Parents Outraged Over School’s ‘After-School Satan Club’, Lawyer Say The Club Is Protected Under The First Amendment
Photo Credit: ASSC Club Flyer
Some Virginia school parents are speaking out against an after-school program called the
“After-School Satan Club”
which they believe will encourage
“devil worship”
to their children, Insider reports. The
“After-School Satan Club,”
which is run by The Satanic Temple, is set to open next month at the B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake. The organization explained that its club was created to promote free thinking.
“After School Satan Club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology. Instead, The Satanic Temple supports children to think for themselves,”
the club flyer said, announcing that they will have critical thinking and problem-solving crafts and games. According to the flyer, the Satanic Temple is a
“non-theistic religion that views Satan as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit.”
June Everett, the club’s campaign director, told WTKR that
“Satan was the first to start asking questions and was cast out of heaven for that reason.”
One mother, Melanie Ballard, told WTKR that she is concerned for her son.
“But now, it’s okay to have devil worshipping in school around impressionable minds and age,”
Ballard told the outlet.
“Now, I’m being concerned about the welfare of my child and other classmates of his that are maybe exposed to this satanic group.”
Despite parent’s outrage, the club is protected under the First Amendment,
“freedom of religion,”
law professor Jack Preis told WTKR. In a statement shared with Insider, Chesapeake Public Schools said that ACCS is not a district-sponsored club, but that
“by law, CPS cannot discriminate based on beliefs among groups wishing to rent our facilities.”
#Clique, what are your thoughts?
