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Golden Hills Elementary School in Kern County, California, is under the limelight for allowing its students to start an "After School Satan Club." The elementary school is in Tehachapi and holds students as young as five years old, and parents are outraged by the decision to allow students to start this club.
The club is sponsored by the Satanic Temple and the Reason Alliance, and a representative named Paul Hicks is projected to run the club at the Northern California School. Parents found themselves infuriated by the news, and since it has become a trending topic on Twitter, netizens have also joined in the outrage. One user @MizzyII noted:
"Omg! God help us all. 😥"
Internet outraged at Golden Hills school's new "After School Satan Club"
Following reports that Golden Hills Elementary School in Kern County, California, has allowed an "After School Satan Club" (ASSC) to function in the school, parents and God-fearing people have taken to the internet to share their concerns.
Folks were left wondering what the club aims to achieve in elementary schools, where students are as young as five years old. Several people have taken to Twitter urging parents to "fight back" against the decision and demanding the spread of "satanism" be stopped.
However, there is another side to the reactions on the internet. Some think that if other religious clubs are allowed to function at the school, the Satan Club should not be an exception. Many highlighted the First Amendment to the constitution, granting the freedom to practice any religion.
"After School Satan Club" was started in response to the "Good News Club"
In 2001, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of establishing the Good News Club, a weekly Christian club that teaches kids between 5-12 lessons from the Bible, hymns, and other Christian doctrines. Since then, The Satanic Temple has been setting up similar clubs to challenge the "infiltration of religion" in educational facilities.
The Satanic Temple describes itself as a nontheistic religious organization advocating secularism and scientific rationalism. They have been setting up after-school clubs where Christian Evangelists have set up Good News clubs, as they have at Golden Hills Elementary School.
The group has stated its intentions to set up these clubs clearly. They believe that religion does not belong in schools and that their attempt is to "fight to ensure that plurality and true religious liberty are respected." They further clarified things by stating that they don't wish to convert anyone into "devil worshippers" but instead would like to facilitate and encourage conversation. They state:
"We are not interested in converting children to Satanism and sessions will focus on free inquiry and rationalism, the scientific basis for which we know what we know about the world around us."
Regardless of the justification, the parents of Golden Hills have expressed their anger and "disgust" over the club and will be fighting to get the 'After School Satan Club' to shut down.
