{"id":20006,"date":"2023-12-21T08:32:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-21T13:32:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=20006"},"modified":"2023-12-21T08:32:40","modified_gmt":"2023-12-21T13:32:40","slug":"a-satanic-temple-altar-at-the-iowa-state-capitol-has-been-destroyed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2023\/12\/a-satanic-temple-altar-at-the-iowa-state-capitol-has-been-destroyed","title":{"rendered":"A Satanic Temple Altar at the Iowa State Capitol Has Been Destroyed"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Adobe Stock | Inset: KCCI \/ YouTube<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Satanic Temple altar that had been placed in the Iowa state capitol has now been destroyed. The controversy all began when the altar was allowed to be displayed in the Capitol building in Des Moines. The altar was adorned with the \u201cseven fundamental tenets\u201d of the Satanic Temple, as well as an effigy of a Baphomet, a pagan image normally associated with Satan than includes a bull\u2019s head atop a man\u2019s body. Iowa governor Kim Reynolds stated that although she found the display \u201cobjectionable,\u201d it was a matter of free speech. \u201cIn a free society, the best response to objectionable speech is more speech,\u201d she said at a press release<\/a>. She encouraged other Christians to join her in prayer. \u201cI encourage all those of faith to join me today in praying over the Capitol and recognizing the Nativity scene that will be on display \u2015 the true reason for the season.\u201d One critic of the altar was presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who stated the Trump administration had wrongly allowed the Satanic Temple to gain tax-exempt status. \u201cIt very well may be because of that ruling under Donald Trump that they may have had a legal leg to stand on. My view would be that\u2019s not a religion that the Founding Fathers were trying to create,\u201d he said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The display was due to be up for two weeks, but was destroyed by a 35-year-old Mississippi man by the name of Michael Cassidy. Cassidy tore down the altar and beheaded the Baphomet, throwing it in the trash. \u201cIt was extremely anti-Christian,\u201d Cassidy told Fox News<\/em><\/a> of his decision to destroy the display. Speaking to The Sentinel<\/em><\/a>, Cassidy said his own faith had prompted him. \u201cMy conscience is held captive to the word of God, not to bureaucratic decree. And so I acted.\u201d He has been arrested and charged with fourth degree criminal mischief. If convicted, Cassidy could face one year of prison time and a fine of $2,560. The Satanic Temple reported that the altar had been destroyed \u201cbeyond repair.\u201d \u201cWe ask that for safety, visitors travel together and use the 7 Tenets as a reminder for empathy, in the knowledge that justice is being pursued the correct way, through legal means. Happy Holidays! Hail Satan!\u201d the group wrote.<\/p>\n

Conservative response to the act has been mostly positive, with DeSantis sharing he would \u201cchip in<\/a>\u201d to help pay Cassidy\u2019s legal fees. \u201cSatan has no place in our society and should not be recognized as a \u2018religion\u2019 by the federal government,\u201d DeSantis wrote in support of Cassidy. Turning Point USA\u2019s Charlie Kirk contributed $10,000 to the GiveSendGo<\/a> set up by The Sentinel <\/em>in support of Cassidy. The original goal was to raise $20,000. To date, the fund has raised over $75,000. A note on the site states that Cassidy\u2019s legal defense team will challenge further investigation and that expenses were expected to be higher than $20,000. Any excess funds will be directed to a Christian charity of Cassidy\u2019s choice. Cassidy has expressed his gratitude<\/a> for the support he has received on X.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Satanic Temple altar that had been placed in the Iowa state capitol has now been destroyed. The controversy all began when the altar was allowed to be displayed in the Capitol building in Des Moines. The altar was adorned with the \u201cseven fundamental tenets\u201d of the Satanic Temple, as well as an effigy of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":664,"featured_media":20030,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20006","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nA Satanic Temple Altar at the Iowa State Capitol Has Been Destroyed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Satanic Temple altar that had been placed in the Iowa state capitol has now been destroyed.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2023\/12\/a-satanic-temple-altar-at-the-iowa-state-capitol-has-been-destroyed\" \/>\n<meta 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