The Russian government has added The Satanic Temple, an American religious group that uses Satanic imagery to advocate for personal freedoms and secular values, to its list of “undesirable” organisations, Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Prosecutor General’s Office accused members of The Satanic Temple of “promoting occult ideology” by using Satanic symbols to “discredit traditional spiritual and moral values” as well as “spreading destructive pseudo-theological ideas and justifying violence … with the support of US government agencies”.
“The Satanic Temple actively supports participants of extremist and terrorist movements, speaks negatively about the special military operation [and] calls for the overthrow of the constitutional order in Russia”, it continued, adding that the organisation’s website contained information on “fundraising for the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.
The Satanic Temple was founded in 2012 by Harvard graduates Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jerry. Distinct from the similarly-named Church of Satan, it describes its mission as to “encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice and undertake noble pursuits”.
While officially registered as a religion in the US, the organisation is non-theistic and focuses its efforts instead on “preserving and advancing secularism and individual liberties”. It has chapters in the US, Canada, Australia, Germany and Finland, with Russia’s Prosecutor General’s Office estimating its membership at some 10 million people worldwide.
The Temple’s website contains information on a relief programme to help its members in Ukraine reach safety, but makes no reference to support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine as alleged by the Prosecutor General’s Office.
In Russia, any organisation deemed “undesirable” by the government is legally obliged to dissolve itself, and any involvement in its activities becomes illegal. To date, over 190 organisations have been deemed “undesirable” by the Russian government, including Novaya Gazeta Europe, Nobel-Prize-winning human rights organisation Memorial, and the Free Russia Foundation.