Some Saucon Valley Elementary parents and others have taken to social media to express anger and confusion over a recently-approved extracurricular activity called the ‘After School Satan’ club, after a flyer promoting it was circulated to families on Monday. However, if the district refuses to provide the club with meeting space, it could be sued for religious discrimination under the First Amendment.
The flyer that invites student participation says the club is sponsored by the Satanic Temple, a “non-theistic religion that views Satan as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit.” The Satanic Temple and the Reason Alliance are identified as the club’s sponsors.
“After School Satan Club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology,” the flyer states. “Instead, the Satanic Temple supports children to think for themselves. All After School Satan clubs are based on activities centered around the Seven Fundamental Tenets, and emphasize a scientific, rationalist, non-superstitious worldview.”
Among the activities in which student-members will participate are service projects, nature activities, games, and arts and crafts projects, the flyer states. The first meeting date listed is Wednesday, March 8 at Saucon Valley Middle School.
In fine print at the bottom of the flyer, a disclaimer states that:
The United States Constitution requires schools to respect the right of all external organizations to distribute flyers to students at school if the school permits any such organization to distribute flyers. Accordingly, the school cannot discriminate among groups wishing to distribute flyers at school and does not endorse the content of any flyer distributed at school. The school encourages parents to assist their children in making choices appropriate for them. This is not an activity of the school or school district.
In an open letter to the community, Saucon Valley School District superintendent Jaime Vlasaty reiterated some of that message, noting that the district is obligated to allow the club to meet because it is a religious organization and other such groups are allowed to use its facilities.
“By law, the District cannot discriminate among groups wishing to use the SVSD facilities,” she said.
Vlasaty noted that students must have parental permission in order to attend any meetings held by the club on school property.
“It is very important to note that the District does not endorse any of the groups or content affiliated with groups that host after school events on District property,” she said in the letter. “It is also important to note that the ASSC is not a District approved club.”
The After School Satan Club flyer was shared in a Facebook post in the Hellertown, PA group Monday, where it provoked mixed reactions.
According to the post by Nikki Romy, the Saucon Valley club is the first After School Satan Club to be formed in Pennsylvania, is for children ages 5-12 and is open to children who are homeschooled as well as children from outside the district.
“Any adults attending who are not vetted volunteers must be accompanying a child with a permission slip,” Romy wrote, after pointing out that children must have parental permission in order to participate in the club.
One of the first comments on her post was one demanding there be employment consequences for anyone from the school district involved in approving the club.
“Any faculty members, teachers, or board members that allow this in our schools should be terminated immediately,” commented Jim Severn on the post. “I think the people of this community should have them all terminated.”
“From what I read, the After School Satan Club is quite literally a temper tantrum against Christian beliefs because ya know, nowadays you can’t just not believe in something, you have to start after school clubs and go after kids to listen to your petulant tyrades (sic) because adults won’t listen,” wrote Melissa Vaughn.
And Edgar Diaz invoked party politics by commenting: “Keep voting for the liberal left and this is what happens.”
Others, however, were more supportive of the group.
“The Satanic Bible is about self worship and love,” wrote Taylor Dahlia. “The Bible is about worshipping some person that supposedly exists. Let your child pick which makes more sense.”
And Louis Frank commented: “Christian clubs spread much more hate than this does.”
Some parents expressed concerns about whether a Christian after-school club would be permitted to meet on Saucon Valley property, apparently without knowing that such a group–the Good News Club–already does, and has met for some time. As is the case with the After School Satan Club, the Good News Club is a group for children organized by a national organization to promote its religious values.
The Child Evangelism Fellowship that has sponsored the formation of Good News clubs in school districts around the country says on its website that “now, more than ever, children need the Gospel” as a result of living in “an increasingly dangerous and hopeless world,” sometimes in “unchurched families…(with) no legacy of faith to pass on.”
Religious groups have been legally permitted to meet in public schools since the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in Good News Clubs v. Milford Central School (2001), which established the legal precedent for the Christian clubs to meet but applies to all religions.
An April 2022 USA Today story about the Northern York County School Board’s decision to deny an After School Satan Club permission to meet on school property quoted an After School Satan Club official who said that at the time, there were just four clubs nationwide.
Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves told a York County newspaper his organization would likely pursue legal action against the York County school district on First Amendment grounds, USA Today reported.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”
More information about the After School Satan club is available by emailing AS**@Th**************.com or on the Satanic Temple website.
In a page about the After School Satan clubs, the Satanic Temple states that “the After School Satan Club does not believe in introducing religion into public schools and will only open a club if other religious groups are operating on campus.”
“Unlike our counterparts, who publicly measure their success in young children’s ‘professions of faith,’ the After School Satan Club program focuses on science, critical thinking, creative arts and good works for the community,” the site states. “While engaged in all of these activities, we want clubgoers to have a good time.”
The Saucon Valley School District serves approximately 2,000 students from Hellertown borough and Lower Saucon Township.
Pictured below, the flyer that was circulated to families of Saucon Valley students on Monday. (Credit: The Satanic Temple/After School Satan Club)
