NORFOLK, Va. — The After-School Satan Club held its first meeting at Chesapeake’s B.M. Williams Primary on Thursday evening, according to the ACLU of Virginia.
The organization and Heather L. Weaver, senior staff attorney for the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief, are representing The Satanic Temple, which sponsors the club.
A press release sent out by the organization before the meeting said it was “a victory for free speech and religious liberty.”
News of the club sparked controversy late last year when a flier marketing it began circulating online. Dozens of people spoke about the club — most of them to express opposition — during a three-hour-long public comment session at a December school board meeting. The school division then imposed several security requirements the club must follow to use the building, including paying more than $600 for security officers for its first meeting, and moving the meeting from immediately after school to 6 p.m. The club refused to comply with the security measures.
The Satanic Temple — a nontheistic religious organization formed about a decade ago — originally launched the After School Satan Club as a response to the Good News Club, a religious club for kids run by the Child Evangelism Fellowship. The Good News Club started at B.M. Williams Primary this fall, and was allowed to meet immediately after school.
Thursday’s meeting comes after ACLU attorneys reached an agreement with Chesapeake Public Schools that involved the school division withdrawing the security fee requirement, refunding facility-use charges and revising its facility-use policy to place all non-school groups “on equal footing by prohibiting the use of school facilities before 6 p.m.,” according to the release.
“Under the First Amendment, the government can’t treat one religious group less favorably than another, and it can’t give potential objectors or hecklers a ‘veto’ over unpopular speech by charging the speaker (here, the After School Satan Club) a security fee,” Matthew Callahan, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Virginia, said in the press release. “That the school district ultimately recognized this and is taking steps to correct these unlawful actions and policies is an enormous victory for free speech, religious liberty, and democracy.”
Members of the Satanic Temple say they do not believe in Satan as a real entity, but rather as a literary symbol of standing up to tyrannical authority. Club organizers said their club activities include such things as arts and crafts, puzzles and science projects.
June Everett, the After School Satan Club’s national campaign director, said in the press release: “We hope that tonight’s meeting is a joyful, enriching experience for the children. There’s often a misconception about our religious beliefs and practices, but we will not accept discrimination by government officials. Public schools everywhere are on notice that we will vigorously defend The Satanic Temple’s rights and the rights of children and families who want to participate in the After School Satan Club.”
Chesapeake Public Schools announced the proposed revisions to its facility-use policy at a board meeting this week. The revised policy will be up for approval by board members at a future meeting.
In a message sent out Thursday afternoon, Chesapeake Superintendent Jared Cotton informed B.M. Williams Primary School families that the club had been approved to meet at the school.
“However, it is important to note the group will meet when the building is not occupied by students or instructional staff, and participants must have parent permission to attend,” Cotton said.
“As many of you know, many religious groups in the area use our facilities throughout the year, following established guidelines,” he added. “Favoring one religion over another or one organization over another because of its mission or its lawful, unpopular activities is called content discrimination and would violate the U.S. Constitution. As stated before, the ASSC is not a school district-approved club, and no district employee is acting as a club sponsor.”
Callahan spoke to a volunteer with the After-School Satan Club after the meeting Thursday.
“We’re very pleased to say that the meeting was held without incident,” he said.
Callahan said the club has 15 children signed up, three of whom attend B.M. Williams. But only nine students attended Thursday’s meeting, where they made bookmarks and other crafts.
“There were some protesters outside the building, but the private security hired by the district kept them away from school grounds,” he said.
———
