Freshman Republican state Rep. Josh Schriver of Michigan was outraged by the presence of a display erected by the Satanic Temple of Western Michigan on the lawn of the state capitol. In response, Schriver announced that he will be attempting to strip “tax exempt status from non-theistic churches.”
Schriver, recently identified by Right Wing Watch as a likely follower of racist, misogynistic, antisemitic, homophobic Christian nationalist Nick Fuentes, appeared on the “Your Defending Fathers” radio program last week. During the program, Schriver announced his intention to target churches that he doesn’t believe deserve equal treatment with Christianity under the law, putting him in company of some religious-right activists who don’t believe the First Amendment’s religious liberty protections apply equally to non-Christian religions.
“I actually am working on a policy right now—I haven’t introduced it yet—but it’s actually to really focus on making a distinction between the church—the church of Jesus Christ—and this, quote unquote, Church of Satan,” Schriver announced. “You really have an issue where they’re seen as equal in the eyes of the state, and that doesn’t seem right to me for many, many legitimate reasons. And so removing tax exempt status from non-theistic churches such as the Church of Satan, I think is very, very well in order.”
“There’s many examples of us looking at our First Amendment and how it doesn’t really protect against obscenity,” Schriver continued, revealing that he is also “working on another policy to make pornographic images illegal” because “there’s no need for a moral and religious people to indulge in certain things.”
“We have a duty to lead people as representatives who are appointed by God to make sure that we have a state that is not just good, not just great, but godly,” Schriver declared. “Honestly, I work for God and not for man. And so at the end of the day, I answer to one person, and that’s Jesus Christ.”
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