The Satanic Temple Sues An Elementary School Over Rejected Bid For An ‘After School Satan Club’
Positively heretical.
ESB Professional / Shutterstock / Wikimedia Commons Mentions of satan and satanic temples evoke images of goat-headed devils and virgin sacrifices, not exactly the sort of thing that you would describe as “child friendly.”
That’s what the officials at one Pennsylvania elementary school thought when discussion of the establishment of an “After School Satan” club came up.
The school decided against allowing the club, but now they might come to regret that.
The Satanic Temple is now suing a Pennsylvania elementary school.
It turns out that the elementary school may have blundered straight into a discrimination lawsuit that they could struggle to win.
The Satanic Temple will attempt to prove that the elementary school unfairly voted to deny the establishment of the After School Satan club despite permitting other, comparable club organizations.
According to the Satanic Temple, they are prepared to fight this legal battle for years if they have to, saying, “The First Amendment prohibits a government from considering the popularity of communicative activity when determining whether to facilitate that communicative activity on equal terms with other, similarly situated, groups.”
Obviously, many Christians are outraged and concerned over the notion that a Satanic club might be established in an elementary school.
The After School Satan doesn’t actually have anything to do with satanic rituals…
While the mental image of lambs' blood and pentagrams is what comes to mind when many hear the word “Satan,” the Satanic Temple is actually an organization that stands against injustice.
The Satanic Temple’s About Us page states their mission, “The Mission Of The Satanic Temple Is To Encourage Benevolence And Empathy, Reject Tyrannical Authority, Advocate Practical Common Sense, Oppose Injustice, And Undertake Noble Pursuits.”
Notably, there is a difference between the Satanic Temple and the classic stereotype of cults that sacrifice children and drink blood and the like. The Satanic Temple promotes things like resisting tyranny and encouraging empathy.
The After School Satan club wouldn’t seek to spread any worship of any kind.
The stated objective of the After School Satan club would be to be, “an after-school program that promotes self-directed education by supporting the intellectual and creative needs of students”
In truth, the club would be very comparable to other school clubs using educators to, “provide activities and learning opportunities, which students are free to engage in, or they may opt to explore other interests that may be aided by available resources.”
The After School Satan Club, in reality, has very little to do with the Christian notion of Satan. Rather, it’s an educational elementary school club that school officials are, by definition, seemingly unfairly discriminating against.
Dan O'Reilly is a writer who covers news, politics, and social justice. Follow him on Twitter.