Satanic Temple prepares to enter Florida schools as state moves to pass bill allowing chaplains to volunteer
The group says it wants to offer an alternative to organised religion
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Your support makes all the difference.The organisation known as the Satanic Temple is getting ready to send its chaplains into Florida schools, as a bill edges closer to adoption that allows volunteer chaplains in schools.
The religious group, which does not actually believe in Satan, encourages “effective and artful protest”, according to its website.
In the ten years since its conception, the group has advocated for First Amendment rights, as well as religious freedom, across the United States.
The Satanic Temple also runs a series of after school groups, saying they are an alternative to offerings by other religions. Groups are only set up when other religious groups are present on campus.
Now, Florida’s legislature is close to passing a bill which would allow the group’s chaplains into schools alongside other religious leaders.
The bill, known as House Bill 931 or Senate Bill 7044, passed its final committee hearing earlier this week. A final Senate vote looks imminent, with the law set to take effect on 1 July, ready for the next school year.
The Satanic Temple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Independent, but one of its leaders told the Tallahassee Democrat that the group was ready to help kids.
“Any opportunity that exists for ministers or chaplains in the public sector must not discriminate based on religious affiliation,” director of ministry Penemue Grigori told the outlet.
“Our ministers look forward to participating in opportunities to do good in the community, including the opportunities created by this bill, right alongside the clergy of other religions.”
As well as seeking to offer that alternative for school kids, the group also advocates for reproductive rights, the safety of mental health patients and alternative addiction recovery methods.
These traits would seem to align with the ideas behind Florida’s bill, which is being touted as a way to help students with their mental health needs.
However, parents will have to give their consent before their child meets with a chaplain. Background checks will also be necessary before a volunteer can work in a school and it will be down to individual school boards or charter school leaders to decide how to adopt the new policy.
A similar bill passed recently in Utah, promising chaplains would be “nondenominational and fair to all”, while Texas passed its version last year.
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