LEBANON, Connecticut — What would you do if your child came home from school and said they wanted to join the Satan Club? It’s a reality in the small New London County town of Lebanon.
Lebanon Elementary School is where on Dec. 1, about 9 kids got permission slips from their parents to join the after-school Satan Club. The district said it has no choice but to allow it.
“I don’t agree with it at all and I couldn’t imagine my kids coming home and telling me this is going on at the school. I would probably take them out,” said Nicole Starr of Lebanon.
“We are Satanists. We’re proud to be Satanists and our goal is to not make our name more palatable to the masses,” said June Everett, the national director of the after-school Satan Club.
The club is a program of The Satanic Temple based in Salem, MA. It picked Lebanon because it was invited by a parent who wasn’t happy that the elementary school is also hosting an evangelical Christian-based “Good News” Club.
“If the good news club packs up and leaves town then we pack up and leave town as well,” said Everett.
The Satan Club said it caters mainly to non-Christians, providing safe spaces for science and nature activities and arts and crafts.
“It’s just a way, I think, to brainwash the kids these days,” said Starr. “I have family members who are going to homeschool because it’s getting really bad.”
Lebanon schools Superintendent Andy Gonzalez didn’t want to talk to FOX61 on camera but did provide a statement that reads in part, “Prohibiting particular organizations from accessing our school buildings based on the perspectives they offer or express could violate our obligations under the First Amendment…and would not align with our commitment to non-discrimination, equal protection, and respect for diverse viewpoints.”
Amy Bourdon, the Founder of Parents Choice Connecticut said, “We have to be careful not to take the bait. This group is laying a trap."
Bourdon said the Satanists are weaponizing the constitution, hoping to get canceled so the school would also have to cancel Christian-based groups.
“I think other groups should plan events simultaneously on the same dates at the same time and offer a healthy and wholesome alternative to introducing children to satanic worship. That's really how we win. We don’t win by canceling religious freedoms and canceling the First Amendment,” added Bourdon.
The Satanists said they don’t actually believe that the Devil or God is real, but they do believe that public schools should be secular non-religious spaces.
The issue will no doubt be a hot topic of discussion at Lebanon’s next school board meeting next Tuesday, Nov 21.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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