Liberty Council voices spurious objections to Satanic after-school clubs after years of litigating in favor of religious clubs in schools

Salem, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/03/2016 --A litigious group masquerading as a so-called "Liberty Council" recently made news when it stated spurious objections to The Satanic Temple's plans to introduce afterschool clubs across the nation. These clubs will only be established at schools where Good News Clubs currently meet. Sponsored by Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), the Good News Clubs threaten children with eternal suffering if they do not behave in accordance with CEF doctrine. Many people consider this to be a form of child abuse. The Satanic Temple has stated that their After School Satan Clubs (ASSC) will be support the autonomy of every child and be devoid of religious teaching.

The so-called Liberty Council claims that their mission is to advance religious freedom, but the only religion they seek to advance is their own version of Christianity. They have announced that they are offering their legal services to maintain their privileged status by trying to keep ASSC out of schools. This effort flies in the face of the very same Supreme Court ruling that the Liberty Council fought for. In a Washington Post article dated July 30, 2016, Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman, Mat Staver, stated, "[A]fter-school Satanic clubs… have a First Amendment right to meet." By August 02, 2016, Liberty Counsel released a press statement quoting Staver saying, "The so-called Satanist group has nothing good to offer the students and its entire reason for existence is to be disruptive. Schools do not have to tolerate groups which disrupt the school and target other legitimate clubs."

"The argument levied by the Good News Club is insensible and absurd," claims Satanic Temple spokesperson and co-founder Lucien Greaves. "When the Good News Club first tried to insinuate its way into public schools, the reasonable concern was that its presence would be considered disruptive. Justice Scalia rejected this argument stating that speech could not be limited just because somebody objected loudly enough." Despite the fact that many people find the Good News Club's presence to be loathsome and disruptive, the Good News Club was permitted to hold meetings at public schools. "Further," Greaves adds, "Staver has never seen the After School Satan Club curriculum, yet he seems to be commenting upon its content. Staver claims that the After School Satan Clubs only exist to counter the Good News Clubs, and are therefore 'disruptive.' A better argument can be made that Good News Clubs only exist to counter secular education, and are much more disruptive."

Greaves adds, "The hypocrisy of the Liberty Council is so egregious that it should be offensive to even their supporters who genuinely advocate for religious liberty and seek Government viewpoint neutrality. Mat Staver has made a mockery of the Liberty Counsel's claimed mission with his recent disingenuous and unintelligent statements. Claiming the Liberty Counsel fights for religious freedom while offering pro bono services to suppress religions they disapprove of is hypocritical and a bald faced attempt to advance theocracy."

For more information, see the After School Satan Club website: http://www.afterschoolsatan.com