A Virginia elementary school is hosting an after-school Satan Club for students starting in December.
The club will be happening at B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia, beginning on December 15.
ASSC is there for the children of Chesapeake, VA starting Dec 15. Join an environment free from threats of eternal damnation. Print and return one of the attached Permission Slips and bring it to the first meeting. For the Electronic Permission Slip⤵️https://t.co/SxeMS3YINy pic.twitter.com/JkqV87CEA4
— The Satanic Temple (@satanic_temple_) December 1, 2022
According to a flyer posted on Reddit, the club will teach “benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty, and compassion.”
“We are non-theistic,” Rose Bastet, a volunteer organizing the new club, told local station WAVY. “I understand the apprehension behind the satanic name, but he is just an imaginary figure that we look to because he is the eternal rebel that fought for justice and humanity.”T
The club was set up in response to the Evangelical Good News Club being hosted at the school. The group argued that if the school allows one religion to host events, they must allow all.
Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) Superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton sent a letter to parents saying that it is not a school district-approved club.
“The School District has long held policies and procedures in place which allow varied community groups to use our publicly funded facilities outside of the school day,” the letter said. “By law, CPS cannot discriminate based on beliefs among groups wishing to rent our facilities.”
According to their website, the Satanic Temple after-school clubs “meet at select public schools where Good News Clubs also operate. Trained educators 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 environment is open and parents are welcome to participate. While the classes are designed to promote intellectual and emotional development in accordance with TST’s tenets, no proselytization or religious instruction takes place.”
“Proselytization is not our goal, and we’re not interested in converting children to Satanism,” the organization’s mission statement reads. “After School Satan Clubs will focus on free inquiry and rationalism, the scientific basis for which we know what we know about the world around us. We prefer to give children an appreciation of the natural wonders surrounding them, not a fear of everlasting other-worldly horrors.”
