Here at the opening I would like to thank Jeff LeJeune for the video of Christopher Lee he dug up (posted at The Hayride on 19 Sept. 2024) in which he describes the reality of evil, satanic ceremonies, etc.  Much of what follows (which was mostly put together before I had seen that video) is an elaboration of what was said on it.  Glory to God for bringing these two posts together.  Folks reading this article should have a look at the video if they haven’t already.

That said, let us turn now to the main subject.

Another powerful proof that the Enlightenment era of religious skepticism is nearing its end has appeared, and once again it is found ‘deep in the heart of Texas’:

A Texas reader sent me that last night. He says this Santa Muerte altar is at the center of the Kyle Flea Market, on the interstate highway between Austin and San Antonio. He writes:

‘Had lunch with two Mexican-American colleagues today and they’re telling me it is absolutely everywhere now. Growing fast.

‘One of them says of the Kyle Flea Market altar that it has been significantly expanded: “When I went by it was mostly black and the black, hooded Santa Muerte statue was very large, at least 8-9ft and right in the middle.” Plus two other brujeriá [witchcraft] stands adjoining it.’

Here’s an NBC News piece from ten years ago, reporting on the US presence of the Santa Muerte (Saint Death) cult, which began as a demonic parody of the Virgin Mary adopted by Mexican drug cartels, but which burst out of the criminal underworld. Excerpts:

‘“Undoubtedly, it’s the fastest growing religious movement in the entire Americas – not only Mexico and the U.S.,” according to Andrew Chesnut, Bishop Sullivan Chair of Catholic Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University, who authored the first book in English about the saint, “Devoted to Death: Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint.”

‘There is no hard data on the amount of devotees, but Chesnut estimates there are 10 to 12 million worshipers between the U.S., Mexico, and Central America’

. . . This year, a prominent Mexican priest who is also an exorcist issued a stern warning:

‘Father Andrés Esteban López Ruiz, a member of the College of Exorcists of the Primatial Archdiocese of Mexico, recently warned about the risks of the cult of “Santa Muerte” or “St. Death,” pointing out that those who practice it “implicitly or explicitly worship Satan, risking submitting themselves to him and experiencing his extraordinary action.”

‘In an article published on the website of the International Association of Exorcists, the priest noted that the “proliferation of this cult has led to a significant increase in the extraordinary action of the devil,” which can include demonic possession.

‘López said that Mexican exorcists have confirmed “numerous cases of oppression, obsession, and demonic possession linked to the practice and growing spread of the cult of ‘Santa Muerte.’”’

The exorcist went on to describe the Santa Muerte cult as a “Mexican version of satanic worship,” and warned people that involving yourself in it opens you up to demonic possession. (Rod Dreher, ‘Demon-Worship At The Flea Market’, roddreher.substack.com).

If this were not bad enough, there is also an extension of this evil cult here in Louisiana, in New Orleans:

‘Steven Bragg, a 38 year-old federal government employee, created a public shrine outside his home in New Orleans, which attracts many worshipers, including Latinos.

‘“I wanted to have something outside for her and spread her devotion,” said Bragg’ (Ibid.).

This isn’t something limited to fringe corners of a couple of Southern States.  As Mr Dreher points out in his essay, big corporations like Walmart are promoting the veneration of this ‘saint’ by selling statues of it.

Part of the appeal of this cult is the DIY nature of it:  ‘According to Chesnut, one of the reasons for Santa Muerte’s widespread appeal is that she accepts everyone and doesn’t discriminate. For instance, she may have a connection to LGBT people, sex workers, and others who are often shunned from the Catholic Church’ (Ibid.).

The younger generations are especially drawn to these non-Christian religions:

Organised religion is in decline. In Western countries, growing numbers are turning their backs on the Church. Thousands of churches shutter each year, faced with dwindling congregations and funds. The 2021 census on religion in England and Wales alarmed many: for the first time since its advent in 1801, less than half the population described themselves as Christian, down from 72 per cent two decades ago. Those ticking “no religion”, the second-most common response, soared to 37.2 per cent. The UK is now, statistically speaking, one of the least religious countries in the world.

Across the Atlantic, the story is similar. In 2020 less than half of Americans belonged to a church, synagogue or mosque, the first time congregants slid below the majority in Gallup’s eight-decade study. The holy current in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe is flowing in the same direction.

