Boston (AP) — This week, after the US Supreme Court has ruled, the Satanic Temple is requesting the Boston City Hall to raise its flag. The city violated the right of free speech of conservative activists trying to raise the Christian flag outside the downtown building.
Salem-based group Tweeted the request submitted on Tuesday The city’s property management department will raise a flag indicating “Devil’s Thanksgiving Week” from July 23rd to 29th.
Mayor Michelle Wu’s office refused to comment on the group’s request, other than saying it was considering the High Court’s decision while evaluating the flag-raising program.
Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the organization, said in an email Wednesday that the group wanted to show that religious freedom must mean “all forms” of religious practices and respect for religious opinions. ..
“We are free and democratic when government officials can impose arbitrary restrictions on their claims of conscience, or reduce the capacity of some citizens based on their religious identity. You can’t be a religion, “he wrote partially.
According to Greaves, the organization has not decided which of the official flags to fly to the city, but one possible option reflects the American flag, with black and white stripes and pentagrams. There is a star and goat skull emblem, and there will be 50 stars.
The Devil’s Temple is separate from the Devil’s Church, which was founded in the 1960s. The Devil’s Temple, founded in 2013, does not believe in the devil and describes itself as a “non-theoretical religious organization.” It supports secularism.
It submitted a national religious freedom challenge, including a federal proceeding claiming the traditional opening prayers of the Boston City Council. The public meeting is discriminatory and unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Monday that Boston had discriminated against activist Harold Schultref for his “religious point of view,” despite Boston’s regular approval of other flag-raising requests.
In 2017, Shurtleff and his camp Constitution wanted to fly a white banner with a red cross on a blue background called the Christian Flag to commemorate the Constitution Memorial Day on September 17.