Unveiling Day at the Capitol

BOISE — A small group from The Satanic Temple Idaho gathered Monday for a historic event — the first official Satanic prayer meeting at the state Capitol building.

Leading the group of 12 official members was Shaun Kobal, congregation head, the first ordained minister for The Satanic Temple Idaho and overseer of all three of Idaho’s Satanic Temple regional subgroups.

The Satanic Temple Idaho has about 400 members and allies statewide and is divided into the Capitol region, the Southeast region and the North Idaho region, Kobal told The Press.

There are about 10 active members in Kootenai County, with more allies and supporters, he said.

The event started at 10:30 a.m. and though TST members were surrounded by protesters from various churches, the ritual was carried out without incident.

Members stood cloaked in ceremonial robes, surrounding a large pentagram made of red fabric. Kobal gave his prepared address through a loudspeaker.

“I had to scream over the Catholic Church, people speaking in tongues, and gospel hymns,” Kobal said in an exclusive Press interview.

Nevertheless, Kobal thanked all attendees, even those exercising their right to protest.

“Today we too exercise our freedoms granted to us by the Constitution of the United States of America,” Kobal said. “We seek your guidance, O Lucifer, so we may treat all citizens of Idaho with compassion and empathy.”

“It is our chance to practice our deeply held beliefs in a public square,” Kobal said. “A chance to celebrate the religious freedoms of all Idahoans, not just one dominant voice.”

Kobal, 38, has been a member of TST for four years and was ordained in June. Growing up in Twin Falls, Kobal has spent the last 18 years in Boise.

‘The reality is that Idaho is a melting pot of religions and cultures,” he said.

Kobal obtained the required permits through the state Capitol’s legislative channels to hold the public meeting Monday in honor of Unveiling Day, which celebrates religious pluralism in America.

Julie Cooper, with the Legislative Services Office, said that “events in legislative spaces are scheduled first come, first served, with no restrictions on religious affiliation.”

Unveiling Day marks The Satanic Temple’s first revealing of a bronze statue of Baphomet. The occult symbol depicts a goat-headed, winged figure seated on a throne with two smiling children gazing upward. It is close to 9 feet tall and weighs almost a ton.

Baphomet encapsulates a “reconciliation of opposites,” Kobal said. It is both male and female, good and evil, human and animal.

It was commissioned by The Satanic Temple to protest a Ten Commandments monument installed by Sen. Mike Ritze in 2012 at the Statehouse in Oklahoma.

Satanic Temple members believe that all citizens should be granted the same respect and freedom to openly practice religious beliefs.

Growing up in a relatively non-religious household, Kobal did attend Christian churches in his youth. “But,” he said, “the science being taught in schools did not match up with the biblical viewpoint.”

Discovering The Temple of Satan, he said the foundational beliefs of the religion resonate deeply.

Satanism operates by a specific set of guidelines, called The Seven Fundamental Tenets. Briefly stated, they are: to act with compassion and empathy toward all living things, to pursue justice, to respect others' freedoms, to conform one’s beliefs to the best scientific understanding of the world, to make amends for your mistakes, and the complete autonomy of one’s own body.

Satanists do not believe in a literal Satan, or any deity for that matter, Kobal said.

Kobal described a "literary" belief in an "adversary of tyranny and authority."

Satanism is about creating community for the congregation, he said. Putting it simply, Kobal said: just “do good things.”

“Standard misconceptions about who we are, are not grounded in reality,” he said. “We are not killing babies, making ritual sacrifices or drinking blood.”

In Kootenai County and statewide, TST organizes fundraisers for community members in need. The Satanic Temple’s North Idaho Chapter recently adopted a section of Interstate 90 to keep clean.

They hold weekly meetings, perform religious rituals and provide community for temple members, Kobal said.

Kobal spends about 60 hours a week in a ministry capacity. “I try to be someone for my congregation to talk to,” he said. “I serve their needs.”

Info: thesatanictempleidaho.com, satanictemple.com