An Oklahoma bill that would allow religious chaplains to counsel children in public schools could lead to the Satanic Temple (TST) embedding its own so-called “ministers” in the school system.
If passed through the state senate, the bill would take effect Nov. 1 and allow public schools to employ volunteer or full-time chaplains. In response, the Satanic Temple has embraced the bill, promising to embed their own ministers in schools. “While we would prefer states to invest in professional counselors over unlicensed religious support for students, we are prepared to adapt to these legislative conditions,” stated TST’s Executive Director of Operations Rachel Chambliss.
“SB 36 offers an unprecedented opportunity for our Ministers of Satan to join the state workforce,” Chambliss continued. “With State Superintendent Walters and 54 House representatives endorsing the bill, we anticipate extensive political support to ensure that TST’s Satanic chaplains are afforded equal opportunities to participate in this program.”
TST exists predominantly to remove Christianity from public spaces. As John Daniel Davidson explains in his book “Pagan America: The Decline of Christianity and the Dark Age to Come,” “[The Satanic Temple’s] first public stunt came in 2013, when it announced plans to place a large statue of Baphomet, a goat-headed pagan idol associated with the occult, beside a monument of the Ten Commandments on the Oklahoma Capitol grounds. The First Amendment, the group argued, means public spaces should be open to all religions or none. (Eventually, a court ordered the Ten Commandments monument removed, and although it was not a party to the lawsuit, the Satanic Temple claimed victory.)”
“Similar stunts followed, like a mock rally in support of then governor Rick Scott of Florida, who was pushing a bill to allow voluntary prayer at public school functions,” Davidson added. “The Satanic Temple showed up at the Florida State Capitol with a banner declaring, ‘Hail Satan! Hail Rick Scott!’ Their point, said Jarry, was to express ‘how happy we were because now our Satanic children could pray to Satan in school.’”
Notably, the Satanic Temple does not claim to worship the Devil, instead describing itself as “non-theist.” The only faith the temple subscribes to is radical leftism. In other words, TST is a political troll organization aimed at bullying Christianity into the shadows of private life.
On the bright side, Oklahoma’s State Superintendent Ryan Walters does not appear fazed by TST’s intimidation tactics, writing on X, “Satanists are not welcome in Oklahoma schools, but they are welcome to go to hell.” Good. Let’s pray Walters sticks to his guns.
