When students return to school in one Pennsylvania District, they will have a new religious choice. A Pennsylvania school District is allowing the Satanic Temple to host a back-to-school event at their high school.

By BlabberBuzz
Article Source

The back-to-school event is planned days after a prayer night which Dillsburg Community Worship and Prayer hosts.

Administrators from the Northern York County School District put their stamp of approval on allowing the Satanic Temple to host the event. The Satanic event is part of the After School Satan Club.

The Pennsylvania District was not always open to the idea. In April, the group tried to get an After School Satan Club up and running at the school. However, the school board reportedly turned them down. At the time, members of the community and parents were angry when they heard of the group’s proposal to be welcomed in the School District.

One Perry County resident, Jennifer McAllister, said the idea is “crazy.” She said, “They already took God out of schools now they’re going to let Satin in, it’s just crazy!”

The co-founder of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Graves, claims the group is looking for “other religious representation.”

Graves said that parents should apply a First Amendment point of view to the matter. He said, “We’re talking about upholding fundamental pillars of democracy and the First Amendment.”

He went on to explain: “We don’t decry or begrudge anybody having a prayer event or anything like that. It does become a problem, a serious problem, when you allow a back-to-school prayer event, but you don’t allow any other religious representation.”

The Pennsylvania School District is not the only school approached to host a Satanic event. The Satanic Temple has reportedly tried to establish After School Satan Clubs at many other schools across the country that already have an operating religious club on campus.

Not long after the April attempt in Pennsylvania, the Satanic Temple tried to establish its presence at a North Carolina school at the Guilford County Schools. The attempt elicited outrage from parents. Parents gathered to protest.

The organizer of the North Carolina protest, Tempe Moore, said:

“This is not a time for good men to do nothing. It’s a time to let our voices be heard.” An After School Satan Club representative claims that it is “not interested in converting children to Satanism.”

An After School Satan Club website says that the group meets at “select” public schools where “Good News Clubs and other religious clubs meet.” The site also states that the clubs establish at the request of community members who “would like to see the program offered.”

The After School Satan Club site goes on to state: “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/guardians are welcome to participate.”

The Satanic site also claims that, at some schools, “After School Satan Club[s]” are needed to provide a “contrasting balance” to after-school activities.