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Nope. No way. Absolutely not.

Parents in Chesapeake, Virginia, are speaking out against the possible creation of an “After School Satan Club” chapter at an elementary school because sanity left the building a long time ago.

The local school board is currently looking at whether or not the club would pose a safety risk, according to WVEC.

The co-founder of The Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, went off “Jesse Watters Primetime” on Thursday to defend their push to have a presence at schools. However, Greaves decided to argue that this was a matter of freedom.

“We’re not looking to convert people into Satanism. We’re not even teaching children about Satanism,” Greaves said.

“You need to ask yourself if your distaste over us identifying as Satanists is strong enough that you would abandon the principles of free speech and religious liberty,” he said.

Satanic Temple Spokesperson Lucien Greaves joins Jesse Watters to talk about the "After School Satan Club." pic.twitter.com/W5zXmAiA4q

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) December 16, 2022

Yes, Greaves, it is enough for me to “abandon” those principles, but I’m not actually abandoning them at all. The question here is not whether or not The Satanic Temple has first amendment rights like any other political or religious group, the question is whether or not they should be granted a club that pushes the idea that Satan is good for the next generation. As RedState has reported before, this would not be the first club of its kind.

There is no liberty in Satanism. There is no free speech in Satanism. Nothing good comes from Satanism, period.

However, they want the program to seem completely innocent. The Satanic Temple’s website says they promote “good works” and want children to have a space to be free from “threats of eternal damnation.”

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. 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.

They also attempt to reassure that they have no interest in converting people:

Proselytization is not our goal, and we’re not interested in converting children to Satanism. 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.

I don’t care what this group claims to value, even secular schools have a responsibility to understand that this is not something that should be in an educational environment with impressionable young people.

While someone could argue “you mean there should only be clubs you agree with allowed at schools”, it’s missing the point. I think a secular school should welcome a wide variety of religious clubs, except for ones that could likely present a threat to students and the community, ergo Satanism.

Greaves hinted in the interview that this is really intended to push the bounds of the first amendment at schools and see how inclusive those institutions can really be. In that case, yes, the whole thing feels borderline satirical and I could be giving into their whole social experiment of being another pearl-clutching Christian. And if that’s the case, so be it. It’s not worth the risk.