Parents are outraged after finding out a California elementary school is allowing an “After School Satan Club” on campus where children as young as five live.
The club was recently formed at Golden Hills Elementary School in Tehachapi, California in Kern County.
In an interview with KBAK, one parent described the decision to allow the club, formed by Satanic Temple and Reason Alliance, as “disgusting”, while another called it a “mistake”.
According to Paul Hicks, the man who will run the club at the Northern California school, that kind of reaction was to be expected.
“We’ve already received threats against us,” said Hicks, who is also a professor of critical thinking. “As I would often say, there is no hate like Christian love.”
After School Satan Club aims to ‘educate children and encourage critical thinking’
Parents are angry at Tehachapi Unified School District’s approval of the club
According to Lucien Greaves, spokesman for the After School Satan Club, the club aims to “educate children and encourage critical thinking.”
Greaves says that despite the controversial name, the organization does not teach children Satanism.
“We keep religious matters out of the teachings of after-school Satan clubs, and people often ask us, ‘Well, then why include Satanism at all, since people will be offended by it?’
Despite Greaves’ claims, students’ parents and family members say they are completely unsettled by the whole situation.
‘Tehachapi said yes, and I think they made a mistake. I know my grandson will not be in this club,” said Brenda Maher, another relative of a student.
The Satanic Temple website describes the club as a path to education without proselytizing
“I understand the school has to let them in because they allow other programs after school, like kid to go to this satanic group,” said Sheila Knight, a grandparent.
The club’s presence also sparked outrage online, with dozens of parents and the community getting involved.
In a post on the Techapi Asks, Rants and Raves Facebook page, one man wrote that he believes the club’s organizers are misleading in their tactics and motives.
“So several people have told me that the new Satan after-school club at Golden Hills Elementary is not a religion but a philosophy club… Then why did they choose Satan? Why not the Jean Paul Satre Existentialism Club? Why not the Descartes Club?’ asked Joe Lathrop.
“They included Satan in the name for a reason. People should stop being intellectually dishonest and just stand by the fact that they want children to worship Satan as a worldly god,” the man continued.
This is a snippet of Satanic Temple’s own video explaining the purpose of the Satan Club after school
Members of the Facebook group concurred with Lathrop’s claims.
“It’s just sick that they target elementary school kids. These are babies,” one woman wrote.
“The whole thing is a joke for a reaction,” said one commenter.
“The school board’s hypocrisy… to say they have no choice… just try to start a neo-Nazi club or a pro-life club and see how fast they run,” said another Person.
In a statement released by the Tehachapi Unified School District, officials said it was against the law to discriminate against faith-based groups.
Hicks said it was the involvement of clubs like the Good News Club, already established on campus, that led to the decision to start a group supported by The Satanic Temple.
“There is currently a Good News Club there that teaches children in school how to save souls for Jesus. We want to take an alternative viewpoint,” Hicks said.
School district officials explained the decision to allow the club by saying they had no legal capacity to discriminate against faith-based groups
FOX News host Tucker Carlson spoke with Greaves live on air earlier this year and quizzed him about the After School Satan Club and its teachings.
He asked if Greaves and other organizers were pushed back by parents and school administrators, or if they “were passive like everyone else in America and just let it happen.”
Carlson argued that school districts allowing the clubs could be potentially harmful and open the door to other clubs like this one.
“What you’re saying is ridiculous, we both know it’s ridiculous,” the FOX host said.
Greaves argued back, saying that like the Good News Club, the club had every right to be on campus.
At least two Good News Club meetings will be held in the coming weeks, according to a calendar on Golden Hills Elementary School’s website.
The calendar does not show dates for After School Satan Club meetings.
In 2001, the US Supreme Court ruled that organizations like the Good News Club could meet on campus after hours.
According to the organization’s website, the Good News Club is committed to “teaching timeless truths of the Bible in an exciting and engaging way. Children are learning the gospel and many are learning Jesus as their Savior.’
The Satanic Temple says the group on campus does not attempt to teach Satanism to students, some as young as five
The Supreme Court decision prompted other clubs and organizations, like the After School Satan Club, to get more involved and branch out across the country.
“I’m not teaching these kids to be Satanic, I’m not teaching these kids to hail Satan or identify themselves as Satanists,” Hicks claimed.
“There’s also a lot of confusion between The Satanic Temple and The Church of Satan, which are two different things,” Lauren Mae, a Tehachapi mother and volunteer at the After School Satan Club, told SFGate.
“They definitely seem to think we’re devil worshipers, which we’re not. We don’t believe in a supernatural Satan,” Mae continued.
This is the logo of The Satanic Temple, the founder of the group
On The Satanic Temple’s website, the group states that it “does not advocate for religion in schools,” but “once religion enters schools, as the Good News Clubs have, The Satanic Temple will fight to ensure that.” there is plurality and true religious freedom respected.’
A flyer released by The Satanic Temple states that meetings at Golden Hills Elementary will begin in December.
However, children must have a permission form signed by a parent or legal guardian before they can participate.
“Nobody has to be involved if they don’t want to, and kids have to have permits signed by their parents to even get involved,” Greaves said.