In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by The Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves to discuss the recent controversy in our religious community. He was recently photographed with an alleged sexual harasser and transphobe, and we reflect on the kind of culture we want to see in The Satanic Temple and why Lucien has responded the way he has to this controversy.
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In early June 2023, Lucien Greaves took a photograph with David Silverman, a controversial figure in the online atheist space. Silverman posted the photo to Twitter and it was met with outrage both within and outside of the TST community. Lucien has received calls for clarifying statements, and even his resignation.
We discuss the principles motivating Lucien’s refusal to issue statements, and why he won’t publicly denounce Silverman. We address three main concerns about his leadership:
1. The photograph might signify a friendly relationship between Silverman and Lucien. If so, what does that say about our community?
2. The photograph itself wasn’t the problem, but Lucien’s response on Twitter came off as defensive and unhelpful.
3. Lucien has seemed conspicuously silent on trans issues, so when he is photographed with an alleged transphobe, the LGBT+ community is unsure of where he stands in regard to their rights.
This was a challenging conversation to record, and I’m posting it trusting in the goodwill of our religious community. Please note that this episode was originally recorded on the 16th of June and we don’t comment on some events that have taken place since then.
Lucien Greaves has also written an article addressing this situation, which you can read here.
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Photo by Jari Hytönen on Unsplash. TST is also often to referred to as “a herd of cats.” This photo is in honor of our individualistic and headstrong nature.
Stephen Bradford Long 
I’m sorry to hear the TST community is going through this struggle. I don’t have a dog in this fight as an outsider, but I note that something like this was addressed as part of our last podcast conversation, Stephen, where you asked me about whether I would talk or befriend someone that I had strong disagreements with. I answered in the affirmative. This reminds me of my friend Phil Wyman, more like a brother to me, who recently passed away. He was a pastor in Salem who had befriended witches and other pagans, and who had a great relationship with them. At one point Phil agreed to a photo with someone in Salem which got into the hands of his denominational leadership at the time, eventually causing him to lose grant funding, and participation in the denomination, becoming a national story (see link at the end). It seems that all groups patrol the boundaries in the interests of purity, but the question is how we do that, and who and what gets trampled on in the process. For Phil’s store from the Wall Street Journal see https://www.festivalofthedead.com/media/06/wallstreetjournal_befriendingwitches.html
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