Parents at Ohio’s Edgewood Elementary School requested the program as an alternative to the school’s Christian program
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An elementary school in Ohio will reportedly begin offering religious programming from The Satanic Temple.
Parents at Edgewood Elementary School in Marysville requested the new program, which will be completely optional, in direct response to an optional Christian program that already exists at the school.
The current Christian instructional time is part of the state’s religious “release” time, which allows students to take a break from their regularly scheduled classes to attend faith-based teachings.
Until now, the only religious program offered at the school has been through the evangelical LifeWise program, which removes children from class for 55 minutes each week for Bible study and field trips to churches.
June Everett, an ordained minister for The Satanic Temple and the temple’s After School Satan Club campaign director, told Fox affiliate WCMH she believes people have misconceptions about her church.
“We aren’t worshipping the devil and sacrificing babies and using blood. It’s actually the opposite,” she said, sharing that the church is based on tenets like “acting with compassion and empathy,” “respecting other’s freedoms” and “aligning belief with scientific fact.”
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According to The Guardian, parents requested a program from The Satanic Temple — which is a non-theistic, federally recognized church with the mission of promoting empathy and religious tolerance — in order to offer an alternative to a singular Christian option and to prevent non-Christian children from feeling ostracized.
The Satanic Temple’s programming includes “self-directed learning, good works in the community, compassion and empathy, problem-solving skills, creative expression, critical thinking, inspirational guest speakers and tons of fun!” per a statement shared to the temple’s Facebook page.
The temple also shared that the program will remove participating students from their regularly scheduled classes once a month.
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“We aren’t trying to shut the LifeWise Academy down,” Everett told WCMH. “But I do think a lot of school districts don’t realize when they open the door for one religion, they open it for all of them.”
Joel Penton, Lifewise CEO and founder, told the outlet that Lifewise isn’t fearful of other organizations offering [religious instruction],” adding, “We believe all families should have the opportunity to choose religious study during school hours and we trust parents to make the best choice for their children.”
Penton, however, is in support of Ohio House Bill 445, which — if passed — would require school districts to pre-authorize which religious release programs are permitted.