Satanic Temple plans ‘After School Satan Club’ at another elementary school

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC/Gray News) – The Satanic Temple is planning an “After School Satan club” at a Memphis elementary school, marking the fifth active club in the country announced this year.

The group made the announcement that the club will launch on Jan. 10 at Chimneyrock Elementary School, causing concern from some parents.

The Satanic Temple’s flyer explicitly states that the club is not endorsed nor sponsored by Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

But the Satanic Temple points out that there’s a Christian club at Chimneyrock Elementary School, and legally, they have every right to also have a club at the school after hours.

The public school district said in a statement, in part, that they are “committed to upholding the principles of the First Amendment, which guarantees equal access to all non-profit organizations seeking to use our facilities after school hours. This means we cannot approve or deny an organization’s request based solely on its viewpoints or beliefs.”

The district also said that the Satanic Temple “has the same legal rights to use our facilities after school hours as any other non-profit organization.”

But some of the parents and grandparents still have a lot of questions.

“I think it’s B.S.,” said parent Courtney Dennis. “I think it needs to be held somewhere else and not a school.”

June Everett, the national campaign director for “After School Satan Club” for The Satanic Temple, said parents at Chimneyrock actually reached out first to the temple about bringing the club to school.

Still, some families are upset.

“I’m about to come unglued right now,” said grandparent Jenny Kincaid. “I cannot believe – this is a kindergarten through fifth-grade school, and they’re letting a Satanic club come in here?”

But Everett says The Satanic Temple does not believe in literal or supernatural Satan and is separate from the Church of Satan.

The Satanic Temple’s mission states that it 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.”

A sign-up sheet is available for parents to view by clicking here.

The document says that children will learn benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty, and compassion.

Everett said typical activities for the club are science-based and include arts and crafts and community projects.

“I like to believe that people that don’t agree with us and don’t believe we should be allowed equal access into the same schools that these other clubs are renting, that this is a reminder of what a great a free country that we live in,” said Everett. “It’s the First Amendment at work.”

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