After School Satan Club Turns Up In Illinois To Mixed Reactions

ILLINOIS — Lucien Greaves understands the backlash that often comes when parents of elementary school children first see flyers in school buildings introducing the idea of an After- School Satan Club.

But he said that once parents take a moment to educate themselves that the club —which is scheduled to soon start operating at Addams Elementary School in Moline — has nothing to do with proselytizing young minds to anything demonic, the co-founder of The Satanic Temple says things tend to settle down.

But that doesn’t take place immediately in school districts like in the Moline-Coal Valley District, where officials are allowing the Satanic Temple to rent space to hold meetings that teach individuality, critical thinking and other tenets that Satanists are promoting with their after-school clubs.

Related: Satanic Holiday Display Anything But A Christmas Miracle To Some

The Moline-Coal Valley Board of Education approved the club using district space at a meeting last month, WQAD reported. In a statement, the district said it will not discriminate which groups can rent school property and that it will afford the same opportunity to The Satanic Temple as it does to groups like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts and The Good News Club.

The club does not include participation by any district teachers and is allowed under a Supreme Court ruling that provides school space for outside groups. The Moline-Coal Valley district previously approved Good News Clubs, an evangelical organization, using space in the school for after-school meetings.

The Moline-Coal Valley District is the first district in the country where a new round of clubs will be launched, Greaves told Patch on Friday. The Satanic Temple first launched after-school clubs in 2016, but those clubs have since ceased meeting after the group did not have liability insurance in place. That is no longer the case, and Greaves said the group is planning to expand its collection of after-school clubs.

Greaves said that a new round of expansion will, however, depend on parent interest, which involves parents first understanding the concept of what the Satanic Temple is attempting to accomplish. The Moline-Coal Valley district is one of five districts around the country that will make up the next round, he told Patch.

But winning people over takes time.

“People making the mistake of thinking a lot of times that because we appear outrageous and we do these bold public maneuvers requesting equal time in a forum where we’re well aware there is a certain population that doesn’t want us there, that our preferred outcome is the outrage and uproar that is going be generated by us doing this,” Greaves told Patch. “That’s not the case.”

He added: “I know a lot of people automatically assume we’re doing this for prankster purposes....but after a while, and hopefully not after a long while, the label (Satanist) just doesn't mean as much at all as to what is actually taking place in practice."

Instead, Greaves said he wants to see positive outcomes grow out of a club that considers Satan a mythical character that represents individuality and freedom of choice. But he said that because the word “Satan” is attached not only to the group’s name, but to the name of the after-school club, people often misconstrue the organization’s mission.

He said that the curriculum the group uses enriches the educational prospects of children and does not impose any religious teaching in its after-school clubs. He said the goal of the classes is not to indoctrinate anyone, but instead, to teach students to think for themselves and establish positive feelings about themselves.

The classes, which were established by Satanists, are taught by individuals who pass background checks and who strictly follow the curriculum developed by the organization. According to the group’s website, the goal is to teach students to be more benevolent, empathetic and to solve problems and express themselves creatively.

But the district’s decision to allow the club to meet was met with mixed feelings from parents. In a statement issued by Moline-Coal Valley Superintendent Rachel Savage this week, the district said flyers were placed in the lobby of Addams Elementary stating that parents must sign a permission slip for their kids to attend.

The statement said the Satanic Temple has the same rights to use school space as others. Savage also addressed the matter with parents in a letter in which she said the group deserves the same rights for school space as other groups.

“To illegally deny their organization to pay to rent our publicly-funded institution, after school hours, subjects the district to a discrimination lawsuit, which we will not win, likely taking thousands upon thousands of taxpayer dollars away from our teachers, staff and classrooms,” Savage said in a statement, according to the Quad Cities-area TV station.

Greaves said that in time, most parents come to appreciate the teachings of the group, which he said makes any initial apprehension all worth it. While the group’s founders understand the feelings that people may have about the use of the word “Satan” or “Satanic” — or other mythological constructs, the only way to change those thoughts is to show people what the group is all about.

He said it often comes down to people allowing themselves to accept a different viewpoint than the one they have held traditionally.

“It’s going to be rough going for a bit when people are getting past their assumptions, but honestly, after a while when people realize that we’re just another viewpoint….then that shock value will wear off,” Greaves said. “And contrary to popular perception of us, we don’t thrive on the shock value. We will be just fine advocating for our affirmative values when people aren’t up in arms over our presence in a public forum.”