Tipping Point Quick Hits (4.27.23)

The Satanic convention, war games in Asia, and a worldwide rice shortage

SatanCon Opens in Boston This Weekend

This weekend, potentially thousands of Satanic Temple members wearing costume-shop devil’s horns will converge on the city of Boston for an event they are calling “SatanCon,” which is short for Satan Convention. It’s a celebration of the 10th anniversary of the nonprofit known as the Satanic Temple.

Before I say much else, I want you to understand something important: the Satanic Temple is different from the Satanic Church. As they describe themselves, members of the Satanic Temple don’t worship Satan. (The Satanic Church, which was founded by Anton LaVey in the 1960s, was definitely an occult organization that worshipped Satan.)

This organization, the Satanic Temple, is a little different because they don’t believe in Satan at all. They see him as a fictional character who rebels against traditional religion—and for that reason, they appreciate his symbolism. It’s not worship. But they definitely identify with him because he mocked religion, and they don’t like religion.

Here’s how one media source described the group holding the convention: