Hell's bells: Satanic band set to rock Indiana’s capitol building

INDIANAPOLIS — Members of The Satanic Temple won’t be sacrificing animals or drinking blood inside Indiana’s capitol building on Sept. 28.

They are, however, bringing a band.

And this particular band should be plenty to outrage multitudes of Hoosiers in this deep-red state.

Lucien Greaves, co-founder of The Satanic Temple, said this week he has permission from the state and hasn’t heard about any obstacles to the performance of his band Satanic Planet — whose logo for the “Let Us Burn” tour features an upside down cross.

His group was recognized by the Internal Revenue Service in 2019 as a religion, at least for tax purposes.

“It’s this or allowing government to pick and choose religions,” Greaves told Raw Story.

Said journalist and political commentator Abdul-Hakim Shabazz, who earlier this year finished second in the Republican primary for mayor of Indianapolis: “It will be something to watch, to say the least.”

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Initially, the state of Indiana wouldn’t allow Satanic Planet to play the Indiana capitol until The Satanic Temple’s lawyer reminded government officials about a Christian event led by Sean Feucht.

Lasting more than an hour, the May event inside the capitol included Feucht praying over Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch, who’s now running for Indiana governor.

Critics of Feucht (pronounced Foyt) and his “Let Us Worship” tour of the country say he’s a Christian nationalist working to turn America into a theocracy. Feucht visited the Oval Office during Donald Trump’s presidency.

He did not respond to Raw Story’s request for an interview.

“It was amazing to see Sean Feucht just walk in and do a full-on revival in the (Indiana) capitol,” Greaves said.

The Feucht event was originally supposed to be outdoors on the capitol grounds. But Crouch allowed the event to be moved inside the capitol, her spokesperson has said, because of anticipated bad weather.

Asked about the Satanic Planet event and Feucht having inspired it, Crouch said through a spokesperson Wednesday, “As a person of faith, I’m not supportive of this event.”

Greaves said that after seeing video of the Indianapolis event, he thought to himself, “I’m also a religious leader with a band.”

So the building where devout Christian and former Vice President Mike Pence served as governor will also now become the venue for Satanic Planet.

The last four digits of The Satanic Temple’s phone number are “6660”. The group’s website uses imagery that includes a pentagram and the Sabbatic Goat, an occult symbol.

But no, members don't sacrifice animals or drink blood. The Satanic Temple says it practices “non-theistic Satanism.” Members don’t worship Satan. Their motto: “Empathy. Reason. Advocacy.”

“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.”

The group asserts itself in situations where it believes church-state separation has been breached. Such situations include abortion bans and displays of the Ten Commandments on public property

Indianapolis has been here before.

After Pence signed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in 2015, which gave extremely wide latitude for the practice of religion, a local man started the First Church of Cannabis. Its inaugural service received national media coverage but didn’t include marijuana — at least not officially. The church eventually fizzled and RFRA, as it was known, was amended.

The Indiana Department of Administration did not respond to a request for comment on any special accommodations, restrictions or security for the Satanic Planet.

Greaves said the group does not have to pay to perform but can’t charge for tickets, either.

Even with the legislature out of session, it seems unlikely a Satanic Planet event in Indiana’s capitol building will pass without protest.

“It’s really hard to say,” Greaves said. “We’ll be prepared for anything.”