The organization known as the Satanic Temple is preparing to send chaplains to schools in the US state of Florida as a bill to allow volunteer chaplains in schools nears passage.
The religious group, which does not actually believe in Satan, promotes “effective and artistic protest” according to its website.
In the 10 years since its founding, the group has defended First Amendment rights as well as religious freedom across the United States.
The Satanic Temple also runs a number of after-school clubs that claim to be alternatives to the offerings of other religions. These clubs are only formed when there are other religious groups on campus.
Now the Florida State Legislature is about to pass a bill that would allow the group’s chaplains to enter schools alongside other religious leaders.
Bill 931, also known as Senate Bill 7044, has passed its final committee hearing in the past few days. A final vote in the Senate is imminent and the law will take effect on July 1, ready for the next academic year.
The Satanic Temple has not yet responded to The Independent’s request for comment, but one of its leaders told the Tallahassee Democrat that the group is ready to help children.
“In any opportunity that exists in the public sector for priests or religious workers, there should be no discrimination based on religious beliefs,” Penemue Grigori, director of religious services at the Satanic Temple, said in an interview with the publication.
Our chaplains look forward to participating in opportunities to do good in society alongside chaplains of other religions, including the opportunities provided by this bill.
The group aims to offer this alternative to schoolchildren and advocates for reproductive rights, the safety of mental health patients and alternative methods of addiction recovery.
These issues he advocates for seem to overlap with the ideas behind the Florida bill, which was presented as a way to address students’ mental health needs.
However, children will need parental consent to meet with a religious worker. A background check will be required before a volunteer can work in a school. In addition, school boards or an independent school administrator will decide how the new policy is implemented.
A similar bill was recently passed in Utah, promising that clergy would be “fair to all, regardless of denomination”. Texas passed its own version last year.
source news : https://www.independent.co.uk/news
