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Hundreds of members of The Satanic Temple gathered in Boston this weekend for what has been dubbed the ‘largest satanic gathering in history’.
The sold-out event at the Marriott Copley Place is a three-day event which includes everything from satanic rituals, entertainment and panels.
The event began on Friday (28 April) with the tearing apart of a Bible and the 'Thin Blue Line' flag, an item which has come to be viewed as a sign of supporting law enforcement and as opposition to the Black Lives Matter movement, MassLive reports.
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The crowd chanted 'Hail Satan' as the two items were ripped apart. The theme for this year’s convention is 'Hexennacht', also known as Witches Night, a German holiday that takes place in April and is similar to Halloween.
The event this year is a milestone for The Satanic Temple, which marks its 10th anniversary in 2023. They have dedicated the 2023 convention to Boston Mayor, Michelle Wu, after the group were barred from delivering a satanic invocation at Boston City Hall.
However the mayor’s office released a statement clarifying that the mayor does not decide who does the invocation.
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“Neither Mayor Wu nor the City of Boston are sponsoring or affiliated with SatanCon2023. Mayor Wu will be out of town this weekend,” the statement read in part.
The Satanic Temple released their list of events in the official programme schedule on Instagram, which included an array of unholy events including a semi-formal 'Satanic Ball' and discussions including 'Satanism and the BIPOC Experience' and 'Deconstructing Your Religious Upbringing'.
However, the event has been met with backlash and a counter Christian event was held in the city called 'Revive Boston!' Hundreds of Christians were expected to protest the event and on Saturday more than 100 protestors, including some from the white nationalist group Patriot Front, hit the streets to thwart SatanCon, MassLive reports.
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Catholics in the State of Massachusetts were urged by the Archdiocese of Boston to pray and ‘not to organise or encourage others to go to the event to protest,’ in a letter seen by MassLive. The Archdiocese claimed that people ‘are appropriately concerned by such an event taking place in Boston’.
The Satanic Temple organisers said they do not believe in Satan and don’t want to be confused with other satanic religions. Instead, they claim they advocate for the separation of church and state.
"It's about supporting human rights. It's about supporting women's bodily autonomy. It's about freedom of religion, freedom from religion," Richard-Lael Lillard, a SatanCon attendee, told WBZ-TV.
"Most don't believe in Satan, not a literal Satan. It's not some 1980s horror film.”