Elementary School Opens Its Doors To ‘After School Temple Club’

(LibertySociety.com) – A Memphis, Tennessee elementary school will be the site of a new location for the After School Satan Club (ASSC), following a request from the parent of a student who attends the school. The Satanic Temple-sponsored group will meet in the Chimney Rock Elementary Library just 10 days into the new year.

The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization released a flier ahead of the event, giving information about the Satanic Temple and how it is considered to be a church by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The flier also notes that the club does not push any type of religion on the children who attend, it just advocates for “children to think for themselves.”

Members of The Satanic Temple follow their Seven Fundamental Tenets, which include ways that individuals should behave, think, express themselves, and feel for others. The activities in the after-school club will be centered around those tenets, with the ASSC helping teachers with preparations. ASSC Campaign Director June Everett told Fox News Digital that the club “only goes where it has been invited” and intends to be another option for students who are not part of other religious groups on school campuses. In 2022, ASSC held meetings at eight schools in the United States, but that number has been cut in half this year.

Some schools changed their policies to require religious groups to wait an hour or longer after regular school hours to meet, which would undoubtedly reduce attendance. Everett said that the Christian Good News Club (GNC) had also chosen to forgo holding meetings at schools that changed their policies. GNC operates in thousands of schools around the country.

Years ago, ASSC began demanding the same accommodation as groups like GNC and has been largely successful. Some parents and church leaders spoke out against allowing ASSC to meet at the school. However, school district officials for Chimney Rock Elementary said that every non-profit group that operates in the school after-hours has the same First Amendment rights as anyone else.