Satanists cite Hobby Lobby decision

(TPM)

You've probably seen this, since it's more than a month old now, but just in case:

In a statement, the Satanic Temple said that it will use the Supreme Court’s recent Hobby Lobby decision to exempt its believers from state-mandated informed consent laws that require women considering abortions to read pro-life material. ...

Because the Satanic Temple bases its belief “regarding personal health…on the best scientific understanding of the world, regardless of the religious or political beliefs of others,” it claims that state-mandated information with no basis in scientific fact violates its “religious” beliefs.

Spokesperson Lucien Greaves said that the Supreme Court’s recent Hobby Lobby decision bolsters their case. “While we feel we have a strong case for an exemption regardless of the Hobby Lobby ruling,” he said, “the Supreme Court has decided that religious beliefs are so sacrosanct that they can even trump scientific fact. This was made clear when they allowed Hobby Lobby to claim certain contraceptives were abortifacients, which in fact they are not.”

The Satanic Temple set up a website where women seeking an abortion can print out a letter for her healthcare provider explaining why she is exempt from informed consent mandates.

Funny, isn't it? I've never been wild about the Satanic Temple, which is basically a religious parody created by nonbelievers. But they're starting to turn me around.

First, it was the goat-headed statue they designed for the Oklahoma state capitol. Now, it's using the terrible decision of the five right-wing Catholic men on the Supreme Court in a way that makes perfect sense, but in complete opposition to their political goal.

In both cases, being a "religion" has its advantages. Sure, freedom of religion means freedom from religion, too, if that's your choice. Nonbelievers shouldn't have to give up any rights.

But whether you can grasp that or not, it's absolutely undeniable that all religions should have equal rights in America. So these efforts by the Satanic Temple should certainly make it clear to the dullest, dumbest American that the separation of church and state is the best policy, don't you think?