Parents in a Connecticut town worry as "After School Satan Club" plans meeting
Controversy is stirring across a small Connecticut town as prospect of a “After School Satan Club” looms.
The Satanic Temple, a Salem, Massachusetts based group announced that it will launch the club at Lebanon Elementary School in Lebanon, Connecticut on Dec. 1. The club is unaffiliated with the town and school district.
Despite the name, the group said they don't worship the devil. It touts that the club is 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."
The group said their goal isn't to convert kids to any religion but "encourage them to think for themselves."
Members of the club will participate in science projects, community service projects, puzzles, games, nature activities, and arts and crafts.
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WFSB reported that parents in the community have expressed concern.
"They're trying to use events like this to recruit kids at a young age and steer them away from religion," Amy Bourdan, told WFSB.
Bourdan, who runs Parent’s Choice, an advocacy group that promotes religious freedom told WTNH that she's concerned that the Satanic Temple is operating like a religious group.
“I think it’s deceptive,” she said. “I liken it to the Camel cigarettes used to entice the youth and children.”
According to WFSB, the group decided to host meetings in the small town because it already hosts an after school Good News Christian club.
"We're not changing the politics here. This is something people should have recognized from the start," Lucien Greaves, a co-founder of the Satanic Temple told WFSB.
Others in town said the issue boiled down to freedom of speech, and were okay with the club hosting meetings.
“This is a free country. We’re supposed to have freedom of religion or no religion so I can understand both sides of the story,” said Dori Dougal, who lives in Lebanon told NBC Connecticut.
Lebanon Public Schools did not respond to USA TODAY's request for comment but in a statement to WFSB, Superintendent Andrew Gonzalez said prohibiting the group could violate the district's "obligations under the First Amendment and other applicable law and would not align with our commitment to non-discrimination, equal protection, and respect for diverse viewpoints.”
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After School Satan Club causes controversies in communities across US
This isn't the first city the "After School Satan Club" has set up shop.
The club hosted their first meeting at a Virginia school this February despite push back from some community members.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia said the club faced "unconstitutional challenges" before being allowed to host their meeting at B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia. The ACLU said that while the Christian Good News Club was able to meet immediately after school and did not face a "security fee," The Satanic Temple was initially asked to pay a security fee over safety concerns from protestors. Additionally, the school system asked the group to meet at 6 p.m. and not immediately after school.
The ACLU hailed the meeting a win for "free speech" at the time.
In May, a federal judge ruled that a Pennsylvania school district must allow the club to meet, Insider reported. The ruling came after the ACLU filed a lawsuit in March on behalf of the Satanic Temple, after the Saucon Valley School District barred the group from hosting their first meeting.