Satanic Temple infiltrates Connecticut elementary school with After School Satan Club

"After School Satan Club is coming to Connecticut!" The group announced on Instagram. "The state's first ASSC will launch on December 1st at Lebanon Elementary School in just a few weeks. ASSC volunteers are ready to create a fun and inviting place for students to learn and make new friends. If you are in the area and would like your student to join in on the fun, please complete the E-Permission slip here: TST.LINK/ASSCSignup."

The Satanic Temple has been making substantial inroads in the United States. In April they held the largest Satanic gathering in history in Boston. In Illinois, an elementary school was forced to allow the After School Satan Club to go forward. The Satanic Temple launched an After School Satan Club in Virginia, and in Pennsylvania, a Lehigh Valley school lost a court battle trying to prevent the group from bringing an After School Satan Club to their town.

The ACLU praised the ruling, saying that it was "a victory for free speech and religious freedom" for schools to be made to allow a club honoring Satan, though they favor restricting schools from offering prayer.

"In a victory for free speech and religious freedom, a federal court has ruled that the Saucon Valley School District must allow the After School Satan Club to meet in district facilities," the ACLU said.

"The Satanic Temple (TST), which sponsors the [After School Satans Club], likewise applied to use school facilities after being contacted by a local parent who hoped to bring to the region a non-Christian religious club that would be safe and inclusive for their non-Christian children," the ACLU said.

"The After School Satan Club does not believe in introducing religion into public schools and will only open a club if other religious groups are operating on campus," they state on their site. "ASSC exists to provide a safe and inclusive alternative to the religious clubs that use threats of eternal damnation to convert school children to their belief system. Unlike our counterparts, who publicly measure their success in young children's 'professions of faith,' the After School Satan Club program focuses on science, critical thinking, creative arts, and good works for the community. While engaged in all of these activities, we want clubgoers to have a good time."

The Satanic Temple also has college chapters.