Hail, Satan? (2019)

I've known Satanists since I was a teenager.  They have always been extremely mild-mannered and frankly better than a lot of people who identify as Christian.  As a pagan, I've always felt Satanists to be a kindred group, like they share the skinny part of a Venn diagram between pagans and atheists.  This documentary looks at the modern Temple of Satan, resurrected (ha!) by a handful of people from the Anton LaVey form as a counterbalance to the oppressive pervasiveness of mainstream Christian culture.

Spokesman Lucien Greaves provides political opposition to religion-based legislature in the most hilarious ways, from suggesting a 9-ft statue of Baphomet across from the ten commandments in Oklahoma to providing science-based after-school programs with an adorable Mr. Satan mascot.  It seems like deliberate provocation, and it is.  Greaves and followers urge critical thinking and continual vigilance of the constitutional mandate of separation of church and state.

I've always had a soft spot for outcasts and rabble rousers so this documentary was very much my catnip.  If the mention of the word Satan sends a cold chill up your spine and makes you clutch your Bible, maybe this isn't for you.  But I still think you should give it a shot, maybe interrogate those knee-jerk reactions, and really think about the kind of propaganda being pushed by our lawmakers.