Yes, After School Satan Clubs do exist in the U.S.

It’s not uncommon for schools to have after-school programs or activities for students. Some of those activities are school-sponsored, like a high school newspaper or sports team.

But public school buildings can also be a venue for other clubs, like The Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, church youth groups and… Satan clubs?

The connection between Satan and after-school programs at elementary schools has made headlines recently. “Satan has no room in this district,” a portion of one headline says.

Google trends data show searches for Satan clubs in elementary schools have spiked in the last few weeks.

VERIFY reader Debbie texted us to ask if it’s true some schools across the country have a club called the After School Satan Club.

THE QUESTION

Do After School Satan Clubs exist in the U.S.?

THE SOURCES

• June Everett, campaign director of the After School Satan Club and ordained minister of The Satanic Temple
• U.S. Supreme Court ruling in The Good News Club v. Milford (New York) Central School District
• Messages to parents from Lebanon (Ohio) School District Superintendent Isaac W. Seevers
• Statement from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
• Memphis-Shelby (Tennessee) County School District (MSCS) press release

THE ANSWER

Yes, After School Satan Clubs do exist in the U.S. schools. The club is an official program led by volunteers and is operated by The Satanic Temple.

WHAT WE FOUND

The Satanic Temple is 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 temple helps organize after-school programs known officially as the After School Satan Club (ASSC). There are existing programs in Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and California. 

One club will start meeting at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova, Tennessee, this month. In late December, Olathe Northwest High School in a Kansas City suburb approved allowing After School Satan Club participants to meet at their school, but a meeting start date hasn’t been set yet.

June Everett, campaign director of the ASSC and ordained minister of The Satanic Temple, told VERIFY that one misconception about the after-school program and the Temple is people associate Satanists in their congregations with literal concepts of “devil worshiping.” Everett said they don’t believe in the devil or Satan that is referenced in the Christian Bible. They also don’t believe in Hell.

“Satan to us is nothing more than a symbol and we do not worship the devil and we don't do anything kind of crazy, like goat sacrifices or baby sacrifices,” Everett told VERIFY.

The after-school club's mission is not to convert anyone to Satanism, or convert children to any religious ideology, Everett told VERIFY. A flier about the ASSC says the focus of the clubs is “free inquiry and rationalism, bolstering scientific understandings of the natural world, and nurturing your child’s already awesome ability to be curious about the wonders about them.”

In order for someone to start an After School Satan Club, they would first need approval from the school district to make sure it meets that individual school’s criteria, according to various news reports about club openings. A person would also need to contact The Satanic Temple in order to make sure all rules and regulations are followed.

Some ASSC activities have included show-and-tells with pets, visits from local musicians, science and craft projects and community-focused projects like making dog toys for local shelters or cards for people who are in the hospital. 

Any child under the age of 18 has to have a permission form signed in order to join the club and it’s completely free to join, Everett said. 

Everett said the goal of the clubs is to be fun for the kids participating. She said she wants people to realize their club is not only an alternative to traditional religious groups, but The Satanic Temple and the ASSC are inclusive.

“Our sole purpose is to provide this alternative club for all the families out there that do not want to send their children to a Christian evangelical clubs. They might align as Satanist or Pagans or Wiccans or Atheist or Agnostics or none, none of the above … That is why we're there,” Everett told VERIFY.

Religious groups historically have been barred from holding events like youth groups on public school grounds because of the Establishment Clause, or the separation of church and state. According to a blog post from Cornell College, public schools are considered an “arm of the state” and can do nothing to hinder or promote religion.

That changed in 2001 because of a case brought before the U.S. Supreme Court between Good News Club and the Milford Central School District in New York. 

The Good News Club, a Christian program, argued that under the First Amendment, a religious group in New York couldn’t be denied access to school facilities because the facilities were available to other third-party groups that teach or promote similar issues, like morals and character development. Therefore, excluding them from using the facilities violated their freedom of speech rights.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with a 6-3 ruling for the Good News Club. Now, if third-party non-school sanctioned clubs, like the Boy Scouts, for example, have meetings or events on public school grounds, religious organizations are allowed, too.

In Lebanon, Ohio, the Supreme Court ruling was referenced in a Jan. 20, 2022 message to parents from Lebanon School District Superintendent Isaac W. Seevers. The After School Satan Club is held at Donovan Elementary School in Lebanon, and Seevers said in the memo that he was aware of “concern and confusion” regarding the school’s allowance of the Satanist club.

Seevers said a local resident and taxpayer of Lebanon City Schools requested the club. 

“Across the nation, The Satanic Temple After-School Satan Club intends to meet at public schools where Good News Clubs also operate. Either the District’s facilities are to be made available to all groups or to no groups, according to a 2001 Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Good News Club, citing if public schools rent their facilities to secular groups, they must also rent to religious groups,” the message from Seevers said. 

Following calls to protest against the club, Seevers issued another memo to parents about a week later, asking the public to refrain from protesting or gathering on school grounds.

The clubs didn’t receive a warm welcome in other cities where they have active participation, either. 

In Tehachapi, Calif., parents expressed concern across local Facebook groups and community forums, according to a report from Tehachapi News. The superintendent of that district also had to send a letter to parents explaining the reasoning for allowing the club to operate on campus. 

The After School Satan Club sued a school district in Pennsylvania for the right to meet at one public school. In November, The Satanic Temple, Inc. and ASSC reached a settlement with the Saucon Valley School District and the district was ordered to pay $200,000, a release from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said.

Parents were also concerned in Lebanon, Conn., where the After School Satan Club meets at Lebanon Elementary School. According to local reports, the school district allowed the club to operate there because the district allows outside organizations to use their facilities. 

On Jan. 10, 2024, the After School Satan Club is scheduled to begin meeting at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova, Tenn. The announcement of the club meeting was met with criticism from the public and from the Memphis-Shelby County School District (MSCS), but MSCS Interim Superintendent Toni Williams said she has to follow the law.

“Like many of you, I have strong beliefs and resonate deeply with the questions and concerns in our community surrounding a club’s upcoming rental of school space. I want to assure you that I do not endorse or support the beliefs of the organization at the center of the recent headlines. I do, however, support the law. As superintendent, I am duty-bound to uphold our board policies, state laws, and the Constitution,” Williams said in a statement from MSCS.