A Satanic Temple tree at a Wisconsin Christmas festival has some outraged, but the event host said it was permitted in order to remain "an inclusive organization."
The Satanic Temple of Wisconsin's entry in the National Railroad Museum's Festival of Trees in Wisconsin raised eyebrows.
"Outrageous! National Railroad Museum features a Satanic worship tree," conservative political operative Matt Batzel posted to X last week.
Among the 66 trees features this year, there are six Christian ones. The Satanic Temple tree was one of 60 non-Christian ones, museum CEO Jacqueline Frank told the Green Bay Press-Gazette.
Frank added she vetted the Satanic Temple of Wisconsin for potential promotion of violence or adult content, but found no reason to block its entry in what is generally known as a Christian holiday.
"There was no hesitation," Frank told the Press-Gazette. "We're not a religious organization. We focus on trains.
"And, honestly, the Christmas tree is used by so many different secular and religious organizations. All we're doing is putting up decoration in that room."
Canceling the Satanic tree would be even more controversial, Frank suggested.
"If we want to be an inclusive organization, we want to make sure that everybody feels comfortable," she told the paper. "Who am I to suddenly say ... this thing that is your belief system and outside the mainstream is bad?
"I think there's a lot to be said of being able to include everybody, to respect everyone, and to provide dignity for everybody."
Frank added she would "absolutely" have the Satanic Temple back in next year's tree festival.
"We're not discriminating against anyone," she told the paper. "And as long as they're not promoting violence or anything along those lines, we absolutely support having them, as well as any religion or secular organization that wants to decorate a tree."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.