Arizona ‘satanic’ group signs up to help pick up trash along I-10
Feb 1, 2018, 4:43 AM | Updated: 11:17 am
Members of The Satanic Temple - Arizona help pick up trash along the Interstate 10. (Facebook/The Satanic Temple - Arizona Chapter)
(Facebook/The Satanic Temple - Arizona Chapter)
PHOENIX — A so-called “satanic” group that advocates for separation of church and state has helped pick up trash along a stretch of Interstate 10 in southern Arizona.
The Satanic Temple of Arizona signed up with the Department of Transportation Adopt a Highway program to clean up along the interstate near Casa Grande, according to the Casa Grande Dispatch.
The Satanic Temple is seeking to participate in government-sponsored projects and activities as a way to test compliance with the First Amendment’s provisions on religion.
The group has stirred controversy in various cities by applying to give invocations at official meetings.
In 2016, the group moved to give the invocation at a Phoenix City Council meeting, but councilmembers blocked it by changing the way the legislature held its prayers altogether.
The Satanic Temple was later invited to give an invocation in Scottsdale.
Chapter spokesman Stu de Haan said the group doesn’t believe in a supernatural Satan but rather embraces the literary Satan as a symbol of rebellion.
Group member America Curl said the Casa Grande location is perfect for the group because it’s roughly halfway between Phoenix and Tucson, the two metro areas where most of the chapter’s members live.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
