Ronald Reagan once said “ We establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will
we ever. Church and State are and must remain separate” It was from this quote and others from the likes of James Madison,
John F Kennedy, Thomas Jefferson that made me want to speak with Lucien Greaves about his attempt to erect a statue of
Baphomet at the Oklahoma State Capital, in response to the capital erecting a statue of the Ten Commandments The statue
has created a lot of buzz in the Metal Community, many from thus wanting to have a picture with the statue.
DDR: Lucien, first I would like to thank you for taking
the time to do this interview. We are honored to be able
to interview you and have you in our magazine. If I
may ask , what was your upbringing and education like?
Lucien: I’m often asked about my personal background,
and I consistently balk at giving lengthy replies that
delve into autobiographical details for many reasons. For
one, I think the personal focus is a counter-productive
distraction. I know people want to know, but I think
those people tend to miss the point. This isn’t about me.
It’s not about any one person. This is about the issues
and how we confront them. The “why” should be selfevident to anybody who cares about those issues. The
press is generally overly obsessed with simplified representations of broad issues reduced to the struggle of a
single individual. For example, the tenability of full government transparency isn’t dependent on the moral fortitude of Julian Assange. Our concern for privacy following disclosures of illegal NSA activity shouldn’t be
swayed either way by the character of Edward Snowden.
I hope I’ve helped create something in The Satanic
Temple that will carry on strong even if I’m to get shot
and killed by an outraged religious fanatic tomorrow.
Also, as a Satanist, I have a strong aversion against personality cults and arbitrary authority. I’m not interested
in presenting myself as a central figurehead.
DDR: What inspired you to follow you current path in
life?
Lucien: I grew up in the midst of what sociologists refer
to now as the “Satanic Panic” -- an embarrassing episode
in which witch hunts were revived in our modern secular
courts of law. People often use the term ‘witch hunt’ metaphorically -- for instance, to describe McCarthyism -- but
in this case, it was a literal witch hunt. Throughout the
80s and into the mid-90s people ݕ