The Satanic Temple is asking the city of Boston to fly one of its flags outside of City Hall. The request comes after the Supreme Court ruled this week that the city had violated a conservative activist's free speech when it denied his request to fly a Christian flag outside the building.
On Tuesday, the Satanic Temple took to Twitter to note that a request was filed with Boston's property management department to raise a flag on behalf of "Satanic Appreciation Week" from July 23-29.
The Satanic Temple replies to the Supreme Court ruling that found Boston violated First Amendment rights by refusing to fly Christian flag at City Hall Plaza: pic.twitter.com/KOpEVKN4s2
— The Satanic Temple (@satanic_temple_) May 3, 2022
According to the Associated Press, the group's co-founder and spokesperson Lucien Greaves contended that religious liberty must apply to "all forms" of religious practice and opinion, including those of the Satanic Temple.
"When government officials are able to impose arbitrary restrictions on claims of conscience, or to abridge the civic capacities of some based on their religious identity, we fail to be a free, democratic republic," he wrote in part in an email on Wednesday.
The organization has yet to decide which of its flags it would like raised at Boston City Hall. Greaves did, however, say that one option is a flag that looks similar to the American flag except that it has black and white stripes and an emblem of a pentagram and goat skull in place of where the 50 stars are located.
A spokesperson from Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's office told CNN that the city is "carefully reviewing the Court's decision and its recognition of city governments' authority to operate similar programs."
"As we consider next steps, we will ensure that future City of Boston programs are aligned with this decision," the spokesperson added.
According to Boston's website, the city stopped taking applications for flag raisings in October 2021, even though applications for flag-raising events are still available online.
"We're re-evaluating the program in light of the U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to consider whether the program as currently operated complies with Constitutional requirements," the city's website states.
Related:
Supreme Court, 9-0, Says Boston Can't Ban Christian Flag at City Hall
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Jorge Antonio
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
