Overview

"In 2013, when the state of Oklahoma erected a statue of the Ten Commandments on the grounds of the state capitol, a group calling themselves The Satanic Temple applied to erect a statue of Baphomet alongside the Judeo-Christian tablets. Since that time, The Satanic Temple has become a regular voice in national conversations about religious freedom, disestablishment, and government overreach. In addition to petitioning for Baphomet to appear alongside another monument of the Ten Commandments in Arkansas, the group has launched campaigns to include Satanic ""nativity scenes"" on government property in Florida, Michigan, and Indiana, offer Satanic prayers at a high school football game in Seattle, and create ""After School Satan"" programs in elementary schools that host Christian extracurricular programs. Since their 2012 founding, The Satanic Temple has established 19 chapters and now claims 100,000 supporters. Is this just a political group perpetuating a series of stunts? Or is it a sincere religious movement?Speak of the Devil is the first book-length study of The Satanic Temple. Joseph Laycock, a scholar of new religious movements, contends that the emergence of ""political Satanism"" marks a significant moment in American religious history that will have a lasting impact on how Americans frame debates about religious freedom. Though the group gained attention for its strategic deployment of outrage, it claims to have developed beyond politics into a genuine religious movement. Equal parts history and ethnography, Speak of the Devil is Laycock's attempt to take seriously The Satanic Temple's work to redefine religion, the nature of pluralism and religious tolerance, and what ""religious freedom"" means in America."

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9780190948498

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Reviews

Laycock's book produces several contributions to the field. His survey of satanic history and its use in popular discourse reveals the extent to which the satanic affinity for performance traces back to earlier Church of Satan figures such as Anton LaVey but also the political activism, militant reactionism, and moral sensationalism of conservative Christians -- William Chavez, Reading Religion This volume is highly recommended. Its sections on the history of Satanism and TST may not be of interest to all Christians, but surely to those interested in a study of new religious movements, and Satanism in particular. Even for those who have no interest in Satanism or TST, and who find such subjects off-putting, the discussion of TST's challenges to our assumptions about religion, religious free-dom, and religious pluralism make this an important addition to select Christian libraries. -- John W. Morehead, Cultural Encounters: A Journal for the Theology of Culture Laycock's Speak of the Devil is a valuable contribution to the study of modern Satanism and will be of great interest especially to those studying new religious movements, religion in America, and issues of church and state in the United States. Clearly written and well organized, the book would be ideal for graduate seminars not only for its content, but also for its expert blending of history and ethnography in its portrait of an oft-reviled minority religion. -- Brian C. Wilson, Western Michigan University, Nova Religio

Recommended. -- C.H. Lippy, emeritus, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, CHOICE Laycock's book produces several contributions to the field. His survey of satanic history and its use in popular discourse reveals the extent to which the satanic affinity for performance traces back to earlier Church of Satan figures such as Anton LaVey but also the political activism, militant reactionism, and moral sensationalism of conservative Christians -- William Chavez, Reading Religion This volume is highly recommended. Its sections on the history of Satanism and TST may not be of interest to all Christians, but surely to those interested in a study of new religious movements, and Satanism in particular. Even for those who have no interest in Satanism or TST, and who find such subjects off-putting, the discussion of TST's challenges to our assumptions about religion, religious free-dom, and religious pluralism make this an important addition to select Christian libraries. -- John W. Morehead, Cultural Encounters: A Journal for the Theology of Culture Laycock's Speak of the Devil is a valuable contribution to the study of modern Satanism and will be of great interest especially to those studying new religious movements, religion in America, and issues of church and state in the United States. Clearly written and well organized, the book would be ideal for graduate seminars not only for its content, but also for its expert blending of history and ethnography in its portrait of an oft-reviled minority religion. -- Brian C. Wilson, Western Michigan University, Nova Religio

Laycock's Speak of the Devil is a valuable contribution to the study of modern Satanism and will be of great interest especially to those studying new religious movements, religion in America, and issues of church and state in the United States. Clearly written and well organized, the book would be ideal for graduate seminars not only for its content, but also for its expert blending of history and ethnography in its portrait of an oft-reviled minority religion. -- Brian C. Wilson, Western Michigan University, Nova Religio

Author Information

Joseph P. Laycock is an assistant professor of religious studies at Texas State University. His work explores American religious history and new religious movements. He is also a co-editor of the journal Nova Religio.

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