-3

After reading about DeSantis describing Satanic Temple as "... not a religion". I was wondering if the church might have grounds to sue for defamation.

My reasoning would be that (please point out the flaws in logic), that Ron DeSantis states that Satanism is not a religion.

We’re not playing those games in Florida. That Satanism is not a religion. That is not qualifying to be able to participate in this. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Quote as Per LawAndCrime.com

And since The Satanic Temple - Offical Website FAQ describes themselves as a type of Satanism.

HOW DOES TST’S SATANISM DIFFER FROM LAVEYAN SATANISM?

and TST (The Satanic Temple) is a religion based on Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis Quote as Per LawAndCrime.com

Satanic Temple, whether DeSantis realizes it or not, is recognized as a tax-exempt church

and Satanists to volunteer in Florida schools in protest at DeSantis religious bill - The Guardian

Although the Satanic Temple is recognized by the US government as a church...

and from 17.4 Types of Religious Organizations - open.lib.umn.edu

Categorized this way, three types of religious organizations exist: church, sect, and cult

And the some of the harm done to "The Satanic Temple" being that not being perceived as a religion would degrade the mental health of its practitioners (intrusive thoughts about if they are part of a religion or not), financial (a subset of people could exist that would stop donations if they now believed that the satanic temple is not a religion), or in this case potentially preventing "The Satanic Temple" members from volunteering as "School Chaplin" as per HB931.

Recap as per the quote from LawAndCrime DeSantis targets Satanism specifically as not being a religion, The Satanic Temple is considered to be a religious organization and identifies with Satanism, DeSantis's words stating that Satanism is not a religion can harm The Satanic Temple.

Would the above points mean that The Satanic Temple has grounds for suing DeSantis for defamation?

I ask because I believe that similarly if a public official were to state that a charity was not a charity that those words would hurt the charities ability to gather funds and I wonder if this situation would be close enough for a lawsuit to be filed.

Improve this question
1
  • Comments have been moved to chat; please do not continue the discussion here. Before posting a comment below this one, please review the purposes of comments. Comments that do not request clarification or suggest improvements usually belong as an answer, on Law Meta, or in Law Chat. Comments continuing discussion may be removed.
    – Dale M ♦
    Commented Sep 5 at 0:48

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4

Organizations have standing to bring defamation actions and in some circumstances people who happen to be public officials can be sued for defamation.

Some good examples of a defamation action brought by an organization are the defamation actions brought by several voting machine making corporations against Fox News, one of which was settled for more than $700 million. A good example of a defamation action brought against someone who happened to be a public official is the defamation action brought successfully against Donald Trump who denied that he had sexually assaulted a woman in New York State.

Defamation law is full of nuanced definitions, multiple elements, and defenses, so the fact that an organization has standing to sue for defamation, which is the title question, doesn't resolve any particular case. The Satanic Temple case, in particular, involves multiple points that balance Free Speech concerns and defamation law:

  • Is the statement a statement of a presently existing fact or is it an opinion?

  • Is the claim subject to the actual malice standard of defamation law, and if so, was actual malice present?

  • Is the lawsuit barred by governmental immunity?

  • Has the statement violated the civil rights of the organization?

  • Was the organization damaged by the statement?

The question doesn't provide a sufficiently focused and detailed recitation of the facts and procedural context to resolve the question on the merits.

Improve this answer
10
  • 1
    based on your statement "The question doesn't provide a sufficiently focused and detailed recitation of the facts and procedural context to resolve the question on the merits." would you be able to help me refine my post. I'm trying to ask if a public offical making a statement about the state of an organization has a duty to not make statements that could lead people to incorectly infer information about the organization.
    – Tolure
    Commented Sep 4 at 19:25
  • 1
    @Tolure Defamation is a highly fact rich inquiry. I'm not a lawyer for the Satanic Temple (although FWIW, I admire their work). The issues are complex. Prejudging a case like that which hasn't happened yet is too difficult and inserts too much judgment without actual facts. This question really has about ten sub-questions in it as well.
    – ohwilleke
    Commented Sep 4 at 19:39
  • 1
    @Tolure I think the point is that there's a decent chance they have grounds, but it's hard to predict how it would be decided.
    – Barmar
    Commented Sep 4 at 21:23
  • 2
    Perhaps, but he's talking about how the organization would be treated in relationship to a law. But it could also be considered speculation about how the likely lawsuit would be adjudicated. Politicians often state their wishes as if they're facts (like when a candidate says they're going to get a law passed -- they obviously mean they're going to try).
    – Barmar
    Commented Sep 4 at 22:51
  • 2
    @Tolure I do a fair amount of defamation work, and I can tell you that the Satanic Temple would lose the defamation case -- and maybe pay sanctions -- almost certainly because the statement is an opinion protected under the First Amendment. But it could have a very strong First Amendment case against the state of it is excluded from the program in question.
    – bdb484
    Commented Sep 5 at 20:01

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .