Satanic clubs, whose members do not worship the devil, usually formed in response to presence of religious groups in schools

Community members in a Tennessee school district want to banish Satan from their children’s halls after the formation of a new club was announced.

The After School Satan Club (ASSC) wants to establish a branch in Chimneyrock elementary school in the Memphis-Shelby county schools (MSCS) district.

The ASSC is a federally recognized nonprofit organization and national after-school program with local chapters across the US. The club is associated with the Satanic Temple, though it claims it is secular and “promotes self-directed education by supporting the intellectual and creative interests of students”.

The Satanic Temple makes it clear its members do not actually worship the devil or believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. Instead Satan is used as a symbol of free will, humanism and anti-authoritarianism.

  • TurboWafflz@lemmy.world
    22·
    11 months ago

    You do know that people are allowed to use names from things they don’t actually believe, right? If someone called their club The Zeus Club, would you think they believed in Zeus or just that they thought it was a cool name?

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
      133·
      11 months ago

      If they were called “The Zeus Worshippers” I would indeed believe they worship Zeus.

      It’s called “Satanic Temple”. This isn’t a vague reference to atheism.

      • hips_and_nips@lemmy.world
        32·
        11 months ago

        Oh, so with that logic you believe the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea is a democratic republic.

        I guess you’ve also never heard of the English idiom “don’t judge a book by its cover”.

      • lingh0e@lemmy.world
        111·
        11 months ago

        Did you know that Cub Scouts isn’t compromised of bear cubs?

        Did you know that the only baseball teams that take part in The World Series are North American?

        Did you know that Dr Pepper is neither a doctor nor a pepper?

        So what’s really up your craw?

        • Linkerbaan@lemmy.world
          114·
          11 months ago

          In both your examples at least half the name is relevant to what it is about.

          This club is not about Satan nor about a Temple.

          I understand that atheists have to be really edgy but there are actual Satanic temples and people who worship Satan so using that name is plain misleading as it’s stealing a different religion.

          • lingh0e@lemmy.world
            4·
            11 months ago

            Lol. I love how consumed you are with trying to argue about this, insisting that this is just atheists trying to be edgy…

            They are trolling stupid assholes and you are absolutely taking the bait.

            Congratulations, you’re a stupid asshole.

      • TurboWafflz@lemmy.world
        3·
        11 months ago

        Really? I mean maybe think about it in a different context, what if you saw an album from a band called The Zeus Worshippers, would you think “ahh yes, religious music” or would you think “ooh, sounds like an interesting metal band”