The main religious denominations present in Chile issued a public statement in which they consider it inappropriate for a Satanist organization to obtain recognition from the State.
The statement comes after a petition presented by the “Temple of Satan” organization to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, asking for legal recognition as a religious entity.
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As a result of this, religious leaders affirmed that Satanism is a phenomenon that cannot be considered as “churches, confessions or religious institutions”, since they promote “the cult of evil and the attempt to replace Divinity”, instead of base their activity on the search for “the good and virtue” to which human nature aspires.
Satanism, they specify, “links the person and society with contrary goods and specifically, with evil, discord and division.”
“Beyond the declarations and purposes that its adherents may express, there is an objective fact that contradicts the fundamental values on which social and democratic coexistence among men is based, such as the common good, social charity, mutual love, unity among all human beings, service, gratuitousness,” he explains.
In this framework, it is explained that the legal recognition as a religious confession of an organization that promotes satanism would violate the first paragraph of article 19 No. 6 of the Political Constitution, which guarantees “freedom of conscience, the manifestation of all beliefs and the free exercise of all religions that do not oppose morality, good customs or public order.”
For all these reasons, the religious denominations request “that the request made by the Temple of Satan organization or by others that promote Satanism be denied.”
The document is signed by the Archbishop of La Serena and President of the Episcopal Conference of Chile, Mons. René Rebolledo Salinas; and representatives of the Orthodox, Anglican, Evangelical, and Pentecostal churches, as well as Jewish and Muslim leaders, among others.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.