# Illinois elementary school approves Satanic Temple club meetings (true story) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671 "2022-01-12T23:43:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/1 "2022-01-12T23:43:54Z")
When I saw this story at first, I thought it was from the Onion. It isn’t. > **[Parents up in arms about After School Satan Club at QC elementary school](https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/qc-parents-up-in-arms-about-an-after-school-satan-club-holding-meetings-at-moline-elementary-school/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=socialflow&fbclid=IwAR1eBtDHVja3eJC_P2jMiieeLjYWnXLClNtDbTBijDGsUkPXZwhx2iQRiUM)** > > Many local parents are upset about planned after-school meetings by a group called The Satanic Temple at Jane Addams Elementary School in Moline. The After School Satan Club is scheduled to meet fr… I understand about non-discrimination, but where do you draw the line? As a Christian who believes in separation of church and state, I’d like to know who approved this. I’d also be very curious to see if anyone actually attends. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/2 "2022-01-12T23:57:41Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I understand about non-discrimination, but where do you draw the line? Why do you need to draw a line? Association is protected, actions are not. As long as they are civil, who cares? ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2022, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/3 "2022-01-12T23:59:33Z")
Sounds like they’re basically secularist liberals trying to make some sort of point about separation of church and state. As long as the school allows any religious groups to meet on school grounds, they have to allow them all as per the First Amendment. I’m not really seeing what the problem is here. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/4 "2022-01-13T00:07:19Z")
A few years back at my high school a group of kids wanted to form a branch of the Secular Student’s Alliance and asked me to be their faculty advisor. I said sure. Then we filed the paperwork. Given that my town is about 40% Mormon and 40% Baptist, I rapidly got phone calls from the principal and Superintendent, passing on the concerns of the community and fearfully inquiring if we were some sort of Satanic organization. I assured them we weren’t, then pointed out that even if we were, they **couldn’t** deny us approval. Congress and the Supreme Court laid down that precedent decades ago. Approve one club to use school facilities and you have to approve them all (within reason.) Since Alive Club was quite active on campus… I think I got a new subheading in my personnel file that day. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/5 "2022-01-13T00:10:11Z")
Here’s the About Us page from the Satanic Temple webpage: > **[About Us](https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/about-us)** > > The mission of The Satanic Temple is to support empathy between people, freedom, unwillingness to tyrannical power, and protest against injustice. I absolutely have no problem with this, as a parent. It’s not devil worship. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/6 "2022-01-13T01:40:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Here’s the About Us page from the Satanic Temple webpage: I almost posted something from Wikipedia that was similar. I don’t know why they call themselves Satanic…maybe Flying Spaghetti Monster was already taken. It’s all good IMO. We have separation of church and state but we have to put “In God We Trust” on our money etc.? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/7 "2022-01-13T01:42:50Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I understand about non-discrimination, but where do you draw the line? That’s the whole purpose of the club and the organization behind it: to enforce that line. > **[The Satanic Temple](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple)** > > The Satanic Temple (TST) is a non-theistic religious organization and new religious movement that is primarily based in the United States, with additional congregations in Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. Co-founded by Lucien Greaves, the organization's spokesperson, and Malcolm Jarry, the organization uses Satanic imagery to promote civil rights, egalitarianism, religious skepticism, social justice, secularism, and the separation of church and sta The Satanic Temple... (edit) The preview is mangled, so: **The Satanic Temple** is a [nontheistic religious](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nontheistic_religion) and [human rights](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_rights) group based in the [United States](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States),[[1]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-KansasCity1-1)[[2]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-NewReligMove-2)[[3]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-Esquire1-3)[[4]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-4) with additional chapters in [Canada](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada), [Australia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia) and the [United Kingdom](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom).[[5]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-5)[[6]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-6) The group uses Satanic imagery to promote [egalitarianism](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egalitarianism), [social justice](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_justice), and the [separation of church and state](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state), supporting their mission “to encourage [benevolence](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altruism) and [empathy](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compassion) among all people”. The group was co-founded by [Lucien Greaves](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucien_Greaves), the organization’s spokesperson, and Malcolm Jarry.[[7]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-Trolling-7)[[8]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-NYT1-8) The Satanic Temple has utilized [satire](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_satire), theatrical ploys, humor, and legal action in their public campaigns to “generate attention and prompt people to reevaluate fears and perceptions”, and to “highlight religious hypocrisy and encroachment on [religious freedom](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_freedom)”.[[7]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-Trolling-7)[[9]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-9)[[10]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-10)[[11]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Satanic_Temple#cite_note-LaycockBook-11) ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/8 "2022-01-13T01:48:58Z")
