Community members in a Tennessee school district want to banish Satan from their children’s halls after the formation of a new club was announced.

The After School Satan Club (ASSC) wants to establish a branch in Chimneyrock elementary school in the Memphis-Shelby county schools (MSCS) district.

The ASSC is a federally recognized nonprofit organization and national after-school program with local chapters across the US. The club is associated with the Satanic Temple, though it claims it is secular and “promotes self-directed education by supporting the intellectual and creative interests of students”.

The Satanic Temple makes it clear its members do not actually worship the devil or believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. Instead Satan is used as a symbol of free will, humanism and anti-authoritarianism.

  • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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    11 months ago

    That definitely shouldn’t be allowed no more than Christian clubs. (This seems much worse than a Christian club)

    • pangolinpalantir@lemm.ee
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      11 months ago

      That’s the point. Are you aware of The Satanic Temple and their work on the separation of church and state?

      • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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        11 months ago

        Then why are they creating a club at a school? Anyway religion forces us to care about our neighbors over ourselves. You can blow off religion all you want but at the end of the day we need more love in the world.

        • HikingVet@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          Because the christians have an after school club. The point is to see if they are actually going to follow the law.

          If you have to be forced to care about other people, you don’t really care about them.

        • OctopusKurwa @lemm.ee
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          11 months ago

          Religion teaches you to hate and distrust people who don’t believe the same thing as you.

          The fastest growing sect of Christianity in the world are the Evangelicals. The biblical literalists that hate everyone.

          • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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            11 months ago

            Well I don’t hate other religions. Actually part if my conformation was attending a Jewish service at a synagogue. I think today’s world lacks love and compassion which religion used to provide. You don’t even need to be Christian you just need a reason to love the world.

            • OctopusKurwa @lemm.ee
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              11 months ago

              Christian’s don’t love the world, if that were true climate change wouldn’t be an issue.

              Christian’s treat the world like a motel they’ll only be staying at for a couple of days.

              • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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                11 months ago

                Christians have nothing to do with the world. Its a fairly broad religion with many different secs and organizations.

    • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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      11 months ago

      If a Christian club is allowed then a Satan club should be allowed. It shouldn’t be up to school administrators and politicians to deem which religions are moral enough to benefit from tax dollars. None of them should.

        • Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          They should be against both, that’s likely why the satanic temple is trying to get a club established. There’s probably already a Christian club and if the school allows one it should allow the other. They are unlikely to be doing it to be getting a new club, they are doing it to try and show people how hypocritical it is and how it shouldn’t be allowed.

      • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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        11 months ago

        Well for one I pray for you if you think so poorly on Christianity or other religions for that matter.

        Anyway worshiping the devil is just silly at best and has no place in society. We have religious freedom but that shouldn’t apply at a school. Especially since these people sound completely nuts.

        • MrGG@lemmy.ca
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          11 months ago

          What if God’s real test is being able to think critically for yourself, not giving into idolatry (ie the church), and actually appreciating the message that Satan was trying to provide us? It’d be real awkward if the true entrants into heaven end up being not devout Christians, but free-thinking Satanists. 😁

          • Possibly linux@lemmy.zip
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            11 months ago

            You can be a free thinking Christian as well. It really depends on your denomination. We are not all devoted Catholics you know.