Satanic Temple announces launch of ‘After School Satan Club’ at Connecticut elementary school

CNA Staff, Nov 14, 2023 / 13:00 pm

The Satanic Temple said this month that it is launching an “After School Satan Club” (ASSC) at a Connecticut elementary school, months after a federal judge ruled that a middle school in Pennsylvania had to accommodate a similar club. 

The Satanic Temple is a political activist group that protests religious symbolism in public spaces. In spite of its name, according to its website it denies the existence of both God and Satan.

The group launched its “After School Satan” program in 2016; the organization touts the initiative as an alternative to religious after-school programs. 

The organization said on its Instagram account last week that the program “is coming to Connecticut!” 

“The state’s first ASSC will launch on Dec. 1 at Lebanon Elementary School in just a few weeks,” the group said. “ASSC volunteers are ready to create a fun and inviting place for students to learn and make new friends.”

The organization said on the Instagram post that the Satanic Temple “is a 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 club “does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology,” the post said.

The group listed “science projects,” “community service projects,” “puzzles and games,” and “snacks” as part of the club’s offerings.

Lebanon Elementary School did not respond to a request for comment about the club on Tuesday morning. 

The new club’s launch comes several months after a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled that the Satanic Temple must be allowed to hold one of its after-school clubs in a public middle school in Pennsylvania’s Saucon Valley School District.

The lawsuit had been brought on behalf of the Satanic Temple by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Pennsylvania, and Dechert LLP after the school district had rescinded its approval of the group’s meeting, claiming the group had violated the district’s signage policies.

In a “handbook” linked on its website, the Satanic Temple says its clubs “meet at select public schools already hosting other religious clubs.”

“Trained educators provide activities and learning opportunities which students are free to engage in,” the document says, “or they may opt to explore other interests that may be aided by available resources.”