. . . Witchcraft is one form of alternative spirituality in the ascendant: #witchtok has more than 45 billion views on TikTok. Witch influencers proliferate on social media. Eight million #witchcraft Instagram posts detail the how, what and when of magic: moon rituals, hexes, tarot cards, herbal potions, spells. Reddit pages such as r/witch (101,000 members) and r/witchcraft (383,000) garner hundreds of sincere comments each day. Advice is sought and given: how-tos on friendship spells, drying herbs, charging crystals, candle divination. What was for centuries fringe and at times heretical is becoming accepted, even revered, particularly among the young.

Within the phenomenon, something interesting is happening: increasing numbers are swapping organised religion for witchcraft, or attempting to marry the two. The reasons are myriad, complex and often deeply personal. Why are believers ditching the church for magic? And what can this tell us about the decline of traditional religion?

. . . I wonder whether it’s part of the general decline in deference – a pick ’n’ mix attitude to faith that allows individuals to curate beliefs that work for them. “People nowadays are a lot more open-minded and free-spirited,” Netty remarks. “It’s also just a lot more exciting: witchcraft is fun, personalised, personally empowering”  (Jessica Rawnsley, ‘The witchcraft generation’, www.newstatesman.com).

As we said at the opening, the rapidly rising appeal of these demonic religions spells the death of the overly-rationalistic Enlightenment.  But to combat those religions will necessarily entail the death of another false ideology – classical liberalism.  This has been at the heart of Americanism from its beginnings in the Declaration of Independence, with its pronouncement that no one should be able to interfere with anyone else’s ‘pursuit of happiness’ so long as they aren’t hurting anyone.  It is an overemphasis on the individual and his needs at the expense of the social body as a whole in all its varied aspects, whether that is the family, past or future generations, the Church, a neighborhood, etc.

‘Who are you to outlaw the veneration of Santa Muerte if it helps someone experience feelings of positivity?’ – such is the argument from classical liberalism.  And as long as that ideology reigns in the US, there isn’t much that can be done about it at an official, governmental level.  Folks in the States will have to be content to watch as their relatives, children, neighbors, fellow Christians, and others are seduced by satanists into harmful cults because wiccans, Santa Muertists, etc., have the ‘right’ to the ‘free exercise of religion’.

But in countries that do take Christianity seriously, that define their national existence by it, things are different.  Take the little eastern European country of Georgia, for instance.  Her Parliament passed a sweeping package of laws that greatly restricted the LGBT cult and its promotion:

‘Georgian Parliament adopted a legislative package against LGBT propaganda yesterday, September 17.

‘The package consists of the central bill, “On the Protection of Family Values and Minors,” with 18 amendments to various other laws.

‘ . . . The package includes bans on same-sex marriages, adoption by same-sex couples, gender-affirming care, public propaganda of LGBTQ+ relations and people, and depictions of them in the media. This would include banning Pride events, which have drawn fierce opposition and sometimes descended into violence in recent years’ (‘Georgian Parliament approves bill against LGBT propaganda’, OrthoChristian.com).

The Georgian Orthodox Church makes it plain that it is precisely the Christian heritage of the Georgian people that makes such laws permissible:

‘We believe that LGBT propaganda is inadmissible and unacceptable, particularly in a country with deep-rooted Christian values and a centuries-old cultural heritage. Any manifestation of propaganda amongst the youth is violence against their consciousness. Ignoring the repeated protests of the largest part of the population of Georgia demonstrates disrespect for the nation’s core values and is a clear attempt to cause moral damage. Apart from the propaganda of sin, every such activity is also a cause of civil strife and tension, as can be easily seen from the increased polarization in society during the LGBT events’ (Ibid.).

But attitudes and laws of those kinds are impossible when a libertarian view of individual rights are the beginning and end of all morality, as they mainly are here in the US.  Thus, as we have said before, it is necessary, if the Christians in the US really care about preserving and passing on to future generations the Christian Faith, that they rewrite the sections of federal and State constitutions that allow for a religious free-for-all, that allow satanism and Christianity to be placed on the same legal level.  Rewrite them so that groups that are patently opposed to Christianity can be proscribed.

Some State governments are already ignoring the text of their constitutions that bar them from showing preference to any religion.  Tennessee did so earlier this year in passing a resolution (HJR 803) declaring the entire month of July a time of prayer and fasting and repentance before God, the All-Holy Trinity.  Part of this praiseworthy resolution reads as follows:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we, as public servants in the Tennessee General Assembly, seek God’s Mercy upon our land and beseech Him to not withdraw His Hand of blessing from us.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we recognize our sins and shortcomings before Him and humbly ask His Forgiveness.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we ask the Lord Jesus to heal our land and remove the violence, human-trafficking, addiction, and corruption.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we ask that the Holy Spirit fill our halls of government, our classrooms, our places of business, our churches, and our homes with peace, love, and joy.

