Summary
The Satanic Temple will launch a religious program, HAIL (Hellion Academy of Independent Learning), at Edgewood Elementary in Marysville, Ohio, offering an alternative to the evangelical LifeWise program.
LifeWise, part of a growing “release time” religious instruction trend, removes students weekly for Christian teachings.
Critics argue it alienates non-Christian students and raises concerns about religious pluralism in schools.
The Satanic Temple’s HAIL program emphasizes empathy, pluralism, and critical thinking in its program, removing students monthly.
The only tenet I take issue with is 4. I used to be a really strong proponent of absolute free speech but after seeing the mess of propaganda and conspiracies that have thrived in the relatively free environment of the internet I’ve taken a more nuanced approach. While I still believe you should have the right to say anything you want and be free from censorship, I think there’s a co-equal right that other people have the right not to be subjected to what you have to say. As with many things I think the key here is consent. While you shouldn’t be outright censored what you say should have content warnings and people should need to opt in before being shown whatever it is.
I am with you there. It’s a difficult dynamic, I have to say, so I’m not quite sure where I fall on it.
I would assume that the origins of this tenet lay in TST’s role as a force of upset for majority Christian communities. Their existence and beliefs offend the very nature of religious conservatism, so it would be hypocritical of them to say that your words and actions should not offend others.
But when the power dynamics are reversed, with things like conspiracy theories and radicalized racism being wielded as weapons by the ruling class and bleeding into government, no one should be told to just deal with it or respect their right to say these incredibly hurtful/dangerous things.