INDIANAPOLIS — Just outside the offices of the Indiana Department of Education and the Indiana Supreme Court clerk, in this deep-red state’s seat of government, Lucien Greaves began his concert.
“Welcome to this celebration of Satan at the Indiana state capitol,” Greaves said.
Soon, the band Satanic Planet launched into the song “Exorcism,” beginning a 20-minute performance that delighted, disturbed, puzzled and amused the diverse audience of about 250 in the ornate building.
In attendance: Satanists in regalia, Christians, cops and state workers on their lunch break.
The concert was inspired by alleged Christian nationalist Sean Feucht, whose hour-plus “Let Us Worship” event in May was staged inside Indiana’s capitol at the invitation of Lt. Governor Suzanne Crouch. During the event, Feucht prayed over Crouch, who’s running for the Republican nomination for governor.
That offended Greaves, who called it a “full-on revival” and an egregious violation of the separation of church and state. He wanted a turn. And he had his faith behind him: In 2019, the Internal Revenue Service recognized the Satanic Temple as a religion, at least for tax purposes.
POLL: Should Trump be allowed to run for office?
After initial resistance from the state of Indiana and the intervention of The Satanic Temple’s lawyer, Satanic Planet received equal time for its “Let Us Burn” tour. The Satanic Temple often asserts itself in situations where it believes church-state separation has been breached.
“We do not believe in either God or the Devil as supernatural forces,” says an introduction to the group. “We bow to no god or gods and celebrate our outsider status. To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions.”
So, around 12:30 p.m. on a Thursday, at a place where former Vice President Mike Pence served as governor and signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Satantic Planet performed “Unbaptism” as audience members approached the band for an “unbaptism” ritual.
School field trips frequently tour the capitol, opened in 1888, but there were no field trips on this day.
A spokesman for Crouch, who was scheduled to be in Fort Wayne, Ind., said she would not comment on the performance. Last month, Crouch told Raw Story through a spokesman, “As a person of faith, I’m not supportive of this event.”
With the American and state of Indiana flags behind him, Greaves told the audience why the band was here.
RELATED ARTICLE: Hell's bells: Satanic band set to rock Indiana’s capitol building
“Earlier this year the capitol was made available for Christian theocrat Sean Feucht who performed here under the mistaken notion that one religious viewpoint should dominate the public square,” Greaves said. “But we are a nation built on religious liberty and pluralism, and when Suzanne Crouch opened the doors for Feucht, she opened the doors for Satanic Planet.”
Gunta Irbe of Indianapolis was among those who showed up to pray quietly.
“Jesus is my Lord and Savior and I believe what the Bible says,” Irbe said. “There’s God and Jesus, and Satan, and I believe Satan has power, but Jesus has more, and I want Jesus to win in my city.”
Irbe said her husband heard about the event on a Christian website. She said the site recommended that people show up, pray and not engage with Satanists.
Some people apparently didn’t get that message. A member of a Christian group dressed in fatigues shouted throughout the event, toeing a line that law enforcement appeared to have drawn for where he could stand. Another person from the group walked quietly with a sign promoting Christianity.
Greaves grinned throughout the performance, sometimes switching to a smirk toward a protester.
After the unbaptism, Greaves and the audience shouted, “Hail Satan,” raising an arm to make the sign of the horn, which in sports would be a salute to the University of Texas Longhorns.
Then he ended the show.
“We love you all. Goodnight.”
