When Oklahoma erected a monument to the Ten Commandments at their state capitol in 2012 a little-known secular movement called the Satanic Temple responded by unveiling theirdesign for their own monument- of Baphomet and applying for permission to install it. Their stunt, an attempt to underscore America’s foundational separation of faith and state, resulted in Oklahoma's supreme court ruling that the monument violated the constitution. The Satanists claimed victory.

What the Satanic Temple had spotted in 2012 was the start of a broader attempt to insert God into government, a bold plan to reshape US politics that has grown in influence over the past decade and found its emissary in Donald Trump. Today, the Satanic church, which has also expanded since Oklahoma, now finds itself caught in an ideological battleover the right to keep religion separate from state and out of politics

Music credit: Epidemic Sound and Blue Dot Sessions

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