Christians pushing religion in public schools unintentionally open the door for Satanic afterschool clubs

In the wake of the passage of the Equal Access Act by Congress in 1984, evangelical Christians thought they’d won a major victory. It meant that religious groups could set up bible afterschool programs at public schools in the U.S.

But to the disappointment of evangelical groups, the law also gave equal access to gay and secular clubs. Now, a new group is jumping on the afterschool club bandwagon and they’re famous for expertly trolling Christians on the “religious freedom” question.

Enter the Satanists.

Starting this August 1, The Satanic Temple will officially launch After School Satan.

From their website:

It’s important that children be given an opportunity to realize that the evangelical materials now creeping into their schools are representative of but one religious opinion amongst many. While the Good News Clubs focus on indoctrination, instilling them with a fear of Hell and God’s wrath, 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.

According to Patheos, the Satanic afterschool club will operate just like the Christian ones. It’s the ultimate troll job; if the Christian clubs complain and push for the Satanic club to be eliminated, they’ll have to rescind their bible study classes as well.

“I would definitely oppose after­-school Satanic clubs, but they have a First Amendment right to meet,” Mat Staver, founder of the Liberty Counsel told the Washington 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.”

We’ll see.

From Patheos:

In order to make this plan work, though, The Satanic Temple needs funding to cover classroom rental costs and curriculum material. You can make a donation right here. A small donor is called a “Kindergarten Infidel” while a large donor is a “Doctor of Devilry.”

Just as we saw in response to the Ten Commandments monument outside the Oklahoma State Capitol building, The Satanic Temple has figured out a perfect way to counter religious privilege in a way atheists sometimes can’t (since we refuse to be called religious). They just created a religion that disturbs many Christians and are now asking the government to treat them fairly.

You watch Satan After School’s creepy promotional video below:

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.

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