Satanist group unveils design for Oklahoma Statehouse monument

A group of Satanists from New York City have raised more than $17,000 in their efforts to erect a monument outside the Oklahoma Statehouse, saying they wish to counterbalance a Ten Commandments monument placed there in 2012.

The Satanic Temple unveiled the design of its 7-foot-tall monument featuring a seated Baphomet figure flanked by two children this week, and launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $20,000 last month.

“Our monument celebrates an unwavering respect for the Constitutional values of religious freedom and free expression,” explained Lucien Greaves, a spokesman for the Satanic Temple. “Satanism is a fundamental component at the genesis of American liberty. Medieval witch-hunts taught us to adopt presumption of innocence, secular law, and a more substantive burden of proof."

After a rush of other religious groups, including Hindus and the atheist Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, proposed monuments of their own, the Oklahoma Capitol Preservation Commission voted unanimously to place a temporary moratorium on new monuments.

“This is a faith-based nation and a faith-based state,” said Rep. Earl Sears, R-Bartlesville. “I think it is very offensive they would contemplate or even have this kind of conversation.”

In August, the ACLU filed a suit against the state over the monument, claiming its placement at the statehouse was a violation of the Constitution.

Oklahoma isn't the first state to wage its battle over the involvement of church in government: Last month, a secular group of students erected a monument to the Flying Spaghetti Monster in the Wisconsin State Capitol Rotunda.

“We would prefer to keep our Capitol secular but if the state decides to turn it into an open forum, they have opened the floodgates,” said Sam Erickson, president of the Atheists, Humanists, and Agnostics at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. “We hope everyone takes advantage of this opportunity to advertise their own viewpoints, no matter how silly.”