as we are ready, we will reach back out to them.”
The Oklahoma chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union sued Oklahoma over the Ten Commandments monument, and the state has placed a moratorium on issuing permits for any other monuments.
“We don’t think the state should place religious artifacts on state property unless the people of the entire state agree with its message,” Brady Henderson, legal director of the Oklahoma ACLU, told FoxNews.com. “One of the concerns is that even if you allow all faiths to place something in a public area, it quickly becomes a farce.”
Henderson cited an incident at the Florida State House, in which the local government decided to allow all faiths to place holiday decorations in the Statehouse rotunda next to a manger scene.
“What happened is that you had someone placing a festivus pole made out of beer cans and one group placing a pile of spaghetti on top of a chair,” he said. “So these types of things do nothing to uplift people’s faiths and beliefs. There’s nothing served by belittling them.”
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