A Massachusetts-based group of political activists that fight against religion in elementary classrooms will begin petitioning in the fall to set up after school programs to counterbalance Christian after school programs.
A 2001 Supreme Court decision allowed Good News Club, an after school Christian club, to continue to operate in schools, and the Satanic Temple, which has 20 chapters across the US, says this is indoctrinating children into evangelicalism.
The temple’s co-founder Doug Mesner, who goes by the name of Lucien Greaves, says: ‘It’s critical that children understand that there are multiple perspectives on all issues, and that they have a choice in how they think.’
Good News Clubs teaches Evangelical Christian gospel and Bible scripture in elementary schools across the nation. Children must have parental permission to attend the club, which is in 3,560 schools, over five percent of all schools, according to The Washington Post.
Mesner added: ‘If Good News Clubs would operate in churches rather than public schools, that need would disappear. But our point is that if you let one religion into the public schools you have to let others, otherwise it’s an establishment of religion.’
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