Satanic Temple co-founder compares 'After School Satan Club' to Evangelical programs
Denies the club's aim is to 'convert people into satanism'
The founder of the controversial “After School Satan Club” (ASSC) is comparing reactions to his program with that of parents who oppose Evangelical programs at schools.
Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple, made the comment during an interview on Fox News’ "Jesse Watters Primetime," in which he said ASSC isn’t about making converts to satanism.
Saying that the club is aimed at promoting freedom of speech and religious liberty, Greaves corrected Watters when he described Satan as evil and appeared to call Christianity a “mythology.”
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"Obviously, we don’t view Satan as evil, and it really doesn’t matter to us what your mythology is surrounding Satan," Greaves said. "You need to ask yourself if your distaste over us identifying as satanists is strong enough that you would abandon the principles of free speech and religious liberty."
Greaves, who co-founded ASSC in 2012, told Watters the program is “self-directed education” designed to stir up students’ “intellectual and creative interests.”
The clubs were launched as a sort of counter-programming to the Christian Good News Clubs, which have been in schools since 2001 following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed the clubs to meet in public schools after school hours, similar to other community groups.
According to its website, ASSCs are set up only at the request of parents, educators or other members of the community.
The latest push to establish an ASSC at an elementary school in Chesapeake, Virginia, has drawn national attention after parents spoke out against the program at a school board meeting earlier this week. While parents argued that an ASSC was inappropriate for young children, the board delayed any vote on the matter until further evaluation was conducted, according to Fox News.
Greaves said the club does not typically wade into religious topics in its after-school activities.
"We are not looking to convert people into satanism," he said. "We are not even teaching children about satanism in the classes."
When Watters pointed out opposition from parents against the club operating in an elementary school setting, Greaves compared that sentiment to anti-Christian views held by other parents.
"Well, parents can feel that way and many parents feel similarly about Evangelical after school clubs," he said. "In fact, we put our club in place to offer an alternative against an Evangelical club that's explicitly designed to convert children and get them to proselytize to other kids. So if parents don’t want to send their kids … there are other religious clubs.
“Really, I think the controversy just evades the issue as to whether or not we’re willing to allow government functionaries at school boards or whatever to simply shut down somebody’s religious liberty or free speech because they don’t like it."
In November, an ASSC was approved at Golden Hills Elementary School in Tehachapi, California, with meetings set to start in December.
News of the club's approval to use the campus facilities drew the ire of local parents and grandparents last week, who contend that the school district made a "mistake."
In a statement to The Christian Post, Tehachapi Unified School District Superintendent Stacey Larson-Everson noted that the district is prohibited by law from discriminating against groups wanting to use its facilities or distribute flyers based on viewpoint.
Ian M. Giatti is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected].