From the article: > [@](#): > > “ **The Moline-Coal Valley School District and Board of Education have policies and administrative procedures in place which allow for community use of its publicly funded facilities outside the school day,** ” the district statement said Tuesday, noting it doesn’t discriminate against any groups who wish to rent public facilities, including religious-affiliated groups. > > **“Religiously affiliated groups are among those allowed to rent our facilities for a fee** ,” the district said. “The district has, in the past, approved these types of groups, one example being the Good News Club, which is an after-school child evangelism fellowship group. Flyers and promotional materials for these types of groups are approved for lobby posting or display only, and not for mass distribution. > > “Students or parents are then able to pick up the flyer from the lobby, if they so choose, which is aligned to District policy,” the statement says. “ **Please note that the district must provide equal access to all groups and that students need parental permission to attend any after-school event.** Our focus remains on student safety and student achievement.” > > **[emphasis added]** @nearwildheaven, if you understand about non-discrimination, what exactly is your issue? This isn’t an issue of separation of church and state - any community group, religious or otherwise, can rent space from the school district after school hours. Why do you want to know “who approved this”? It sure seems like it was a standard application and a standard approval, and whoever was the specific individual that rubber stamped it didn’t really have any discretion - _denying_ the application would have been a clear violation of separation of church and state. What “line” is it that you’re concerned about crossing? > [@pulykamell](#): > > I absolutely have no problem with this, as a parent. It’s not devil worship. Even if it were, it doesn’t seem to me like the school district would have any grounds for denying the organization the same access it grants other fee-paying community groups, including other religious groups. It’s a public school, and government agencies in the United States absolutely do not under any circumstances get to treat people or organizations differently based on who or what they worship. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/9 "2022-01-13T02:01:33Z")
I’m always for diverse (quasi)-religious (or non-religious) groups that get their constitutional rights and let some heads asplode at the same time. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/10 "2022-01-13T02:05:01Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > let some heads asplode And it’s always educational to see just whose heads _asplode_ when rights are extended fairly and justly. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/11 "2022-01-13T02:09:53Z")
They’re definitely a force for good. My daughter is a member. 🥰 ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/12 "2022-01-13T02:12:13Z")
Another project of the Satanic Temple: > **[Conservative Christians Can't Handle the Satanic "Baby Baphomet" Display in...](https://friendlyatheist.substack.com/p/conservative-christians-cant-handle)** > > Look at how cute it is. (No particular significance to that one, it is just one I googled up. I’ve been reading about the group for years). They were also behind the well-published Baphomet statue. > **[Statue of Baphomet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Baphomet)** > > The statue of Baphomet is a bronze sculpture commissioned by The Satanic Temple depicting Baphomet, a winged, goat-headed, humanoid and a symbol of the occult. First unveiled in Detroit in 2015, the statue stands 8.5 feet (2.6 m) tall, weighing over 3,000 lbs., and features a prominent pentagram as well as two smiling youths gazing up at the seated central figure. Petitions to display the piece on public grounds have resulted in arguments concerning the separation of church and state. Producti Th... They basically exist to troll evangelicals by using their own rules against them. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/13 "2022-01-13T02:17:16Z")
I’d encourage my kids to attend. Far preferable to a bible study group or something. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/14 "2022-01-13T02:18:07Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > > [@pulykamell](#): > > > > I absolutely have no problem with this, as a parent. It’s not devil worship. > > Even if it were, it doesn’t seem to me like the school district would have any grounds for denying the organization the same access it grants other fee-paying community groups, including other religious groups. It’s a public school, and government agencies in the United States absolutely do not under any circumstances get to treat people or organizations differently based on who or what they worship. Right. What is the difference between devil and Jesus worshipers, legally and socially, and how does it matter who is worshiped? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/15 "2022-01-13T02:20:39Z")
I don’t think I joined but I have been on the mailing list for an incredibly long time. And yeah: TST exists in large part to make sure that the line is drawn clearly. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/16 "2022-01-13T02:25:23Z")
Were I a real Satanist, I might take offence at the cheap parody of my religion, which is a branch of Christianity, and which exists in order to worship Satan. ETA don’t neglect the Neo-Pagans! (vs. fake neo-pagans who don’t really believe in Zeus or Anvallus) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/17 "2022-01-13T02:59:38Z")
> [@gdave](#): > > Even if it were, it doesn’t seem to me like the school district would have any grounds for denying the organization the same access it grants other fee-paying community groups, including other religious groups. It’s a public school, and government agencies in the United States absolutely do not under any circumstances get to treat people or organizations differently based on who or what they worship. Oh, I don’t disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/18 "2022-01-13T03:06:28Z")
I didn’t realize that ASS (probably not an accidental acronym) was 5 years old already. > **[Yes, an after-school Satan Club could be coming to your kid's grade school](https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-satanic-after-school-20160928-snap-story.html)** > > Lilith Starr, a devil’s advocate in every sense, is in a rush to get her After School Satan Club started. > **[An After School Satan Club could be coming to your kid’s elementary school](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/an-after-school-satan-club-could-be-coming-to-your-kids-elementary-school/2016/07/30/63f485e6-5427-11e6-88eb-7dda4e2f2aec_story.html)** > > The Satanic Temple plans to open After School Satan Clubs in public elementary schools as a counterpoint to evangelical Christian groups. In general, the evangelical Christians want exclusive access to students. If faced with the choice between allowing programs for everyone or shutting down programs altogether, they tend to shut the whole thing down. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/19 "2022-01-13T13:09:47Z")
Hell, I’d buy their overpriced crappy wrapping paper to support their organization. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2022, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671/20 "2022-01-13T22:14:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I think I got a new subheading in my personnel file that day. My HS had students do the morning announcements; one day I got to them because both students who usually do them were absent and I happened to be in the office. I left out “under God” when leading the Pledge of Allegiance. The secretary was very nice and said I did a good job except for that one mistake. When I told that wasn’t a mistake she got confused, and after I said there is no God, she was speechless and got a horrified look on her face. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-elementary-school-approves-satanic-temple-club-meetings-true-story/957671.md?page=2)