
Photos by Jonathan Smith
Photos courtesy of Mark Porter

The statue before bronzing. Photo courtesy of Mark Porter
Baphomet's children waiting to be bronzed. Photo by Jonathan Smith
While the Baphomet is the Temple's most high-profile project to date, they are constantly working on other community-oriented projects, such as a Satanic holiday display that will be installed in the Florida State Capitol's rotunda near a Nativity scene. Then there's the Satanic coloring book, set to be distributed, along with Bibles donated by the Christian group World Changers of Florida, to students in the Orange County School District in January. And in July, the Temple used the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling in an ongoing effort to gain legal exemption to informed consent laws for women who want an abortion but don't want to be given a bunch of scientifically unsound literature.Everything is now in place for the battle ahead. This isn't a mere petty fight that exploits a legal loophole. The forthcoming battle for Oklahoma cuts to the heart of how we conceive of our rights as American citizens, how we interpret and respect our constitutional values of plurality and individual freedom. However this case is ultimately decided, it will have deep and lasting ramifications for generations to come. This monument of Baphomet will hereafter be recognized as a central icon for the continually growing populations of Satanists, secularists, and advocates for individual liberty who refuse to bow to the arbitrary authority of archaic edicts, and refuse to accept their marginalization at the hands of thinly veiled theocrats. We look forward to arranging with Oklahoma a date on which we may erect and unveil Baphomet, where it will stand in honor of the unjustly accused, the slandered minority, the maligned outgroups, so that we might pay respect to their memory and celebrate our progress as a pluralistic nation founded on secular law.
From left: Satanic Temple High Priest Brian Werner, Lucien Greaves, and Mark Porter. Photo by Jonathan Smith
