The Satanic Temple Seeks Recognition in Chile

Several years ago, the Satanic Temple made headlines in the United States, but now it is making headlines in Chile as it seeks official recognition there as a religious association (AP, November 7, 2024). In that traditionally Catholic nation, this is a bold step. But, as sexual abuse scandals have rocked the Roman Catholic Church, the Satanic Temple feels that now is a good time to put its request forward.

People wishing to join the Satanic Temple in Chile are requested by the organization to undergo background checks and a psychological evaluation, after which they choose a new name for use within the group—usually a name associated with a demon or fallen angel. As one spokesman for the group noted, “In Satanism there are no solutions or absolute truths. You are your own god and you create your own reality” (emphasis ours). The group is quick to note that they are not involved in sacrificing or killing. “While they embrace the term Satanist, they don’t revere or believe in Satan. Instead, they worship rationality, individualism, pleasure and the mundane.”

While these individuals may not overtly worship Satan, few realize that the desire to be one’s own god originated with the very real Devil. The Apostle Paul reveals that Satan is the “god of this age” (2 Corinthians 4:3–4) and that misguided people at the end of the age would be proud, self-centered, unholy, blasphemers, despisers of good, and “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God” (2 Timothy 3:1–5). It is not surprising that some of these very qualities led Satan to mount a rebellion against the very throne of God (Isaiah 14:12–14). To learn more about how our world has been deceived, you can read or listen to Satan’s Counterfeit Christianity.