ORLANDO, Fla. – A Satanic group is pushing to hand out literature to students at Orange County public schools.
The group, called The Satanic Temple, announced plans to distribute materials, citing the school board's recent decision that allows for the dissemination of religious materials.
The group released a statement on its website:
This effort came about when the Orange County school system allowed an evangelical Christian group to distribute Bibles while censoring atheist materials distributed by the Wisconsin-basedFreedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a nonprofit that strives to uphold the principle of separation of state and church. In response, FFRF sued the Orange County School Board. Neither FFRF nor The Satanic Temple agree with the school board's decision to allow the distribution of religious materials in schools; however, The Satanic Temple seeks to ensure that pluralism is respected whenever the Church/State division is breached.
The Satanic Temple said it is in the process of designing a pamphlet to distribute to high schools in Orange County and hopes to begin delivering the information in the coming months.
Orange County school leaders say any literature would have to be approved before it can be passed out to students. Schools spokeswoman Kathy Marsh said no one from the group has contacted Orange County Public Schools about the initiative.
The group said it wants a true separation of church and state, but because OCPS has allowed other religious groups to distribute materials, it wants students to have a wide variety from which to choose.
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