Satan club plans to meet after classes at Tennessee elementary school

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An After School Satan Club plans to offer activities to children at a Tennessee elementary school after the Christmas holidays, officials said.

The Satanic Temple plans to house the club at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova, news media reported. The meeting will begin Jan. 10 in the school's library and continue through the spring semester, according to an announcement posted on social media Tuesday.

A flyer about the club says that the Satanic Temple is a non-theistic religion that views Satan “as a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and defending the human mind and soul.”

It says it does not try to convert children to any religious ideology, but offers activities that “emphasize a scientific, rationalistic, non-superstitious worldview.”

Memphis-Shelby County Schools said in a statement that the district would lease the space to the organization under its policy.

“As a public school district, we are committed to upholding the principles of the First Amendment, which guarantees equal access to all nonprofit organizations that wish to use our facilities after school,” the statement said. “This means that we cannot approve or deny an organization's request solely based on its views or beliefs.”