Satanic worshippers of the Satanic Temple in Arkansas have unveiled a statue of demonic creature ' Baphomet' at the Little Rock. The goat-headed winged statue is eight-and-a-half-foot tall icon was supposed to be on a temporary display but the Satan believers have argued they want it to be permanently erected for their freedom of religion. The Satanic Temple organisation took out a protest rally outside the State Capitol building, where a Ten Commandments monument is present. Siblings Kill Their Mother to Bathe in Her Blood as a Part of Satanic Sacrifice in Peru.

The protestors wanted to advocate religious liberty along with the Christian monument that is erected in the area. Lucien Greaves, spokesman for the Satanic Temple called the Baphomet statue as a symbol of 'symbol of pluralism, legal equality, tolerance, free inquiry, freedom of conscience, and reconciliation.'Satanic Arkansas cofounder Ivy Forrester who was a part of the rally was quoted The Independent, "If you’re going to have one religious monument up then it should be open to others, and if you don’t agree with that then let’s just not have any at all."

The Satanic Temple protesting to erect Baphomet on permanently:

Meanwhile, the counter Christians called the group as extremists. One of the members condemned the Satanic icon to be offensive. The Arkansas state senator, Jason Rapert said, "It will be a very cold day in hell before an offensive statue will be forced upon us to be permanently erected on the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol." The whole argument was about the separation of Church and State. Some atheists also joined in the rally. The Ten Commandments monument was erected at the spot last year, after the bill passed by Rapert.

The Satanic Temple members do not believe in Satan but an 'eternal rebel' of outside authority, who stands for rationality. They tag themselves as a 'religion-type group' who are also political activists and advocates working to promote egalitarianism, social justice, and separation of church and state.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 19, 2018 11:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).