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“After School Satan” Club Coming to a School Near You?

baphonetThe Satanic Temple is once again attempting to rid the nation’s schools of any semblance of Christianity by planning to open “After School Satan” clubs to counter “Good News” Bible-based clubs.

KUTV.com is reporting on the latest effort by the group, which calls itself “an atheistic religious organization that uses the symbol of Satan to inspire civil justice,” to spread their godless message in elementary schools much like Christian groups spread the Word of God in after school groups.

“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,” said Lucien Greaves, Satanist Temple Spokesperson.

Specifically, the group is asking for the same accommodations being given to the Child Evangelism Fellowship which is a Christian organization that operates the “Good News Club” in schools. This club uses school and community facilities to teach children about Jesus Christ through songs, scripture memorizing and games.

“After School Satan” will use a similar format but with an emphasis on “free-inquiry and rationalism”.

According to the Washington Post, the Satanic club will include a snack, a literature lesson, creative learning activities, a science lesson, puzzle solving and an art project. Every child will receive a membership card and must have a signed parental¬permission slip to attend.

“We think it’s important for kids to be able to see multiple points of view, to reason things through, to have empathy and feelings of benevolence for their fellow human beings,” said the Satanic Temple’s Utah chapter head, who goes by the name Chalice Blythe.

Satanic Temple chapter heads from New York, Boston, Utah, Arizona, Minneapolis, Detroit, San Jose, New Orleans, Pittsburgh and Florida met recently to formalize their plans. The group produced a promotional video, which the Post describes as “a mash-up of a horror movie trailer and a ‘Saturday Night Live’ sketch,” which they will use to promote their clubs along with a new website.

The Temple intends to rely on the legal precedent set by a case involving the Good News Clubs in 2001 when the Christian organization fought a decision by the Milford Central School District in New York to bar them from renting its school buildings because of the religious nature of the club.

The court ultimately ruled that barring a religious organization from renting school buildings is a violation of free speech.

The Satanic Temple will now use the same court ruling to press forward with their plans to introduce children to atheism.

The After School Satan club is currently planning to hold activities at Vista Elementary School in Taylorsville, Utah, where district administrators have already given them a green light.

"Any organization can rent our facilities after school hours as long as they pay the fee and aren't doing anything illegal," Granite School District Spokepserson Ben Horsley told KUTV.

Lawyers for Liberty Counsel, the same public interest law firm that fought for the Good News Clubs in 2001, say the Satanic Temple has the right to organize its clubs in public schools.

“I would definitely oppose after-school Satanic clubs, but they have a First Amendment right to meet,” said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel’s founder and chairman, to the Post.

“I suspect, in this particular case, I can’t imagine there’s going to be a lot of students participating in this. It’s probably dust they’re kicking up and is likely to fade away in the near future for lack of interest.”

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