The Satanic Temple ("TST") has announced it will be hosting "SatanCon" February 11-13, 2022. This will be TST's first religious convention. The three-day event will take place in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The Satanic Temple recently sued Scottsdale, AZ, for refusing to allow the organization the opportunity to deliver an invocation before its city council meetings. Even though the city had never rejected anyone else's request, and both Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane and Councilwoman Suzanne Klapp publicly celebrated their efforts to prevent TST from delivering an invocation, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the city did not engage in unlawful discrimination.
Lucien Greaves, co-founder and spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, said, "In addition to creating a community for our members, SatanCon serves as an expression of our good will toward the city of Scottsdale, despite the perplexing and unfortunate ruling against us which defied precedent and common sense. In the course of litigation, Scottsdale officials desperately made clear that they are, in fact, accepting and inclusive regarding Satanists. We heard you, Scottsdale, and we accepted that as an invitation to turn Scottsdale into the Happy Satanic Fun Capital of the World."
SatanCon will include talks and presentations that discuss the various campaigns championed by The Satanic Temple. These include efforts to protect members' reproductive rights, fight psychiatric abuse, protect children from abuse in schools, promote addiction recovery, and build support for TST's after-school club. There will be vendors and entertainment as well, including a keynote presentation by Lucien Greaves.
"We are dedicating SatanCon to the Scottsdale City Council. Their bitter remorse at having erroneously excluded us from giving an invocation -- in what they described as a bit of administrative confusion -- must have been weighing on them for some time, if their testimony is to be believed. Now hundreds of Satanists will descend upon Scottsdale to let these selfless public servants know, Hey, it's okay. We understand, and we're here to make things right. Far from being disgruntled and put off, we're going to bring Satan to Scottsdale. We're bringing the party to you, Scottsdale, and it's going to be an event to remember," Greaves said.
