In a preliminary injunction issued Monday, a federal judge has ruled that a school district in eastern Pennsylvania must rent space for an After School Satan Club.
Based on the ruling, Saucon Valley School District, located in Northampton County, will allow the After School Satan Club (sponsored by The Satanic Temple) to meet in their middle school.
In March, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a lawsuit in federal court against the Saucon Valley School District, alleging that the school violated the First Amendment by prohibiting the satanic club from meeting in district facilities.
“The Saucon Valley School District’s decision to cancel the After School Satan Club in response to public opposition sets a dangerous precedent,” said Sara Rose, deputy legal director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, in a March 30 statement. “The First Amendment protects the expression of unpopular or controversial views from government censorship. Once the district opened up school facilities to outside use, it was bound by the First Amendment to grant equal access to all groups, regardless of their religious beliefs or viewpoints.”
On May 1, U.S. District Court Judge John M. Gallagher ruled that the school district must allow the group to use the school’s facilities. While Gallagher granted the After School Satan Club to meet on specific dates, he denied a motion to require the school district to distribute After School Satan Club permission slips for students.
“Here, although The Satanic Temple, Inc.’s objectors may challenge the sanctity of this controversially named organization, the sanctity of the First Amendment’s protections must prevail,” Gallagher wrote in a memorandum opinion. “Indeed, it is the First Amendment that enumerates our freedoms to practice religion and express our viewpoints on religion and all the topics we consider sacred.”
Rose applauded the decision and said it “sends a powerful message that the First Amendment protects the viewpoints and beliefs of all people and faiths.”
June Everett, director of The Satanic Temple’s after school programs, called the ruling “welcome news for Saucon Valley students and families seeking to participate in the supportive and inclusive community provided by ASSC meetings.”
The Satanic Temple garnered media attention recently for opening an abortion clinic in New Mexico to provide “free religious medication abortion.” The group claims that abortion is a religious ritual and therefore exempts its adherents “from enduring medically unnecessary and unscientific regulations when seeking to terminate their pregnancy.”