Such statements and actions are definitely ‘interfer[ing] with the rights of conscience’ (Tennessee constitution, Article I, Sec. 3) of non-Christians such as the Santa Muertists, trans cult, etc.  But this is the general pattern:  First the attitudes of a people shift, and then the laws/constitutions are changed to reflect that shift.  One may hope that a change to the Tennessee constitution reflecting a stronger, more confident Christian citizenry will come about soon.

It certainly helps to have a government that is friendly to the Church, as Louisiana and Kentucky can both attest.  Louisiana suffered for eight long years under the pro-trans, pro-climate alarmism Governor John Bel Edwards; many good laws were passed once he, their main obstacle, was out of the Governor’s Mansion.  Caintuck is now suffering under Gov Andy Bashear, a similarly knot-headed fellow who recently issued an executive order banning so-called ‘conversion therapy’ for LGBT minors, which is a very cruel and anti-Christian act on his part, trapping young folks in the lies, despair, and self-harm of a false ideology and silencing Christian voices who can help rescue them from it.  May the Lord help the people of our Sister State to see better days.

Government has its role to play in strengthening Christianity in the States, but its ability to help is limited.  Christians must look beyond mere political solutions.  The Church herself, naturally, offers the most potent tools.  Pope Benedict XVI told us what they are:  ‘The only really effective apologia for Christianity comes down to two arguments, namely the saints the Church has produced and the art which has grown in her womb’ (‘The Splendor of Holiness and Art’, benedictinstitute.org).

It is these two things that individual Christians and Christian organizations must leaven the culture with.  The divine beauty of the high crosses of Ireland and England, the hymns, the icons, the architecture, etc., is transformative.  The Orthodox priest Pavel Florensky, martyred by the Soviet communists, for instance, exclaimed about St Andrei Rublev’s icon of the Holy Trinity (properly called the Hospitality of Abraham), ‘Rublev’s icon of the Holy Trinity exists, therefore God exists’ (Iconostasis, quoted by Fr Stephen Freeman, ‘The Icon as Proof of God’s Existence’, glory2godforallthings.com).  We must build, decorate, etc., according to Christian models.

The lives of the Christian saints also free mankind from a state of unbelief.  They shine forth the proof of the Incarnation through their acts of love, their miracles, and so forth.  A 20^th-century saint, Justin Popovich, says of this, ‘The Lives of the Saints are nothing else but the life of the Lord Christ, repeated in every saint in a greater or lesser degree in this or that form. More precisely it is the life of the Lord Christ continued through the saints, the life of the incarnate God, the Logos, the God-man Jesus Christ who became man’ (‘St. Justin Popovich, quote’, entry for 8 Sept. 2024, celticsaints.org).  In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ is made manifestly visible to the world through His saints.  We must make widely known the lives of these saints, whether in books, films, festivals, processions, icons, etc.  And we ourselves must incarnate Christ in our own lives by our individual acts of kindness and love towards others, and the acquisition of all the other virtues (becoming saints ourselves with God’s help).

We know what we must do to save our children and families, to save our communities, but inexplicably we continue to go obstinately in the wrong direction.  In Monroe, Louisiana, to give but one example, we find the following being promoted:

‘No bones about it…this is going to be so much fun! Skeletons on Tower is a yearly event where businesses all along Tower Drive in Monroe come up with creative skeleton displays to support The Children’s Museum and get into the spooky season spirit.

‘Our 3rd Annual Skeletons On Tower is being planned NOW! This family friendly month long October event on Tower Drive and in the Pavilion Circle in Monroe is sure to get you into the Halloween spirit. Businesses, families and individuals can participate by sponsoring and decorating our skellies with your family friendly designs.

‘Beginning on October 1st, families can stroll down Tower Drive’s sidewalks and check out all the creative displays. From pool parties to zombie dentists, our skeletons get up to all kinds of crazy fun!’ (‘Skeletons on Tower 2024’, nelcm.org)

It’s Monroe’s own Santa Muerte festival.  And, God willing, it is not a sign of things to come, either for Louisiana, or the South, or any other part of the union.