The Satanic Temple will launch its own religious release program at Edgewood Elementary in the Marysville Schools district as a counter to LifeWise Academy, which currently offers religious educational programming in the district.
The Salem, Massachusetts-based Satanic Temple first announced the program in a Nov. 23 Facebook post and spoke to WOSU on Wednesday.
Satanic Temple representative June Everett said the Hellions Academy for Independent Learning, or HAIL program, aligns with the organization's beliefs called the "7 tenets."
Everett said the Satanic Temple has been launching the program during school time in response to LifeWise Academy doing the same thing.
"We really we are no fan of it. We do believe strongly in religious pluralism and religious freedom. But we would absolutely go away if they stopped doing their program. But until they can, you know, as long as they continue to offer this to the public schools and demand that they be in the public schools, we will be there as well," Everett said.
The Satanic Temple has a history of taking similar actions when Christian groups attempt to put themselves into traditionally secular spaces.
In Arkansas in 2017, a statue of the Ten Commandments was placed outside the state capital building. In response, the temple tried to get its own statue of a winged-goat creature placed in front of the building. The temple was ultimately blocked from doing so.
In Iowa in 2023, the group was allowed to put up a shrine around Christmas time in the Iowa Capital building. The shrine was ultimately vandalized and destroyed by a Mississippi man who pled guilty to felony charges.
This isn't the first time the Satanic Temple has tried to launch the HAIL program in public schools in Ohio. The program was previously launched as an after-school program in Lebanon, Eaton and Wilmington. Those programs have since ceased.
LifeWise Academy operates religious release programs in several other central Ohio school districts, including Hilliard, Worthington and Upper Arlington. LifeWise Academy programming is also currently available at more than 500 locations in 23 states.
Everett said the Satanic Temple doesn't actually worship the biblical devil. Everett explained the program does preach individualism, compassion and bodily autonomy, which is largely what the after-school programming would be about.
"We are not devil worshipers. Different Satanists across the United States will give you different answers depending on how they personally believe. But as a whole, we are non-theistic, meaning we don't believe in any supernatural deities, and that includes, you know, God or Satan," Everett said.
Despite this, the temple usually gets backlash for its actions. Everett said a Satanic Temple religious release program in Memphis, Tennessee was met with threats and violence.
Everett said the Marysville program already has some participants lined up, and is set to launch next month.
"When you see us operating our programs, it should be a healthy and happy reminder that religious freedom is still a choice and religious pluralism is still a thing here in our state, in our country," Everett said.
LifeWise CEO Joel Penton sent a statement to WOSU in response to the Satanic Temple religious release programming being launched in Marysville.
"The development in Marysville shows why the legislature should pass HB 445, which would give schools districts greater clarity on how to implement released time religious instruction (RTRI). LifeWise isn’t fearful of other organizations offering RTRI. We believe all families should have the opportunity to choose religious study during school hours and we trust parents to make the best choice for their children," Penton said.
Marysville School District did not respond to a request for comment.
