(NewsWorthy.news) – Florida’s Satanists have offered their services as school counselors following Republican Governor Ron DeSantis’ move to allow religious chaplains to fill the roles. DeSantis signed the bill in April to address staff shortages, and argued at the time that Satanism failed to qualify as a legitimate religion. He claimed that the law would not allow followers of Satanism to fill such roles.
Diane Roberts, an 8th generation Floridian, accused DeSantis of being obsessed with Satan and discriminating against Satanists, pagans and followers of other non-Christian religions. Roberts noted that the Satanic Temple is legally recognized as a church by the IRS, and argued that excluding its members from such jobs is therefore unconstitutional. She noted that Florida has sizable Hindu, Muslim, Zoroastrian and Satanist communities, and dismissed DeSantis’ claim that “every school was a religious school” in the era of George Washington.
Despite being recognized as a religion, the Satanic Temple follows Satanism as a non-theistic philosophy. Describing itself as the world’s leading Satanic organization, the Temple distances itself from the Church of Satan founded by Anton LaVey in the 1960s, which it calls “irrelevant”. The organization claims to be against hate groups and discrimination, and has campaigned against corporal punishment in schools. Its “fundamental tenets” promote empathy, compassion, justice and the “freedom to offend”, and encourage followers to avoid distorting science with belief.
According to a 2022 survey, 73% of Americans want religion to be separate from governmental policy. The Constitution limits the political powers of religious organizations under the Johnson Amendment. Nearly all State Constitutions refer to God or the divine, but the US Constitution does not specifically mention God.
Members of the Satanic Temple were reportedly angered by DeSantis’ denial of the organization’s religious status. Lucien Greaves, the group’s co-founder, accused DeSantis of lying openly to the public. He argued that the governor was in no position to hand rights to Christians while denying other religious groups the same rights. The leader of the Temple threatened legal action if DeSantis continued to deny Satanists access to schools.
The organization, which has long fought for religious freedoms in schools, states that it is not interested in proselytizing or converting children to Satanism. The Temple, which does not believe in the existence of God or the Devil, claims that it instead focuses on promoting critical thinking, science and the arts.
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