Dillsburg, Pennsylvania – The After School Satan Club is a program offered by the Satanic Temple. According Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves, a couple of parents in the Northern York County School District asked him to start the program at the Northern York Elementary School, as originally reported by FOX43.
The Satan Club now plans to file lawsuit against the school district at taxpayer expense after its request to practice in the school was denied by the school board in a vote of 8-1 on Tuesday night.
All but one board member opposed the formation of the club. Hundreds of community members attended the two-hour meeting to protest the possible formation of such a club in the elementary school. They brought attention to the content on the Satanic Temple’s website for the program.
There are currently four of these programs operating in the country including in Ohio and Indiana.
“We believe that Satan is a great metaphor for rebellion against tyranny and is the embodiment of all of the values we espouse,” Greaves explained.
He says it is designed for kids aged 5-14 with a mission “to promote self-directed education by supporting the intellectual and creative interests of students.” Greaves says this isn’t an organization that worships Satan or promotes any sort of religion.
“The curriculum focuses on the scientific way of thinking to reach solutions like I said, as a non-theistic religion we don’t advocate for supernatural ways of view,” he said.
“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,” he explained.
Greaves believes the board’s vote on the matter is unconstitutional, citing a 2001 Supreme Court ruling that allowed religious groups to meet at public schools.
Harrisburg100 