More and more Chileans are applying for membership at the Temple of Satan after years of sexual abuse scandals from the Catholic Church led to a crisis of faith for many.
Currently, there are about 100 members of The Temple of Satan: Satanists and Luciferians of Chile, but growing interest has led the group to request that the conservative Chilean government recognize them as a church, as reported by the Associated Press.
"These types of organizations now feel that they have greater support to challenge what was virtually impossible before," Luis Bahamondes, a professor at the Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Chile, told AP. "Until very recently, the Catholic Church enjoyed an unprecedented power. It had an opinion on everything: politics, economics, geopolitics, sexuality and education."
Despite Hollywood portrayals of the Satanic Temple, the church does not perform sacrifices or even worship the devil. Instead, its members support individualism, rationalism and see pleasures as something to celebrate rather than as something to be ashamed of.
"In Satanism there are no solutions or absolute truths. You are your own god and you create your own reality," Kali Ma, a former Jehovah's Witness, told AP. "If we compare both, Jehovah's Witnesses are the real sect. They don't let you do certain things, they tell you how to dress, what to do, how to behave, whether or not to grow a beard."
Half of Chile's population currently identifies as Catholic. Anglican, Catholic, Jewish and Evangelical leaders said in a previous joint statement that Satanism "has often been the cause of tragedies." However, Haborym, a spokesperson for the group, told AP that they comply with everything necessary to be deemed a religious organization.
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