Group seeks to counter Christian organization’s influence with ‘After School Satan Club’
An effort is underway to establish a new kind of after school club at elementary schools across the country this year.
An organization called The Satanic Temple says it is taking advantage of religious freedom laws to establish its After School Satan Club program.
According to its website, After School Satan Club will launch this year at schools in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Pensacola, Fla., Portland, Ore., Salt Lake City, Seattle, Springfield, Mo., Tucson, and Washington, D.C.
The Satanic Temple says the establishment of the clubs is a direct response to a court ruling which has allowed a group called the Child Evangelism Fellowship to form Christianity-centered Good News Clubs in schools.
“School districts across the nation have received letters from The Satanic Temple explaining that we will be offering our clubs in their schools this coming school year, and parents in those schools can expect to be presented with a permission slip from their children in the first weeks of the Fall semester,” said Satanic Temple spokesperson Lucien Greaves. “All of the districts we’ve approached are nearby to local chapters of The Satanic Temple, and each school district has hosted, or is now hosting, Good News Clubs in their schools. This being the case, we are sure that the school districts we’ve approached are well aware that they are not at liberty to deny us use of their facilities, nor are they at liberty to deny us any level of representation in the schools that they afford to other school clubs — such as fliers, tables, brochures, and school-wide announcements. We would like to thank the Liberty Counsel, specifically, for opening the doors of public schools to theAfter School Satan Clubthrough their dedication to religious liberty,” he said.
The After School Satan Club’s website defines Satanism as “a religion that endorses scientific rationalism as our best model for understanding the natural world.” It says students who participate in the club will follow a syllabus that emphasizes a scientific, rationalist, non-superstitious world view.
According to its website, the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) says the purpose of its Good News Club is “to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living.”
The CEF says that its weekly meetings feature a bible lesson, songs, scripture memorization, a missions story and games that reinforce the theme of that week’s lesson.
The CEF’s website says that teaching the bible in public schools is allowed after the Supreme Court ruled in 2001 that Good News Clubs can meet in public schools on the same terms as other community groups.
The Satanic Temple argues that the 2001 ruling in favor of the Good News Club also opens the doors for it to establish its After School Satan Clubs in schools.
