Believe it or not, the Satanic Temple is striking back again by putting together it’s very own Children Protection Program. In response to a recent School Board decision in Orange County, Florida that allows for the dissemination of religious materials in public schools, The Satanic Temple has announced they will follow suit by providing Satanic materials to students during the new school year. Among the materials to be distributed are pamphlets related to the Temple’s tenets, philosophy and practice of Satanism, as well as information about the legal right to practice Satanism in school.
This is what the Satanic Temple proposes to the students across the USA that are feeling oppressed and discriminated against by the autorities of their respective schools:
The PROTECT CHILDREN PROJECT offers First Amendment protection to support children who may be at risk for being subjected to mental or physical abuse in school by teachers and administrators through the use of solitary confinement, restraints, and corporal punishment. If your deeply held beliefs oppose: school faculty hitting you, physically restraining you, depriving you use of the bathroom, or holding you against your will in an isolation room — please REGISTER. The Satanic Temple will put your school board on notice that harming you violates your civil rights. All religious denominations are welcome. You do not need to be a member of the Temple or even hold any religious affiliations to register. Registration does not make you a member of the Temple. [1]
The Satanic Temple poposes two fact sheets in order to help the children to determine when they are being bullied by the school authorities:
Fact Sheet for Corporal Punishments
Fact Sheet for Solitary Confinement
If there is one thing that can be said about the Satanic Temple, whether you approve what they are doing or not, is that THEY DON’T MESS AROUND. This is the letter that the Satanic Temple offers to send to the Public School Board on the students behalf:
Dear School Board:
I am a member of The Satanic Temple, a religious organization whose adherents believe one’s body is inviolable and thus subject to one’s own will alone. It is our religious belief that you do not have the right or authority to inflict pain or psychological abuse of any kind on any individual who attends your schools. This includes, without limitation, the use of corporal punishment, the imposing of physical restraints, restricting bathroom access, and the use of isolation rooms or other means of solitary confinement.I am writing to advise you that we take our beliefs seriously. We are prepared to take legal action if they are violated, including, without limitation, filing civil suit pursuant to 42 U.S.C.§1983 against anyone associated with your school district who inflicts punishments of the aforementioned kind on any individual who attends your school.
The Satanic Temple has been advised that [STUDENT] shares our relgious belief. I am writing to request that you notify the principal, teachers, and other staff who have contact with this student about these religious beliefs and direct them not to willfully inflict any kind of physical or psychological harm for any reason. Please confirm whether you will comply with this request. Your cooperation would be appreciated.
Very truly yours,
Malcolm Jarry
CC: [STUDENT]
