In this episode of Sacred Tension, Lucien Greaves joins me to reflect on the upcoming ten-year anniversary of The Satanic Temple. We also discuss the After School Satan Club, standing up to theocracy, the importance of conversation and depolarization, and much more.
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Stephen Bradford Long 
This was another great conversation. Congratulations on the tenth anniversary of The Satanic Temple.
The ongoing controversy over the After School Satan Clubs have been interesting to watch, and I wish those opposed would be able to see how they serve as a mirror reflecting religious privilege and freedom questions.
At one point you mentioned religion and supernaturalism as well as fundamentalism in regards to authoritarian issues (if I recall correctly). Perhaps some nuance and additional considerations are needed here. In social psychology some studies have been done that account for fundamentalism and it seems that right wing authoritarianism and a social dominance orientation are more accurate predictors of things like prejudice and issues with suppressing the religious freedoms of others. I work with a network of evangelicals and other Christians who are deeply committed to their religious beliefs but who also support the religious freedoms of others, including those they strongly disagree with. They often tap into their own religious tradition for theological justification for such efforts. So perhaps it’s not supernatural religious commitments that is the issue. Understanding these issues and the human psyche is complex and multifaceted.
Keep the conversation going and keep up the good work!
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