Parents are smoking mad and spewing fire over a new student club at their local elementary school promoting Satan.
The “After School Satan Club” at Golden Hills Elementary School in Kern County has parents outraged.
“I think it’s disgusting, I understand the school has to allow them because they allow other after-school programs such as the good news, which is a Christian-based after-school program, that one I’m okay with, but I can’t imagine why anyone would want their child to attend this Satanic group,” said Sheila Knight, grandparent to a fifth grader at the school, tells local CBS affiliate KBAK.
The club must be allowed under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which prohibits government institutions from discriminating on the basis of religious beliefs. Courts have consistently upheld the right of Christian, Jewish, Islamic, atheist and even Satanic groups to meet in schools.
“There’s currently a Good News Club there which is teaching kids to go save souls for Jesus, at the school. We want to give an alternative point of view,” club leader Paul Hicks tells KBAK.
The group is sponsored by The Satanic Temple, known for its publicity stunts, and the “Reason Alliance,” which promotes atheism.
While the well-known “Church of Satan” openly worships Satan as a religious figure, “The Satanic Temple” is a group of atheists who do not believe in Satan but adopted the name to grab attention. The group uses the media attention to promote atheism and urge others to reject all religion in favor of what they call “scientific rationalism.”
The “Satanic Temple” sees itself as a response to evangelical Christianity.
“The Satanic Temple does not advocate for religion in schools,” the Temple’s website claims. “However, once religion invades schools, as The Good News Clubs have, The Satanic Temple will fight to ensure that plurality and true religious liberty are respected.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reports the group has recently started “Satan Clubs” at schools in Moline, Illinois, and Lebanon, Ohio.
“I’m not teaching these kids to be Satanic, I’m not teaching these kids that they need to hail Satan or identify as Satanists, what we’re doing is we’re thinking critical thinking, we’re teaching science, we’re teaching empathy and benevolence,” said Hicks.
“Nobody has to engage with it who doesn’t want to, and children are going to need to have permission slips signed by their parents to have any involvement at all,” Lucian Greaves, Satanic Temple founder tells KBAK.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of American Liberty News.
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Personally I find this disgusting. Unfortunately the way the U.S. recognizes anything that calls itself a religion gives these “religions” access to schools, public displays, etc. if, example, a Bible study group is permitted. In a similar manner, if a Creche is displayed at a city hall over Christmas then the satanists claim the same right. Perhaps if we required a certain general membership to define a relgion things would be better. Political parties have to have a certain standing to get on the ballots for elections, why not something like that for “relgions”?
No thanks. Government as arbiter never leads to anything good.
WE dont need this anyplace, scrap it nationwide
This is being done purely for sensationalism. These people have nothing but hatred in their hearts. If they truly wanted children to accept a “scientific” rendition of the world’s existence, they would call it something more geared toward that aspect–a “natural science club” or somesuch thing. These people are out for vengeance and hatred. They are the ANTIFA answer to anything that is actually moral.
Just call it a science club then. Why bring Satan into it? It is truly abhorrent and hopefully no parent will allow their child to attend.
that should be called Democrat Boot Camp.
‘Satan’ is a time-honored term and it means ‘The Enemy:’ the ENEMY of Mankind,,,,think about it.
Why have the groups gather at the school. If all the clubs are off school grounds then the dems angels can’t force the schools to be able to gather there.