Hail Satan is a 2019 documentary about a group of activists who fight for the separation of church and state.
When the name The Satanic Temple is mentioned, I’m sure many of you right now are thinking of a bunch of people wearing black robes and standing all around a pentagram with a live goat in the center waiting to be sacrificed so they can bathe in its blood. While there may be robes and symbols that are in league with witchcraft, there is no harm done to any living creature in this movie. Unless you consider drinking gallons of wine to be harmful.
The temple was started by Lucien Graves and he has the look that will make a lot of god fearing conservatives shake in their boots, with one eye having a milky white quality and the other being all black. It’s a shocking image at first. Seeing the other followers, you would think that the purpose of The Satanic Temple is to mock and ridicule Christians of their beliefs but that isn’t the case. The main focus of this organization is to keep church and state separate, and in the times we live in now that is not always the case.
The conservative /evangelical side have a lot of political power and they wield their weapons to win elections for those that will vote in their favor. That is a big reason why we had so many states overturn long-standing abortion laws and also why so many LGBTQ individuals don’t get the rights they deserve. Graves and his supporters want to make sure that everyone is represented fairly. Not just the Satanic Temple, but other religions as well. If it is acceptable to display the ten commandments on Government property than it should be perfectly legal to display the Baphomet as well.
What I respect the most about these people and their efforts is how every protest or demonstration they organize and conduct is all done legally. When they put forth the idea to display their symbol next to religious rights, they go through the proper channels to make it legit. Many of the people who protest the temple would not need to if they would just listen to what they have to say. They are not against religion. What they are against is religion being involved in politics, which it has been for many years. Students still say the Pledge of Allegiance in school. “One nation under God” was added to put religion into government-funded schools during a time in American history where many felt communism was a threat to capitalism.
Director Penny Lane does provides us with a lot to absorb, showcasing the humanity and intelligence within this community. They all have very strong morals that many will still overlook simply because of the name Satan. You can be a believer in a god or whomever you choose to worship and see that this organization is doing good things. The religious right is a powerful arm in this country and many believe it’s time to push back. Hail Satan, indeed.