Trump blamed for rise of Satanism in schools as leader says 'we're not devil worshipers'
Trump has been blamed for the emergence of a Satanic Temple scheme spreading its teachings and ideology in an elementary school – the Satanists claim: 'It is not to push a religious agenda'
The emergence of a Satanic Temple spreading its teachings to young children has been blamed on decisions made under the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The Satanic Temple has offered new religious release programs for pupils at Edgewood Elementary School, Ohio. These satanic programs in question are put on once a month by the Satanic Temple, named the Hellions Academy of Independent Learning, with the very eerie abbreviation of “HAIL.”
Pupils on the program will be able to participate once a month and the program lead claims it will allow children to learn about values such as empathy, compassion, and justice in a fun environment free of religious pressure or coercion.
June Everett, the program director, revealed how most people react upon the discovery of the Satanic Temple and the scheme: “When they hear it, it’s initially shocking, oh the Satanic Temple.
“They automatically think evil and awful things. We are not devil worshipers. We are non-theistic Satanists.
"It is not to push a religious agenda. It’s just to have an alternative," Elswick said.
Elswick added: “We wanted to make sure that we had a program that was teaching compassion and empathy and also inclusion.
"Several parents had expressed concerns about their kids coming home and being bullied or made fun of and teased for not participating in the other programs in the area.”
Governor of Florida Ron Desantis has blamed US President Donald Trump for the Satanic Temple’s emergence spreading their ideology and values to children.
The governor revealed his initial reaction upon first discovering the program led by the Satanic Temple.
He said: “I heard this and then I was like, well, how did it get there? Is that even a religion? And lo and behold, the Trump administration gave them approval to be under the IRS as a religion.
“So that gave them the legal ability to potentially do it.
“My view would be that that’s not a religion that the founding fathers were trying to create. But I do think that IRS ruling, I was really surprised to see that they did that.”
These comments are due to actions made under Trump’s former administration as the Internal Revenue Service designated the Satanic Temple a church. This decision allowed the church to apply for faith based grants and tax exempt status.
Steven Cheung, previously Trump's campaign spokesman, slammed the comments on Fox news and branded them as "desperate".
He declared: “This is what desperate politicians do when they know their political lives are flashing before their eyes, they fabricate and completely make up ridiculous stories on CNN so they can appease their liberal audience.”
He added: “This is the moment scholars will point to of when the death of DeSantis’s career occurred.”
The Satanic temple has caused further fury amongst Republican senators after they set up a holiday display inside the state Capitol on December 2, 2023.
The holiday display featured a display of the pagan idol, Baphomet – a figure commonly associated with the Kinghts Templar. The display of the pagan idol was shown alongside the religion’s seven core beliefs.
Kim Reynolds, Iowa’s Republican Governor branded the display as “absolutely objectionable”.
Despite the outrage Iowa Department of Administrative Services have asserted the group met all of the requirements for the idol to be shown – earning them the right to erect their display.
Alongside this other lawmakers have acknowledged the display is protected by the group’s First amendment right to freedom of speech.