Satanic Temple gets permission to erect monument beside Christian memorial at veterans park

The Satanic Temple has announced its plans to install a monument beside a Christian memorial at Veterans Memorial park in Belle Plaine, Minnesota.

City leaders have granted the Temple permission to erect a memorial, which is dedicated to soldiers killed in action, next to a Christian monument that depicts a soldier kneeling before a cross and a Bible.

The Christian memorial was removed in January following threats of a lawsuit from atheists. City residents protested against the removal, prompting the city officials to designate an area in the park as a "free speech zone" to allow other religions and organizations to install their own temporary monuments.

According to Star Tribune, the Satanic Temple, based in Salem, Massachusetts, is now planning to set up a memorial that has been described as a "black cube, inscribed with inverted pentagrams and crowned by an upturned helmet."

Chris P. Andres, who designed the memorial, explained back in February that it partly represents "humanistic perfection through curiosity and reason."

"The four pentagrams recall the four corners of the Earth — they serve as a reminder to the viewer of the satanic/pagan symbols/ideas sacred to soldiers that sacrificed. The black is a cold memory in mourning and a field of mystery and imagination. The gold is a Luciferian light reflecting light onto the view like a sacred icon," he said.

Reason Alliance, the Temple's nonprofit fundraising arm, said that the memorial is intended at honoring nonreligious service members, and it would include an inscription that pays tribute to Belle Plaine veterans "who fought to defend the United States and its Constitution."

City Administrator Mike Votca said that the Satanic Temple's application was swiftly approved as the proposed memorial met all of the town's requirements.

Temple founder Doug Mesner said that the group had been prepared to sue if the application was denied.

Belle Plaine residents said they were no longer surprised that groups such as The Satanic Temple would want to put up their own monuments at the park.

Andy Parrish, who led the charge to restore the Christian monument, said that the Satanic Temple's move was "more annoying than it is offensive."

When the Christian memorial was taken down, protesters occupied the park each day for nearly a month. Many have put up their own handmade crosses into the ground out of defiance, and small wooden crosses appeared in business windows, on mailboxes and front lawns.

Katie Novotny, who supported the move to keep the Christian cross, noted that many residents have accepted that there will be new additions to the park.

"If you're truly a Christian, how can you be offended by someone wanting to honor our veterans even though they don't believe in the same things we believe in?" she remarked.