WASHINGTON, D.C. (LBM) – Not even two weeks after tax day, the Satanic Temple, a self- described atheist group, celebrated that “for the very [first] time in history a satanic organization has been recognized by the United States federal government as being a church.” The categorization allows the Satanic Temple to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. According to LifeSite- News.com, the Satanic Temple website clearly acknowledges it is not a religion per se and does not believe in Satan, but simply uses the name as a “symbol of the Eternal Rebel in opposition to arbitrary authority.” But the group argued to the IRS that the “narrative structure by which we contextualize our lives” and which gives members a “sense of identity, culture, community, and shared values” qualifies it as a religion. The surprise IRS announcement followed by a month or so the ruling by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that denied the minister’s housing allowance benefit to another atheistic group, the Freedom From Religion Foundation based in Wisconsin. … [Read more...]