 Right wing evangelicals are having to learn the hard way that religious liberty doesn't just apply exclusively to them It actually applies to other religious people and non religious people as well quote parents of Chesapeake public schools are voicing concerns about a new Club called the after-school Satan Club It's supposed to have its first meeting in a few weeks at a bm-williams primary school Some parents argue that such a club does not need to be in a school with children So young but lawyers said the school must make room for it since it's attached to a religion one mom Melanie Ballard believes a Satan club Will shape her young son's mind in a sinister way quote But now it's okay to have devil worshiping in school around impressionable minds in age Ballard said Children absorb everything they see and hear and they model what they see adults do Ballard says she's furious and worries the school board will vote to host the club Some parents fear could lead to their kids being physically harmed Jesus Christ now I'm being concerned about the welfare of my child and other classmates of his that are maybe exposed to this satanic group She said I'm very concerned about it now June Everett the campaign director for the after-school Satan Club is saying that This isn't even a club about worshiping Satan. In fact, they're not proselytizing This is a club that is quite literally about rationality and promoting Science and using logic and the only reason why they're using Satan is Essentially for the symbolism since Satan legend has it was the first angel or so that was cast out of heaven for questioning God's authority. This is kind of the same thing where they want to question the authority of You know existing social norms. They want to embrace science. It's harmless it really is just a club for Kids to meet up and talk about things but because of the Satan label while parents are throwing conniption fits Now apparently the school released a letter saying that it's not district approved They made this very clear and they're gonna be taking this up At the next school board meeting now the indication is that if they take this up They could not approve of it But if they do that they're gonna be in some hot water Jack priest a professor of law at the University of Richmond said Chesapeake public schools don't really have a choice But to allow the club to exist it goes back to the First Amendment freedom of religion Priest said that if the school is going to allow one religious club to meet all other clubs have the right to meet regardless of Ideology quote to shut down the Satan club would bring down clubs from other religions priest said in other words If you're gonna allow one religious club, you've got to allow them all or none Now in the event They choose to shut down this club I think they'd find that preferable than having any religious club because that's how Harmful they believe Satan is when this is really completely harmless and innocent But this is something that evangelicals have been consistent with if they've been consistent on anything It's not believing that other religious affiliations are as legitimate as theirs when they say religious liberty and They imply that that gives them the right to discriminate They don't realize that religious liberty is Universal it doesn't just mean that you get the right to discriminate you get the right to Practice your religion to the detriment of anyone else in society It also means that other folks can practice their religions too Even if it's a religion that you don't agree with now in this instance It doesn't seem like the club is hyper religious or anything like that They're just again using Satan for symbolism, but hypothetically speaking Let's say that this was a club that was dedicated to worshiping the devil tough shit We live in a free country and these conservatives don't understand that freedom means that other people get to live their lives in a way That they don't necessarily agree with that's freedom That's how you maintain a healthy pluralistic society You've got to allow people to do what you yourself would not do even if you vehemently disagree with what they're doing Having an after-school Satan club is something that you don't have the right To shoot down unless you are going to forgo your right to have a Christian after-school club or a Catholic after-school club And I feel like I shouldn't have to explain this to evangelicals But when you have been the political Hegemon for decades in this country you almost feel entitled to where anyone else who tries to do what you do Exercise the same level of influence and autonomy as you do they view it as oppression themselves They view it as a threat to their children when in no way does this club threaten their children So I love this story so much because it shows you that Christians are hypocrites And when they say religious liberty really what they mean in actuality is religious liberty for me and not the Now by the time that you see this video the school board meeting will have already been conducted I believe it's scheduled for the 12th of December don't quote me on that though So we'll know if this school board actually voted this down again They emphasize in that school letter that this is not sanctioned by the school board and no employee of the school district is supporting this This is something that is out of their control But what they do have the power to do is Shut it down and if they do as the law professor points out Well, that's not gonna be good for them because they are forgoing the right to have other types of clubs as well So yeah, we'll have to wait and see what happens either way This is just really interesting because anytime you see Christians freaking out because other people are practicing their religion I think it's a really important to highlight that because we have to let these people know that Religious liberty is not exclusive to them. It applies to all of us equally You can choose any religion we want or we can choose to not be religious That's what comes with living in a free country and if you don't like it tough shit I Dreamed I saw my maternal grandmother. She was stroking herself I let her have her way Jenna the way was exposed I let her have her way