The Satanic Temple has been approved to hold an event at a Pennsylvania high school — and taxpayers will fund it.
The Northern York County School District said in a statement that they granted permission for “the Satanic Temple to use our facility as we were required to do so by Board policy No. 707.”
The event will be held on September 24 and, under the policy, the school district will be required to cover any rental, custodial, security and auditorium tech fees, local station WJAC reports.
“As a public school district, the use of our school facilities must be permitted without discrimination,” the school district’s statement continued. “We cannot and do not arbitrarily pick and choose which organization may or may not use our facilities. If we allow one organization, we must allow all organizations, provided they satisfy the conditions and application requirements as set forth in Policy 707.”
The district added that they do not endorse organizations who are renting their facilities.
The Satanic Temple has had their sights set on the school district ever since they learned that a Christian Dillsburg Community Worship and Prayer event was hosted at the high school.
As Gateway previously reported, in April, the Satanic Temple filed a lawsuit against the school district for refusing to allow them to host an “After School Satan Club” at the elementary school.
The organization’s legal team argued that the school violated the First Amendment by allowing some groups to host events and not others.
According to their website, the Satanic Temple after-school clubs “meet at select public schools where Good News Clubs also operate. Trained educators provide activities and learning opportunities, which students are free to engage in, or they may opt to explore other interests that may be aided by available resources. The environment is open and parents are welcome to participate. While the classes are designed to promote intellectual and emotional development in accordance with TST’s tenets, no proselytization or religious instruction takes place.”
“Proselytization is not our goal, and we’re not interested in converting children to Satanism,” the organization’s mission statement reads. “After School Satan Clubs will focus on free inquiry and rationalism, the scientific basis for which we know what we know about the world around us. We prefer to give children an appreciation of the natural wonders surrounding them, not a fear of everlasting other-worldly horrors.”