After School Satan: Elementary School Approves Satanic Temple Club
The After School Satan Club, which is run by the Satanic Temple, was approved to begin meeting at Portland, Oregon’s, Sacramento Elementary School on October 18. According to reports, the controversial club will meet once a month, and is designed to be an alternative to the school’s existing Good News Christian club.
According to the Satanic Temple website, the After School Satan Club has “offered to present [their] curriculum” at a handful of schools in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Oregon, Utah, Washington, D.C., and Washington state. However, the after-school program remains a point of heated controversy.
The After School Satan Club was designed to offer students an alternative to traditional Christian after-school programs. As stated on the organization’s website, the club provides “a contrasting voice that helps children to understand that one doesn’t need to submit to superstition in order to be a good person.”
According to the program’s permission slip, which is distributed to prospective members, the Satanic Temple’s After School Satan Club encourages children to learn basic critical reasoning skills, problem-solving skills, and to assess character qualities. The program’s curriculum includes art projects, creative learning activities, educational stories, science, and songs.
Outrage! After-school Satan club officially begins https://t.co/5IkPx0lQ9h pic.twitter.com/ZkvcRVvDwr
— Lithia K (@lithiaramirez2) September 28, 2016
According to the permission slip, sessions are led by volunteers, who are members of the Satanic Temple. Each volunteer is “vetted by the Executive Ministry for professionalism, social responsibility, superior communication skills, and a lack of criminal history.”
According to the Satanic Temple, the main goal of the After School Satan Club is to “place an ASSC in every school where the Good News Clubs, or other proselytizing religious groups, have established a presence” in an effort to offer children a “contrasting voice.”
As stated on the organization’s website, the Good News Club, which is a ministry run by the Child Evangelism Fellowship, is led by trained volunteers. The curriculum includes Christian-themed art projects, games, and songs, as well as Bible lessons.
Lawyer: School district must allow after-school Satan clubhttps://t.co/1Hms7CFKKO pic.twitter.com/dO0dUwUiwD
— #Q13FOX (@Q13FOX) September 22, 2016
The Good News Club is currently active in 18 counties throughout Oregon. Although the meetings are primarily held at churches, community centers, and in private homes, some meetings are held at public schools.
As reported by CBS News, the Satanic Temple believes the Good News Club, and other Christian organizations, make a negative impact on children.
“Twisted Evangelical teachings of The Good News Clubs robs children of the innocence and enjoyment of childhood, replacing them with a negative self-image, preoccupation with sin, fear of Hell, and aversion to critical thinking.”
The Child Evangelism Fellowship and the Satanic Temple both claim they are permitted, by law, to hold meetings at public schools.
On their website, the Child Evangelism Fellowship cites the June 2001 Supreme Court decision in the Good News Club v. Milford Central School District.
Essentially, the Supreme Court permits religious groups to meet on public school grounds after school hours. Students are permitted to attend those meetings, or clubs, with the written permission of a parent or guardian.
The Satanic Temple contends their After School Satan Club is protected by the same law.
Historically, the Satanic Temple has argued against any religious clubs or organizations meeting at public schools. However, as those groups are allowed by the Supreme Court, the Temple simply formed their own “religious” club to counteract their teachings.
As religion remains one of the most controversial topics in the United States, the struggle between Christian organizations like the Child Evangelism Fellowship and non-traditional “religious” organizations like the Satanic Temple is unlikely to stop anytime soon.
As a result, children’s clubs, including the Good News Club and the After School Satan Club, are certain to remain a topic of heated debate.
[Featured Image by Breakermaximus/Shutterstock]
