Portland elementary school will host After School Satan club meeting

PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) - The After School Satan club is coming to an elementary school in Portland very soon.

It has parents of students at Sacramento Elementary School talking after the Parkrose School District allowed it, by law.

Parents dropping their kids off at Sacramento Elementary Wednesday morning were buzzing after finding out about the club.

"I just don't want my kids to be around it," parent Mary Jane Damatan said.

"Anything that has to do with a satanic environment just doesn't sound like a healthy environment," mom of three Alisa Sherman said.

Thomas Holt, who has a first grader at Sacramento, says parents "are going to see the word 'satanic' and go, 'Oh no, no thank you.'"

The new club, set to start later this fall, is called the After School Satan Cluband is run by the Satanic Temple, a national organization.

Finn Rezz heads up the Satanic Temple's Portland chapter. He says they use satanism as a metaphor, basing it off of the literary interpretation where the devil is a rebel, questioning cultural norms and labels. Rezz says they are offering the polar opposite of the Good News Club,a non-denominational Christian club that meets weekly.

A 2001 Supreme Court ruling gives both groups the right to hold meetings at schools. Still, KATU learned some parents are banding together and will try to challenge the Parkrose School District on the matter.

"They talk about love, respect, kindness," Sherman, whose kids attend the Good News Club, said.

"They teach them about God, of course, but it's more about loving themselves and believing (in) themselves," added Krystal Hedlund, whose children attend the Good News Club, too.

Sam Hess said he takes issue with the Christian club on school grounds.

"They're trying to address the other group that's teaching real vulnerable kids about religion," Hess says. "And my opinion (is) that people should teach religion at home."

"We are offering an alternative program that basically teaches kids how to think critically and look at things from a scientific perspective," Rezz explains.

That would be OK with some parents, if it weren't for the name.

"We are Christian, but we want our children to know that that's not the only viewpoint, so that we would be interested in, but just trying to cloak something in the satanic name, I don't know what the point is," questions Allison Holt.

"Whether they're teaching science-based stuff, I just don't like the thought of it being a satanic group that would be leading our kids," Sherman says.

The After School Satan Club is slated to hold its first meeting on Oct. 19, but may be pushed back to November, in order to educate parents about the group. The club is also approved to meet in Nehalem Elementary School, which also has a Good News Club.