Tallahassee, Florida (Tallahassee Democrat) -- The Satanic Temple is wishing everyone happy holidays.
After a brief kerfuffle over placement, the Temple added its holiday display to the Florida Capitol's rotunda.
Nestled between two pillars designating the space an open forum of expression and five other holiday displays, the diorama of the Biblical scene of an angel falling into a pit of fire is a response to Nativity scenes that have had a place in the Capitol.
"There's no significance to it; it's just a display that we put up to counteract the Nativity scene," said Satanic Temple member John Porgal after setting up the display, adding "It's all or none, and this represents the other side of the manger scene."
Porgal was referring to the ongoing debate in Florida about the separation of church and state. The Temple's display was denied by the Department of Management Services last year for being "grossly offensive."
Porgal and a state official designated to direct the placement of the display argued briefly over where it would be placed. Ultimately, the Temple's diorama landed in the same place where just minutes before a Nativity scene had been removed after its seven-day run.
Several groups wanting to place displays chided the state for allowing religious depictions in public buildings. A 6-foot pole of beer cans celebrating the fictitious holiday Festivus has made its way into the Capitol for the past two years, as have several banners from atheist groups and a display from the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
The Satanic Temple was the only display denied last year, but it enlisted the help of Washington D.C.-based educational, non-partisan Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which threatened legal action if the display was again denied.
"The only reason we got this display up here in the first place, (the state) denied it again this year, and once Americans United brought their lawyers into it they buckled," Porgal said. "This is the place it needs to be, front and center, just like the Nativity scene."
Pam Olsen, the Florida Prayer Network president, said although the state-owned building is a forum for free speech, the display sends the wrong message.
"This is an open forum so the government has said yes they have the right to be here, but I'm sad in the fact that I don't think it does anything to bring hope and peace and joy to a country that needs the message of hope and joy and love," Olsen said.
Moments earlier, Olsen helped put up the second Nativity depiction, a small painting, in the Capitol.
Acknowledging the Temple's display is a reaction against other displays, and itself is a Biblical display, Olsen said, "In this country people can spoof, can't they? We have freedom here. So he can spoof all he wants, but the reality is Merry Christmas."
Capitol displays are allowed for seven days under new guidelines implemented by DMS earlier this year. The Detroit chapter of the Satanic Temple added a holiday display to the Lansing state Capitol this week as well.
Porgal, who added that Temple members do not worshhip the devil, said it would be fine with no holiday displays in the Capitol. Its intent is not to offend.
"We would actually prefer if none of this was here, that we wouldn't have to go through this every year," he said. "We don't want to be insulting, we just want our rights. Either the separation of church and state or our equal rights."
