A group of Satanists cheered as two leaders opened SatanCon 2023 on Friday with a formal ceremony renouncing "symbols of oppression" by ripping up a Bible and a "Thin Blue Line" flag representing police.
"We stand here today in defiance of their siege and destroy their symbols of oppression," a female leader told the crowd before ripping pages out of the Bible and throwing them on the floor, video showed.
A male leader joined her in then tearing a "Thin Blue Line" flag in two, which they also tossed on the floor while the crowd cheered. Satanists in attendance later picked some of the ripped pages off the floor and posed with them for pictures.
"We must build true community outside of the virtual," the male leader also said before taking a hammer to a keyboard. "Rebelling comes in many forms to each and their own within their own capabilities and their own situation. For some of us, merely existing one more day is victory, but for those of us who can, we must stand up for those who cannot."
SatanCon, a sold-out three-day event has been touted as the "largest satanic gathering in history," is being hosted this weekend at the Marriott Copley Place in Boston by The Satanic Temple. The event, which marks the Temple's 10-year anniversary, was dedicated to Democratic Boston Mayor Michelle Wu after the group wasn't allowed to deliver a satanic invocation at a City Council meeting in 2021.
The Temple claims to be a nontheistic religious organization that does not worship or believe in a personal Satan, but rather aims to "encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice, and undertake noble pursuits."
The conference has been replete with numerous guest speakers and lectures, many of which were dedicated to far-left identity politics.
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"Sins of the Flesh: Satanism and Self-Pleasure" was taught by Eric Sprankle, a "sexuality studies" professor at Minnesota State University-Mankato. "Reclaiming the Trans Body: A/theistic strategies for Self-Determination and Empowerment," was offered by University of South Carolina-Aiken Associate Professor of Philosophy Devi B. Dillard-Wright, a transgender woman.
Another event included "Hellbillies: Visible Satanism in Rural America," which will be taught by Ash Schade, a transgender man who made headlines when he had a baby "after hooking up with someone on Grindr," according to The College Fix.
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SatanCon has been met with pushback from some Christian groups such as Intercessors for America, whose regional leaders in Boston told the Christian Post they felt called to pray for the souls of the attendees.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston also called for "intense prayer" in response to the event, according to Catholic News Agency. The archdiocese advised Catholics to avoid engaging with the satanists at the event.
"We ask Catholics not to organize or encourage others to go to the event to protest. It will only make it more prominent and give the organizers the attention they seek," a press release from the archdiocese said.
"Rather than protesting in person, we hope to storm the Heavens with prayer from our shrines, monasteries, and parishes," and offered a list of places to pray with other Catholics over the weekend the convention takes place.
Fox News Digital's Alexander Hall contributed to this report.
