In this episode, our hosts take you on a tour of the bizarre and often misunderstood world of the Satanic Temple and their efforts to fight for religious freedom. What role do satirical religions play in our modern world, and should they be treated like traditional religions? Can we create an organization for secular humanists that has the benefits of religion without a deity?

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Our opening question about our favorite tricksters:

Ian: Loki:

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/the-aesir-gods-and-goddesses/loki/ 

Rachael: Loki and Puck: analysis of Puck

https://www.thoughtco.com/character-analysis-puck-midsummer-nights-dream-2984577 

Zack: Benjamin Linus from Lost :

https://lostpedia.fandom.com/wiki/Benjamin_Linus 

Adam: Dolos [I don’t love using wiki, but I just couldn’t find anything meaningful elsewhere]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolos_(mythology) 

Kendra: Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer

https://buffy.fandom.com/wiki/Spike 

The Satanic Temple

https://thesatanictemple.com/ 

It’s not the Church of Satan:

https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/what-is-the-difference-between-the-satanic-temple-and-the-church-of-satan 

Article on the documentary, Hail Satan?,  produced this year

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-49392867 

[if you want another article, explaining the documentary director idea that highlights what we spoke about regarding community and the search for meaning] 

https://www.wired.com/2019/05/geeks-guide-hail-satan/ 

List of approved religions in the American military: you will notice neither Pastafarian nor The Satanic Temple are listed.There are over 210 religious affiliations listed as of 2017.

http://americanhumanist.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Faith-and-Belief-Codes-for-Reporting-Personnel-Data-of-Service-Members.pdf 

Durkheim and religion

http://durkheim.uchicago.edu/Summaries/forms.html#pgfId=6212 

Durkheim and philosophy as religion (slightly different take than the above citation)

https://www.iep.utm.edu/durkheim/#H4 

Mircea Eliade and religion

https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Mircea_Eliade#Contribution_to_the_study_of_religion 

[or from britannica, but I found this explanation to a bit more dense]

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Mircea-Eliade#ref274286 

Is Buddhism a religion?

https://bigthink.com/21st-century-spirituality/is-buddhism-a-religion 

John Oliver and debt collecting

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/john-oliver-buys-15-million-of-medical-debt-for-60/?fbclid=IwAR0FBYs-n884jjIzwLQ1DotAVCEhn2bJRGc35hC2nR-BZzbRExRjQKJtCFI