Satanic cult leader Jex Blackmore doesn't see Satanism as evil, but that's because her group, the Satanic Temple of Detroit does not subscribe to the Judeo-Christian concept of good and evil.
Despite their recent row involving the installment of the statue of Baphomet on the Oaklahoma Capitol lawn, or crusade involving the distribution of Satanic colouring materials and literature to young students, the group believes that it is negative preconceptions of Satanism that colours people's judgment of them.
"The term 'evil' is working within a very traditional common set of ideas between what is ethical and what isn't; what is right and what is wrong. If someone is working within a Judeo-Christian concept of that, then we can't have a conversation there (and find a common ground)," Blackmore said in an interview with mLive at the sidelines of one of their events.
"Being a Satanic organisation, Satan represents the ultimate evil in many ways - the antithesis of what's good. That's an idea that we'll always deal with (from critics)," she said.
Blackmore said that their group does not believe in supernaturalism but instead is grounded in its own tradition and history back to the Abrahamic phase, which has steadily evolved with the times.
Blackmore said she has made it her life's mission to educate people about Satanism and its philosophies and she sees great potential for expansion. Detroit is the first area outside of New York to have a chapter of the Satanic Temple.
"We want to bring people in and empower them to be active Satanists in their personal lives. Then we can all come together and do work when there's a need - when there's a political need, a need for some kind of action," she said.
