PLUMSTED – If Ocean County has a Bible belt, Plumsted may well be its buckle. The township has a large number of Christian churches including Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Catholic denominations. It also has a chapter of the Satanic Temple of New Jersey.
During a recent rainy Sunday afternoon, members of the temple held an “unbaptism” inside the Ron Dancer Municipal Town Hall where they have been meeting since March 2022. The Bible Baptist Church also used the township building for five years for their services prior to that.
A proposed policy change for groups seeking to use the building may cause the temple to be unable to practice their faith at the public building in the new year.
This marked the second “unbaptism” for the temple’s members, a number of whom are residents of Plumsted. “We hold occasional public rituals so new people can come and participate and join the congregation if they want,” said Michael Silvestro Jr., known as Reverend Leviathan.
The “unbaptism” ceremony does not extend to the boundaries of the entire township – which was a concern posted on a Plumsted social media post that compared New Egypt to the Hellmouth of fictional Sunnydale, California, the setting of the popular supernatural TV series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
“Unbaptising the town? Consent is held to the highest regard within our sect of Satanism,” temple member John Belasco said in response to the idea.
A question-and-answer period was held to dispel any misinformation about the ceremony or the religious practices of the Satanic Temple.
Police Chief Earl Meroney and members of the township police department, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ocean County Sheriff’s Department were on hand to make sure everything remained civil during the afternoon.
A counter rally from local Christian groups in the community was expected, but that didn’t happen. However, members of the controversial Proud Boys, defined as an exclusively male North American far-right, neo-fascist militant organization that promotes and engages in political violence, showed up wearing masks to sing Christmas carols outside the building. When asked to pose for a picture, half of them held up white power gestures.
“We’re here for Christian values,” a member of the Proud Boys said. They asked questions of Reverend Leviathan about his group’s beliefs and about the ceremony itself during the Q and A session inside the building.
An Atlantic County couple who preferred not to give their names came out to see what it was all about saying they were open minded about the situation and wanted to learn more.
Aalin Myndd of Manchester said she also came out for the event to observe. She wasn’t a member of the Temple but is a member of a Satanic group based in Salem, Massachusetts. “A friend and I went camping last year in Salem and we went to the temple there.”
Reverend Leviathan explained to the audience that “we don’t believe in spirits or the supernatural or any of that stuff or some of the things you see in fiction. We have our own views just like any other religion has their own views.
“I used to be a Methodist youth leader and through that I ended up questioning. A lot of people lose their religion and end up losing their community. I was lonely for a while and I found a community of people who had also been either ex-communicated or had suffered trauma and I started to build a community from there,” he added.
He did say there was a community activist side and a ritualistic side and went on to explain the unbaptism, prefacing that what he said was on behalf of his congregation and not the national level of the organization.
He said, “a lot of people are baptized as a child by their parents who are doing what they believe is best. They are making a commitment to raise someone else in what they believe to be the best raising of a child. As we come to adulthood and as we convert to the religion, they want to affirm their belief; with Christianity it is the confirmation.”
“An unbaptism is an affirmant of our belief through a cathartic ritual and it is all about empowering the individual. It is not to spit on anyone else’s religion. It is self-empowering,” Silvestro said.
He added, “some people feel we are a mockery of Christianity but we are not.”
An audience member asked “So, you aren’t really worshipping Satan, you are just rejecting Christian values? So things like faith and love are just constructs that you don’t feel are a thing of religion?”
While Christianity has the Ten Commandments, Silvestro said his group believes in the seven tenants. The first of which calls for members to observe empathy and compassion to all creatures. “We highly value compassion and empathy and to treat everyone like that, which leads to equality.”
Resident Kim Pompeo said she felt that they were essentially atheists who were using Satanic imagery to draw people to their religion. “If you have such a problem with organized religion, how do you justify that in being a religion yourself?”
“I have no problem with other people’s religion,” Silvestro responded.
When the Q and A session concluded, the Proud Boys quietly left and thanked the group for the civil discussion. Some remained for the ceremony, others did not.
Unlike most municipalities, Plumsted Township starts its monthly Township Committee meetings with a local clergy member presenting an invocation. Silvestro has also asked for the opportunity to do that but has not been allowed to.
Since the 1990s, the township has observed the National Day of Prayer. This year’s program was once again held in Town Hall. Members of the Temple conducted a community service cleanup activity of the building’s basement while that program was going on upstairs.
A resolution was unanimously passed by the Township Committee in October to place the words, “In God We Trust,” in a prominent location within the Municipal Building. Three motto design proposals were drafted from the public and the winner will be placed in areas of the building next year.
