'After School Satan' Could Be Coming to Your Kids' Elementary School

The Satanic Temple is going after your children. A new after school program called “After School Satan” will launch across the country this year.

But the program isn’t about worshipping Lucifer. In fact, the ironically named Satanic Temple doesn’t even believe in his existence. As Doug Mesner, the Temple’s co-founder, explained, “Satan” is a “metaphorical construct” intended to represent rejection of all forms of tyranny over the human mind.

“We think it’s important for kids to be able to see multiple points of view, to reason things through, to have empathy and feelings of benevolence for their fellow human beings,” the Temple’s Utah chapter head, who goes by the name Chalice Blythe, told The Washington Post.

The curriculum emphasizes reasoning and social skills, according to the Post. The Temple says meetings will include a healthy snack, a literature lesson, creative learning activities, a science lesson, puzzle solving, and an art project.

The Satanic Temple won’t enroll your child without your permission —each child must have a signed parental permission slip to attend. There will be clubs in Atlanta, GA; Los Angeles, CA; Pensacola, FL; Portland, OR; Salt Lake City, UT; Seattle, WA; Springfield, MO; Tucson, AZ; and Washington, DC.

Despite its entirely secular focus, the Satanic Temple framed its new project in opposition to “Good News Clubs,” a Christian evangelical program that traces back to 1937.

On the “After School Satan” website, the Temple explicitly condemns these events. “While the Good News Clubs focus on indoctrination, instilling [children] with a fear of Hell and God’s wrath, After School Satan Clubs will focus on free inquiry and rationalism, the scientific basis for which we know what we know about the world around us.”

“We prefer to give children an appreciation of the natural wonders surrounding them, not a fear of everlasting other-worldly horrors,” the site explains.

Naturally, this is a slanted view of what is taught at Good News Clubs. The curriculum focuses on a Bible lesson and includes songs, scripture memory, a missions story, and review games.

While the presentation of the Christian gospel often involves mentions of hell, the “everlasting other-worldly horrors” should be a small part of the teaching, as most Bible stories presented to children focus on creation (Noah’s Ark), the saving power of faith (Daniel in the lions’ den), or the triumph over adversity (David and Goliath). Themes like sin, redemption, and the hope of heaven often overshadow any mention of eternal torment.

Indeed, the very name of “After School Satan” is likely to leave the children with a positive view of Lucifer — perhaps as presented in John Milton’s Paradise Lost — as the freedom-loving rebel.

In presenting their “After School Satan” program, the Satanic Temple mentioned the 2001 U.S. Supreme Court case Good News Club v. Milford Central School, which ruled that religious programs like Good News Clubs can take place in public schools after school hours.

“After School Satan” is intended as a secular alternative to such programs, and its very name suggests an ideological bent.

Nevertheless, the Satanic Temple has every right to offer such a program, and parents have every right to choose whether or not to send their children to it. After all, snacks and science lessons are good for kids, and parents can always explain afterward why Satan is not the best role model.

Check out the super creepy video on the next page!