The Satanic Temple is taking an elementary school to court after an attempt to start an after-school program was blocked by education officials.
Board members at the US school voted down approval for the program on April 19 after parents expressed fear the devil was being given a place in the classroom.
One concerned parent said: “There is a lot of evil already in this world, so to allow it to come into our school and our community is not OK."
Despite the name, The Satanic Temple doesn't worship Satan but instead focuses on teaching rational and humanist ways of thinking, divorced from superstition.
As news of the proposed after school club spread, parents gathered in their hundreds to protest, reports LadBible.
One said: "Satan is a liar and Satan will show himself as light when in fact he’s not light."
-
Tory party investigating reports frontbencher watched porn on his phone in Commons
Co-founder of Satanic Temple Lucien Greaves hit out at the school for picking and choosing which religious organisations they permit to operate.
Greaves said: “The school board does not have the authority to decide which religious organisations they prefer holding after-school clubs and which one[s] they don’t.
“I hope that when people understand that, it will be less easy for them to use these old witch hunter mythologies that never served a positive function."
-
Family of 4 found dead less than 2 hours after dad told cops he was 'being followed'
He has said they will take legal action if the school continues the ban.
"If they deny us the use of a public facility, which they have no right to do, it'll have to move into litigation, costly litigation that the community is going to have to pay for," Greaves told Fox.
Mathew Kezhaya, general counsel for The Satanic Temple, said the main issue is whether or not the Northern York County School Board is discriminating against them by allowing other after school clubs to go ahead.
-
Student skinned alive before flesh used as suit in ‘Silence of the Lambs’ murder
He said: "The First Amendment prohibits a government from considering the popularity of communicative activity when determining whether to facilitate that communicative activity on equal terms with other, similarly situated, groups".
Kezhaya has said they've been advised that if 'Satan' is removed from the name they'd have a better chance of it passing.
For the latest breaking news stories and incredible tales from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .
Source: Read Full Article