June Everett was raising her son in Colorado a few years ago when he came home from elementary school with tears in his eyes. A fellow student who was a member of the Christian evangelical after-school group “Good News Club” hurt her son’s feelings with the things they said.
“My son came home very upset one day that he had been approached by one of the Good News Club kids and was told that he was going to be taken away from mom and dad and burn in hell if we didn't start going to church and if he didn't start attending this club,” Everett told the Ventura County Reporter.
Everett’s experience is part of what led her to become an ordained minister with The Satanic Temple, a fast-growing religious movement founded in 2013 with headquar-ters in Salem, Massachusetts. According to the movement’s website, thesatanictemple. com, the mission of The Satanic Temple is to “encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority, advocate practical common sense, oppose injustice and undertake noble pursuits.”
Everett said members are careful to avoid confusion with the Church of Satan, founded in the 1960s and espousing different beliefs.
“To us, Satan is nothing but a symbol,”Everett explained. “We do not worship the devil. We do not promote the personal belief in Satan. Basically, to embrace Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from all supernaturalism. I look to Satan as a symbol for standing up to tyrannical authority. You know, we work hard to hone in on critical thinking skills and fight against injustices across our communities.”
Courts allow after-school access to religious groups
Three years ago, Everett became the nationalcampaign director for The Satanic Temple’s After School Satan Club geared towards elementary school students. After School Satan Clubs are typically established at elementary schools that already have Good News Clubs, and only following requests by parents.
The Good News Club is a program of Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), an interdenominational Christian nonprofit founded in 1937.
CEF is established in every state and 192 countries, reaching nearly 29 million kids worldwide in 2023, according to their website at cefonline. com. Everett said CEF gained federal protection to access public schools through a 2001 6-3 U.S. Supreme Court ruling written by Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Good News Club v.Milford Central School.
“Essentially, the Supreme Court said that if a public school opens their doors to any sort of secular type activities, you know, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Kiwanis Club, that they have to also open the doors for religious organizations or they could be accused of viewpoint discrimination.
So essentially, they paved the way for religious organizations to have access to public schools,”Everett said.
Everett has helped found After School Satan Clubs in several states including California, which already has chapters in San Clemente and Tehachapi.
“The parents that send their children to our clubs align with our beliefs, they understand who we are, they aren’t offended by the name.
And everybody else that is offended, we have to remind them that that is part of what makes our country free. It’s what our founding fathers found very important to put into the First Amendment of the Constitution,” Everett said.
“When you do see us in the public schools and in public places where other religions exist, it is a good reminder that religious freedom still exists in this country. I like to say that one thing I find much scarier than a supernatural Satan is a government that gets to pick and choose what you can or cannot believe. And we are definitely there to offer the checks and balances that come with that.”
After School Satan Club raises concerns in Ojai
Recently, two parents of students at Topa Topa Elementary School in Ojai contacted Everett about starting an After School Satan Club which is now set to launch next month. Adult volunteers leading the club will undergo background checks, and students will not be allowed to attend unless they bring a permission slip.
“This isn't just a program to upset the community,”Everett said. “This is directly a result of our members wanting to have a club for their kids to go to that is aligned with their beliefs and we are not just there, you know, as trolls. We're not just there to make everybody mad. We're not there to try to shut down the Good News Club because we know they're protected by federal constitutional law.”
Everett said they already have nine permission slips for Topa Topa students. “So that's great.
There are quite a few parents in the area who plan to be sending their kiddos to the club.”
Reaction from Good News Club organizers
The Good News Club at Topa Topa Elementary School utilizes volunteers from First Baptist Church of Ojai. Senior Pastor Ben Ruhl told the VCReporter he had heard about The Satanic Temple and their political activism in the past, and has pastor friends who have seen After School Satan Clubs form in their communities.
“It does make us sad. It’s an interesting tactic,”Ruhl said.
After reading comments posted on Ojai-oriented social media groups vilifying both Satan and Christians who are allowed to spread their message on public school campuses, Ruhl was careful to point out that the Good News Club does not push Christianity on kids during regular school hours.
“It's an after-school program, so no kid is ever required to come to it. As I read around online, a lot of people make it sound like it's something that's coerced or things like that. But it's after school, parents have to sign a permission slip for their kids to be a part of it,” said Ruhl, comparing the club to Sunday schools kids attend while their parents attend church services. “There's studying of the Bible. There's crafts and games and things like that.
It is a Christian ministry.”
Ruhl said he has no way to stop the After School Satan Club from forming and meeting at Topa Topa Elementary School.
“I understand what they are trying to do and what they are trying to say. And I guess I’ll say this. What I feel and think about that club, it really doesn’t matter. I think everybody has their own feelings when they hear After School Satan, and I think that’s kind of the point, right? But I want to say very clearly, religious freedom is important and they have every right to have a club in the school regardless of how people feel about it. That’s federal law. I have no desire, or ability or power to try and shut that down…All I can do with my church and my friends who are involved in the Good News Club is say, ‘Well, okay. Let’s just be faithful to what God’s given us to do and not try to control what’s out of our control,’” the pastor said.
Case law cited for allowing club
Ojai Unified School District President Atticus Reyes told the VCReporter that the district is not legally able to prevent the After School Satan Club from coming to Ojai.
“It's to our understanding that an organization with families in Ojai Unified requested to have an after-school club and they meet all the requirements and so they get access to the facility,” Reyes said. “Ojai Unified respects the First Amendment and the freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and that's the freedom of all religions. So, we at Ojai Unified cannot and will not decide which clubs get access to our facilities if they meet all the requirements.”
The school board president also pointed to a 2023 court ruling, The Satanic Temple v. Saucon Valley School District, after a Pennsylvania school district denied the group access to a public-school campus. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ruled that the district violated The Satanic Temple’s First Amendment rights and the school system had to pay a $200,000 settlement, Reyes said.
“I don't think Ojai Unified will take any actions that will open up Ojai Unified to significant legal exposure that could result in the loss of funds and resources for our students in our classrooms,” Reyes said. “This club, to my understanding, meets all the requirements that any other organization or community needs to have access to our facilities. And so, they will have access to our facilities given what they require as needed for their after-school club.”