Glossary of Terms

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Administrative Committee (AC): The Administrative Committee (AC) is a part of the governing structure of the Society of Congregations. The AC performs administrative and communication functions, including but not limited to: receiving and maintaining periodic updates and reports from Congregations, approving new cross-congregation activities such as committees and task groups, facilitating and ensuring effective communication among the committees and congregations.

Campaign: Campaigns are goal-focused member groups organized to bring about specific material changes in the world relating to the mission and values of The Satanic Temple. See: What is a TST Campaign?

Campaign Director: A Campaign Director oversees the operation of a TST Campaign. A Campaign may have more than one co-director. The Campaign Director is responsible of planning and executing events, coordinating volunteers, and planning and executing projects and other activities of the Campaign. Campaign Directors work closely with the Senior Operations Manager, who coordinates activities among the Campaigns, and report directly to Executive Ministry.

Candidate (Leadership): In the context of the Society of Congregations, a leadership Candidate is a member who has been nominated as a Congregation Head by their Congregation members but has not yet completed their review and approval by the Recognition and Onboarding Committee.

Candidate (Ordination): In the context of The Satanic Temple Ministry, a Candidate is a member of The Satanic Temple who has registered for, but not yet completed, the ordination program. This contrasts with a Student, which is a person enrolled in the non-ordination (coursework only) program. When a Candidate successfully completes the ordination program they become a Minister of Satan.

Candidate Group: A Candidate Group is a group of members of The Satanic Temple who are organized and actively working toward gaining recognition as a Congregation of The Satanic Temple. The Recognition and Onboarding Committee is responsible for working with Candidate Groups to help them through the process of becoming recognized as new Congregations. If you are part of a group that would like to begin the process of working toward recognition as a TST Congregation, you can contact the Recognition and Onboarding Committee using this page: https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/start-a-congregation

Chapter: Chapter is an outdated term that was used to refer to geographically-defined member groups prior to the Transformation. See: Why did TST change from Chapters to Congregations?

Committee, Administrative: See Administrative Committee (AC)

Committee, Concerns: See Concerns Committee (CC)

Committee, Legislative: See Legislative Committee (LC)

Committee, Recognition and Onboarding: See Recognition and Onboarding Committee (ROC)

Concerns Committee (CC): The Concerns Committee (CC) is a part of the governing structure of the Society of Congregations. The CC is responsible for receiving, evaluating, and acting in response to concerns raise by members of the Society of Congregations pertaining to the behavior or effective operation of any of its groups or members. The CC is responsible for handling incidents within the Society of Congregations that do not fall under the purview of the Suryan Council, who are responsible specifically for handling violations of the Code of Conduct.

Congregation: Congregations are community-focused, geographically-defined member groups that empower like-minded individuals who share a common religious identity to come together for social activities, to provide support for each other, and to represent the values we share as members of The Satanic Temple through activities, projects, and good works in the community. See: What is a TST Congregation?

Congregation Head: A Congregation Head is a fully vetted official leader of a Congregation who has been nominated by their Congregation and approved by the Recognition and Onboarding Committee of the Society of Congregations. A congregation may have multiple Congregation Heads. All Congregation Heads are required to be ordained Ministers of Satan. Congregations may define other leadership positions, such as inner councils, advisors, or other specialized positions; however, those positions are internal and specific to the congregation that has defined the position. Only official Congregation Head(s) are recognized as leadership across the entire organization.

Executive Ministry: Executive Ministry refers to the two founding members of The Satanic Temple. See: What is Executive Ministry?

Friends of Group (FoG): Friends of Group is an outdated term that was used prior to the Transformation. See: Candidate Group

Leadership: In the context of The Satanic Temple, Leadership includes: Congregation Heads, Campaign Directors, and Executive Ministry. Roles such as Committee Chairs and the Director of Ministry could be construed as leadership roles in some contexts. Ordained Ministers of Satan, however, do not become part of leadership merely by virtue of being ordained. Ministers are trusted by our church to be knowledgeable guides and helpers, but they do not have any authority or greater “voice” in matters of policy or organizational decisions than any other member.

Legislative Committee (LC): The Legislative Committee (LC) is a part of the governing structure of the Society of Congregations. The LC maintains the governing policies of the Society of Congregations, accepts submitted policy proposals and amendments, manages the process of conducting votes on policy changes and announcing the results. The LC will also answer questions from members about policies and their application.

Letter of Approval (LOA): A Letter of Approval is a letter that an ordained member of Leadership sends to the Ordination Council at the request of a Candidate that describes the leader’s relationship to the candidate and an assessment of the candidate’s fitness for becoming an ordained Minister of Satan. See: What is a Letter of Approval?

Minister of Satan: A Minister of Satan (or simply Minister) is a member of The Satanic Temple who has been ordained and whose ordination is active and in good standing. See also: Satanic Ministry

Ordination Council (OrdCo): The Ordination Council manages the online ordination program, the non-ordination coursework, and resources and activities related to Satanic Ministry. See What is the Ordination Council?

Pillars of TST: Campaigns and Congregations are sometimes called the two pillars of TST because they carry out the two fundamental religious activities of our church: issue-based advocacy and community support. See: What are the “two pillars” of TST?

Recognition and Onboarding Committee (ROC): The Recognition and Onboarding Committee (ROC) is a part of the governing structure of the Society of Congregations. The ROC manages the review, approval, and onboarding of Candidate Groups, as well as the review and approval of Candidates for Leadership for existing Congregations.

SatanOps: SatanOps provides project management and technology support for the internal operations of The Satanic Temple. See What is SatanOps?

Satanic Ministry: Satanic Ministry is the collective noun used by The Satanic Temple to refer to its ordained ministers. The Satanic Ministry was formally created in 2021 with the launch of the ordination program as a way to recognize members who have demonstrated a deep and passionate understanding of the beliefs, values and goals of our church and a connection to our community. The Satanic Ministry provides a framework for nurturing our religious community and promoting a positive culture within The Satanic Temple that is rooted in our fundamental tenets. See: About Satanic Ministry

Satanic Scholar: A Satanic Scholar is a person who has graduated from the Non-Ordination (coursework only) Program. The Non-Ordination Program is open to all members of The Satanic Temple. You can register for the program here: Become a Satanic Scholar

Seven Tenets: The Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple are fundamental ethical principles that guide our religious philosophy. See: What are the seven tenets?

Society of Congregations (SoC): Society of Congregations is another term for the Congregation Pillar, and is used specifically in the context of the governance and management of the congregations by their governing Committees according to the policies and procedures that they have voted into place. See: What is the Society of Congregations?

Student: In the context of The Satanic Temple Ministry, a Student is a person who has registered for, but not yet completed, the Non-Ordination (coursework only) Program. This contrasts with a Candidate, which is a person enrolled in the ordination program. When a student successfully completes the non-ordination program they become a Satanic Scholar.

Suryan Council (SurCo): The Suryan Council provides unbiased and independent code of conduct compliance, human resource, and investigative support to The Satanic Temple. See What is The Suryan Council?

Transformation: In the context of The Satanic Temple, the term 2021 Transformation or simply Transformation refers to the restructuring of the organization that took place in 2021. See: What was “The Transformation” in TST?