( The Hill ) – The Satanic Temple is increasing its work in schools across the country, trying to combat a rise in religious teachings.
The group, launched in 2013 to battle the “intrusion of Christian values on American politics,” recently began a religious release program in an Ohio school district and plans to expand to a district in Tennessee soon.
It does not seek to convert students toward Satan but wants to be a bulwark against increased religious education.
“A lot of people obviously hear the word Satan, and they tend to lose their minds wherever we go, there tends to be quite a community backlash,” said June Everett, campaign director for the After School Satan Club and Hellion Academy of Independent Learning (HAIL) for The Satanic Temple.
“I’m actually a little surprised that things have gone viral in Ohio, because we actually had three after school clubs in Ohio. It seems to be our most popular state, so I was thinking maybe launching the HAIL program in Marysville that everybody would sort of be over us, but apparently, they are not,” she added.