“Editorial Projects in Education is the independent, nonprofit publisher of Education Week and other high-quality print and online products on K-12 education. EPE’s mission is to raise awareness and understanding of critical issues facing American schools.” Within its website, it posted What’s the Deal With the After-School Satan Club Movement? (October 21, 2016 AD) with is an interview by Marva Hinton with Lucien Greaves, the co-founder of The Satanic Temple.
It is at least very honest about the fact that the Temple has been “working this school year to establish Satan Clubs in various elementary schools across the country” but not for their own sake but specifically “to set up these clubs in schools that have Good News Clubs, which are associated with evangelical Christians.” This is more just a shut ’em down tactic whereby they want to be denied their rights so that schools will conclude that no such club will be allowed and thus, they will get Christianity censored as a result.
Note the ignorant iron in that it is noted that “A 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling paved the way for the inclusion of such clubs in public schools” but then Lucien Greaves is quoted as stating that their actions have, “energized people to fight back against this violation of the church-state separation line.” But what violation would that be? After all, “A 2001 U.S. Supreme Court ruling paved the way for the inclusion of such clubs in public schools.” And, by the way, the Supreme Court rules as such because, well, they understand the Constitution slightly better than does Greaves.
Lucien Greaves was asked whether the club is “about teaching Satanism?” to which he replies, “No, it’s about having a club that teaches rational thought, critical thinking.” So why not call it the Rational Thought Club or Critical Thinking Club? One thing I have learned from Atheists is that they hide behind such terms in order to get away with indoctrinating children into Atheism: for examples, see Atheist Child Rearing.
He is asked, “is the Satanic Temple a religion?” and affirms that “we’re every bit of a religion” within the context of legal and tax “privileges and exemptions.” Yet, in a manner of speaking he denies it because “We’re non-theistic. We don’t have any supernatural beliefs, and we don’t believe in a personal Satan.” I would like to how they have potential members swear to being non-theistic not holding to supernatural beliefs and not believing in a personal Satan. Of course, they would need some system whereby truth telling is a virtue.
But “Why are you only trying to establish these clubs in schools that already have Good News Clubs?” He replies, “They teach kids about the horrors of everlasting torture as the wages of sin and those other counterproductive superstitious messages. We feel that the presence of civic-minded, pro-social, productive Satanists presenting a different curriculum sends a clear message that there’s differences of religious opinion, and the school isn’t necessarily endorsing one over the other.”
Well, that is certainly painting with a broom. But even if we grant it, when Christianity was the ethos upon which public schools were based, when the Ten Commandments were openly displayed, when “the horrors of everlasting torture as the wages of sin and…other…superstitious messages” were the norm the historical evidence is that these were not counterproductive but rather that the worse behavioral problems were chewing gum during class and running in the hallways. Ever since the secular ethos is that upon which public schools were based the worse behavioral problems are sex, drugs and violence—and of those three, many would only condemn violence.
So, the Satanic Temple seek, for example, to promulgate civic-mindedness and being pro-social such as, oh I know, when they publicly support abortion: Satanists in favor of child sacrifice, who would’a thunk it?
Be sure to see my previous video Interview with a Satanist – Satanic Temple and after school programs and all of my reporting on them so as to get a taste of that for which they really stand—see here.
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