Try to found a club based on the hatred of any religious, ethnic or racial group at an American public school and you’ll get canceled before you can say “woke” — unless, of course, that religious group is Christianity.
Yes, the Satanic Temple has struck again, this time in Kansas. According to WDAF-TV, administrators at Olathe Northwest High School have approved an after school Satan club — something the organization itself calls “Educatin’ With Satan.”
“Before approval, the Olathe school district said in considering any application, they look at the Equal Access Act,” the outlet reported.
“The federal law requires that all public schools cannot discriminate against an applying student-initiated group based on the message that is philosophical or religious,” according to the district.
“In other words, the district said, if the school allows one club, it allows all — providing the application process is complete and the group meets the guidelines for recognition.”
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And there’s the rub: High-school satanists argued that the existence of a Christian club allowed them to establish a club dedicated to the high priest of darkness, the figure of evil in and hatred toward Christianity. Thus, according to Fox News, school administrators said they had no choice but to approve the club.
“There is currently a Christian club on campus called AWAKE student ministry that posts their flyers around the schools and were advertising their club with ‘free donuts,’ which felt like a bribe to me,” the anonymous student who created the club told the Olathe Reporter.
“Since many students don’t align with the beliefs of Christianity, I was inspired to start a student-led club for those students and myself.”
“There are a wide variety of different extra-curricular clubs at the secondary level that are centered around religions, philosophies, politics and values. These clubs are voluntarily attended by students and occur outside of the regular school day. As a school district, Olathe Public Schools follows both state and federal laws related to student groups,” said Erin Schulte, assistant director of communication for the Olathe School District, Fox reported.
Should these types of clubs be allowed in schools?
A petition against the Satanic club, started by an Olathe student named Drew McDonald on Change.org, has already garnered over 8,400 signatures as of Saturday morning.
“This deeply troubles me and many others in our community as we believe that schools should be places of education and growth, not platforms for satanic indoctrination or controversial practices,” the petition said. “Satanism has a strong history of persecution and violence towards the church and those who believe in God.
“Whether you believe in God, are a Christian, Catholic, Mormon, Hindu, Buddhist or even atheist you should see that ending this club is not just because it opposes Christianity but because what they stand for and the actions they will make are wrong and immoral. This isn’t an argument over religion and Christianity but of right and wrong.”
Signatories echoed those sentiments.
“As an Olathe resident, taxpayer, and Christian, I am appalled that something of this nature was even considered for a Olathe public school. The administrators, executives, teachers that allowed this to happen [do] not have the children’s best interest in mind. This needs to be expunged immediately,” one commenter said.
The Satanic Temple, naturally, is doing a victory lap:
The first ASSC-affiliated High School Satan Club is debuting in Kansas! This student-led club has completed all the required steps to be an officially registered on-campus student club and will operate alongside other student-led religious clubs.
Learn: https://t.co/l7FycZq3FJ pic.twitter.com/6tIAvCmb0u— The Satanic Temple (@satanic_temple_) December 26, 2023
“The After School Satan Club does not believe in introducing religion into public schools and will only open a club if other religious groups are operating on campus,” the Satanic Temple’s website noted.
“ASSC exists to provide a safe and inclusive alternative to the religious clubs that use threats of eternal damnation to convert school children to their belief system. Unlike our counterparts, who publicly measure their success in young children’s ‘professions of faith,’ the After School Satan Club program focuses on science, critical thinking, creative arts, and good works for the community. While engaged in all of these activities, we want clubgoers to have a good time.”
This naturally repeats the same lies that the Satanic Temple has been peddling for years. First, they’re not a “religious group” nor do they really believe in Satan; they simply view the prince of darkness symbolically. Second, this is about freedom of religion — providing a First Amendment-tastic balance to schools that have “religious clubs.”
Naturally, though, the Satanic Temple doesn’t target schools with Jewish groups, Muslim groups or Hindu groups. They’re very specifically targeting Christianity. And that’s the other reason why their argument falls apart: No school district would allow an organization dedicated to hate to flourish unless that hate was directed toward a popular target of the left. Christianity fits the bill.
As for the First Amendment or Equal Access Act arguments, those fall apart once you see this for what it is — hate. Neither the Founding Fathers nor the proponents of the Equal Access Act had Satanists in mind precisely for the reason that Satan, even if viewed symbolically, is a figure of prejudice and loathing.
It’s time to start treating him — and his followers — with the contempt they’ve earned. That starts with refusing to allow them the opportunity to indoctrinate our children at school under the preposterous pretense that their perverse belief system and Christianity are somehow co-equals.
