It would appear the education system in Lebanon, Ohio has gone to hell..A new club for school children in the town that says it “focuses on science, critical thinking, creative arts and good works for the community,” all the while wanting club goers “to have a good time” has Satan in its name and as its logo..The After School Satan Club (ASSC), a national organization, is causing an uproar in the town about 50 km northeast of Cincinnati, says WKRC-TV, adding parents and others are skeptical of the intentions of the group with the hellish name..The school superintendent, Isaac Seevers, sent a letter to parents after approving the club’s request to rent space at the school, emphasizing the school district endorses neither the group nor other religiously affiliated groups, says WKRC..State law says public schools must allow all religious groups or none and, according to the TV station, The Good News Club, an evangelic program, has met after school at Donovan for years..“We don’t do any sort of devil-worshipping. We don’t believe in a literal Satan, but we do believe that Satan was the first to ask questions and stand up to tyrannical authority,” says June Everett, the campaign manager and a minister with the Satanic Temple.. After school Satan clubAfter school Satan club .In an interview with WKRC, Everett said the club does not believe in an actual devil. .“We do not do any sort of rituals or devil-worshipping or any kind of sacrificing of goats, all the scary things that are kind of made up in people’s heads,” she said..“We simply offer a place where kids can be kids, where they can interact with other children, which I know we’ve been lacking a lot since COVID started, where they can play games, research what they want, or not do anything at all. If they’d rather sit in the corner and just observe, that’s completely fine too.”.Everett added the ASSC doesn’t believe in introducing religion into public schools and will only open a club if other religious groups are operating on campus. .“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,” she said..The club formed in 2016 but the pandemic kept its doors closed until recently. .There is also an ASSC in Moline, Illinois, where the club opened in January. Fewer than five students showed up at the first meeting, according to the Moline Coal Valley School District, adding a few peaceful protestors gathered off school property as the club met..Everett says the Satanic Temple does not actively look for schools to go to, only going to schools where parents or other people in the community have asked them to go. She would not specify if it was a parent who asked them to start at Donovan Elementary, says WKRC..In Moline, school superintendent Dr. Rachel Savage said in a statement, “A parent from our district reached out to the national After School Satan Club, informing them that Jane Addams Elementary School, in Moline, offers a child evangelism fellowship club and asked that they bring their program to that school as well, to offer parents a choice of different viewpoints.”.Two pastors from Lebanon expressed their thoughts on social media..Pastor Doug Sibcy in Lebanon says he isn’t buying what the ASSC's pitching, saying even if they claim not to worship Satan, it doesn’t sit right with him..“It may look warm and fuzzy on the outside, but when you really get down to it, there is a culture of worshiping Satan here,” said Sibcy, adding he understood the school board is in a tough place..“Because of the country that we live in — which is a great thing — we have freedom, and this freedom of religion isn’t limited to just Christians.”.Pastor Anthony Wade, also from Lebanon, agrees, saying people should use this as a way to be a light and that “Evil prevails when good men do nothing. And so, I think that it’s better for us to just not be so against things, but let’s be stronger of what we’re for. As a minister of the Gospel and as a Christian in general, I see a lot of opportunities for our existing clubs, for them to grow and actually prosper now that this has presented itself.”.Like any other club at Donovan Elementary, children must have signed permission slips to attend any meetings. Fliers promoting the club don’t go home with students, but they are displayed at the school.
