Transhumanism can’t escape the fact that it has religious undertones. The core of the movement involves a desire to overcome death, which inevitably aligns with religious worldviews. So, no one should be too shocked that religious organizations are starting to become attracted to transhumanism. But for secular futurists, who want transhumanism to hold strong as a science-based movement, the religious undertones are a problem.

One solution is to just ignore the religious undertones and carry on promoting advancements in science and technology. This seems reasonable. Many transhumanists, I’m sure, take this view by default. But there is one downside, in that this approach inevitably allows religious groups to control the narrative over the mythical and spiritual aspects that are inherent to the movement.

Arguably a better solution is to thoughtfully incorporate the symbolic language of religion into transhumanism while adhering to a strict code of rationality. This approach would not only thwart the agenda of faith-based transhumanists, but would also help the transhumanist movement embrace the long history of pagan mythology and esotericism that led up to modern transhumanism. It turns out, this project of embracing ancient symbolism while maintaining a fully science-based view of the world has already been assembled. It’s called Satanism.

Satanism isn’t a monolith, but in general it is a modern, nontheistic movement that’s simultaneously pro-science and pro-symbolism. The symbolic aspects of Satanism, even when employed ironically, are effective at tying modern human dilemmas to ancient myths and eternal snippets of wisdom. This is especially true for The Satanic Temple, which has recently become the most visible satanic organization in America. The Satanic Temple leans heavily on symbolism while staying grounded in a science-based worldview and promoting tangible human rights activism.

Now consider the God-fearing transhumanist movement. The organization known as Christian Transhumanists has adopted the slogan “The Future of Faith?” Apparently, the idea is that transhumanism could somehow help Christianity do “faith” better. Or is it that transhumanism would help “faith” do Christianity better? In either case, it’s a ridiculous idea. Nothing science-based has ever…