This is a practical joke, right?

I’m trying to get through some backed-up email right now and go home and have dinner, so I’m not going to try to look into this at the moment (I mean, I Googled, and did not immediately find anything saying this was a hoax, but I only took a couple of seconds). I’m just going to share the email with you, and get back to my In box:

The Satanic Temple Hosts Valentine’s Day Fundraiser to Support Reproductive Rights Lawsuits

Hi Brad,
Please see the below press release, and let me know if you would like to schedule an interview or require more info. Thanks so much! – Molly

The Satanic Temple Celebrates Valentine’s Day with Fundraising Drive to Support Reproductive Rights Lawsuits Against State of Missouri
“Hugs and Kisses for Satan” fundraiser drive seeking sponsors across the United States to engage in constructive and pro-social activities that benefit and build communities.

(National) February 9, 2017The Satanic Temple is seeking sponsors for its Valentine’s Day fundraising drive, “Hugs and Kisses for Satan,” which is aimed to support the Temple’s reproductive rights lawsuits against the state of Missouri’s mandatory abortion waiting periods and reading materials that claim life begins at conception. The Temple objects to these State requirements on religious grounds.

The Satanic Temple has filed both State and Federal lawsuits against the State of Missouri on behalf of Mary Doe, a pregnant woman seeking an abortion. Missouri law requires that all women seeking to lawfully terminate their pregnancy must be given reading material claiming that life begins at conception, and they must endure a 72-hour waiting period between their initial appointment and their actual abortion procedure. The Temple objects to these restrictions on religious grounds because they violate the Temple’s belief in the inviolability of one’s body.

How to participate:

  • Download Pledge Sheet here;
  • Download Contact Sheet here;
  • Download XO Card here;
  • Find sponsors who will contribute for every hug or kiss you receive on Valentine’s Day;
  • Fill-out each sponsor’s information on the Pledge Sheet;
  • On Valentine’s Day, solicit hugs and kisses using the XO Card and ask the people who hug or kiss you to write their initials on the Contact Sheet;
  • After Valentine’s Day, collect contributions from your sponsors based on the number of hugs and kisses you received. Contributions and Contact Sheet should be forwarded to The Satanic Temple by either PayPal or mail (as a check or money order) by Feb. 28.

Mailing address:
The Satanic Temple, 64 Bridge Street, Salem, MA 01970

PayPal address:

info@thesatanictemple.com

Prizes will be awarded to the individual who raises the most money, hugs, and kisses.

Questions regarding the event can be emailed to info@thesatanictemple.com.

“Hugs and Kisses for Satan” is the first in a series of campaigns the Temple is promoting as a means by which people can engage in constructive and pro-social activities that benefit and build communities. Next year, the Temple hopes to launch a “My Blood Valentine” blood drive.

About The Satanic Temple

The mission of The Satanic Temple is to encourage benevolence and empathy among all people, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense and justice, and be directed by the human conscience to undertake noble pursuits guided by the individual will. Civic-minded, The Satanic Temple has been involved in a number of good works including taking a stand against the controversial and extremist Westboro Baptist Church. For more information about The Satanic Temple, please visit http://www.thesatanictemple.com.

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Right now, there must be a bunch of evangelicals, and possibly some of my fellow Catholics, going, “I KNEW it!”

Do you suppose the folks putting this out lack a sense of irony, or just have way too much of it?

9 thoughts on “This is a practical joke, right?

  1. Scout

    Apparently this just happened. Another court has not advanced Trumps appeal to his immigration ban. The restraining order remains in place.

    Reply
    1. JesseS

      Yeah, they are all “fight fire with fire” on the subject of religion. Less arrogant and more civic minded than the LaVeyans and more tolerable than the breed of pre-Sam Harris New Atheists (because at least the Satanic Temple has a sense of humor, even about itself). Just another example in America’s long history of joke religions.

      Reply
  2. Karen Pearson

    Whether it’s too much irony or too little, it’s not going to fly in Missouri. However, they seem to have found a way to encourage the rabid right. (And by “rabid right” I do not mean the mainstream of conservitivism.

    Reply

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