Some parents in North Carolina are not pleased with a religious organization that is trying to establish an "After School Satan Club" at a local elementary school.
Parents gathered near Joyner Elementary School in Greensboro to protest the club, which was recently promoted on flyers that went out to students, according to FOX 8.
"Kind of a rallying thing to say 'We here in Greensboro does not want this in our schools,'" Tempe Moore, organizer of the prayer rally, told the outlet.
The "After School Satan Club" is put on by the Satanic Temple, which holds the meetings at "select public schools where Good News Clubs and other religious clubs meet," according to its website.
"Proselytization is not our goal, and we're not interested in converting children to Satanism. After School Satan Clubs focus on free inquiry and rationalism. We prefer to give children an appreciation of the natural wonders surrounding them, not a fear of everlasting other-worldly horrors," the website says. "We incorporate games, projects, and thinking exercises that help children understand how we know what we know about our world and our universe."
The Satanic Temple notes that the after school clubs are only set up at the request of local parents, educators or other community members who would like to see the program offered.
"We were contacted by a group of parents who requested After School Satan Club at Joyner when they received Good News Club Permission Slips in their children's backpacks in late Feb of this year. We only go to schools that have a religious club operating on-campus, and we only go to schools where community members have requested our program as a safe and all-inclusive alternative," June Everett, a campaign director for the After School Satan Club, told FOX News.
The school district said administrators are reviewing the situation.
"The requests for rental of Guilford County Schools facilities by the Good News Club and the After School Satan Club are under review and neither is authorized to use GCS facilities at this time," the district said in a statement to the Rhino Times.
The district added that it is also "reviewing with its legal counsel how fliers for non-school sponsored clubs and events are distributed, as well as the district's obligation to grant organizations equitable access to our public facilities."
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