Bogus After School
Satan Club targets Christian Clubs
The so-called Satanic Temple's extracurricular program for
public schools, called the "After School Satan Club," is petitioning
public school systems for equal access to facilities which allow Christian clubs
to meet after school.
The primary goal of this phony organization that is actually
a small group of atheists, is to stop Christian organizations from meeting in public
schools, targeting the schools where The Good News Clubs meet.
According to the Satanic Temple website, "Fundamentalist
Christian organizations are trying to turn public schools into indoctrination
camps for children. With millions in funding and a team of aggressive lawyers,
they have been successfully eroding the separation of Church and State . the
evangelical after school clubs have created the need for Satanic after school
clubs to offer a contrasting balance to student's extracurricular
activities."
The spokesman of the Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, told
the Washington Post, "If Good News Clubs would operate in churches rather than
public schools, that need [for their satanic clubs] would disappear." The
organization snidely cites the legal work of Liberty Counsel on behalf of the
Good News Clubs.
In demonizing the work of the Good News Clubs, the Satanic
Temple group says the Christian group focuses on "indoctrination,
instilling them with a fear of Hell and God's wrath."
Good News Clubs, which are sponsored by Child Evangelism
Fellowship (CEF), are for children ages 5-12 and teach morals and character development
from a Christian viewpoint. Public schools welcome these clubs because they
improve the behavior of the students and provide a public service. Attendance
is voluntary - and only with parental permission.
The Satanic Temple site then declares, "While we object
to the tactics and message delivered by the Good News Clubs, we are grateful to
the
Liberty Counsel for opening the doors of public schools to
our After School Satan Clubs."
In 2001, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Good News Clubs
have a First Amendment right to meet on campus after school. The federal Equal Access
Act and the First Amendment prohibit discrimination against public school
clubs. Liberty Counsel has offered pro bono legal counsel to the schools targeted
by this bogus, disruptive group.
Time will tell if the "After School Satan Club"
gains any momentum in public schools. It likely will not. School administrators
do not have to tolerate groups that disrupt the school and target other
legitimate clubs.
As with any client, we do not charge the school systems or
CEF for representation. Our defense of CEF, as with all of our legal work, only
happens because you help make it happen.
Without you, Good News Clubs, the Fellowship of Christian
Athletes, and all Christian youth organizations meeting in public facilities
could face discriminatory practices, as school systems often unwisely choose to
surrender to aggressive secularist groups.
The values of Good News Clubs and their positive impact on
today's kids are vitally important. The Good News Clubs also serve as a
counter-balance to the cultural secularization, anti-Christian rhetoric, and
revisionist histories infiltrating our schools.
Many public schools have become breeding grounds for
religious intolerance; cesspools of leftist indoctrination; cauldrons of ideas and
teachings that poison the minds of our children and young adults; vehicles for
transforming young people's cultural and moral standards; and engines designed
to turn students away from the ethics being taught in a majority of American
homes.
The Good News Clubs are dedicated to molding the character
of the next generation!
Liberty Counsel has long been on the forefront of defending
CEF and religious liberty in public schools. Liberty Counsel represents CEF
nationwide. In spite of numerous challenges by secularist organizations seeking
to censor or eliminate the club, our legal team has never lost a CEF case. Defending
the rights of our kids in public schools is among Liberty Counsel's most active
ongoing litigation efforts.
Mathew D. Staver, Founder and Chairman Liberty Counsel
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