A Chesapeake, Virginia, elementary school will have a new offering for students later this month called the After School Satan Club.
According to a flyer on The Satanic Temple’s Facebook page, the After School Satan Club is scheduled to meet in the library at BM Williams Elementary School in Chesapeake, Virginia, on December 15, where students can learn about benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem solving. -resolve, creative expression, personal sovereignty and compassion.
Close-up on a black book with a golden reverse pentagram on a brown wooden board.
(iStock)
“The Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religion that sees Satan as a literary figure representing a metaphorical construct rejecting tyranny and defending the human mind and spirit,” the flyer says. “After School Satan Club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology. Instead, the Satanic Temple supports children to think for themselves.”
SATANIC TEMPLE HOSTS ‘SATAN AFTER SCHOOL CLUB’ AT PENNSYLVANIA SCHOOL
CBS station WTKR in Norfolk, Virginia, reported that some parents in the school district argue that the club does not need to be in elementary school, where the children are so young.
Lawyers, however, say the school should accommodate the club because of its religious affiliation, which ties it to the First Amendment and freedom of religion.
According to WTKR, the club’s director, June Everett, said that “the club is not about fire and brimstone” but about brainstorming.
CALIFORNIA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TO ALLOW ‘THE SATAN CLUB AFTER SCHOOL’
Chesapeake Public Schools Superintendent Jared Cotton said in a statement to parents that the district has policies and procedures that allow community groups to use publicly funded facilities outside of the school day.
“This is a common practice among school districts across the state and the nation,” the statement read. “Over the years, different religious groups have requested and been allowed to rent our facilities after hours. By law, CPS cannot discriminate based on belief between groups who want to rent our facilities.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Cotton added that the district has approved a request for the use of the After School Satan Club building to host after-school gatherings at BM Williams Elementary School.
All students are required to have a signed parent permission slip to attend any extracurricular program organized by an outside organization.
A public hearing on the matter is scheduled for the next school board meeting on December 12, just three days before the After School Satan Club’s inaugural meeting.
