The Satanic Temple’s display at the Iowa state capitol, which was reportedly destroyed in an act of vandalism this week, is not protected by the First Amendment, according to a legal expert for the Catholic media network EWTN.
The display, which was due to remain on view in the state capitol until December 15, features a large figure with a goat’s head known as Baphomet, wearing red and black. The Iowa Department of Administrative Services told local news station WHO13 in Des Moines that the temple followed all proper procedures in applying and gaining approval for the display.
Andrea Picciotti-Bayer, an EWTN legal analyst, told the Catholic News Agency in an interview this week that the temple’s display is not religious expression, arguing it is instead intended to mock religion.
“We have to avoid the temptation to want to abandon our free speech principles and think that opposing The Satanic Temple can only be done with censorship. I don’t believe it has to. I think that our principles of religious freedom and free speech actually weigh on the side of excluding mockery from our public places,” she said.
“The first principles that support these core freedoms like religious freedom and free speech did not embrace a farce like The Satanic Temple is trying to put on display. Nor does it protect irreligious mockery of these kinds of core and important celebrations,” Picciotti-Bayer added.