In a recent controversy that has sparked some heated debates, the Satanic Temple and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis find themselves at odds over religious freedoms.
The Satanic Temple, recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt religious organization, has challenged Governor DeSantis to a debate on their eligibility to participate in a new chaplain program signed into law.
The crux of the issue lies in a bill signed into law by Governor DeSantis, allowing school districts in Florida to adopt volunteer school chaplain services.
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As the Tampa Free Press reported, each school can implement a policy permitting volunteer school chaplains to provide support services and student programs.
However, the bill also prohibits certain religious groups from participating in the program, including the Satanic Temple.
DeSantis has made it clear that he does not consider the Satanic Temple to be a religion and, therefore, ineligible to serve as public school chaplains.
“Some have said that if you do a school chaplain program, that somehow you’re going to have Satanists running around in all our schools,” he said at a press conference at a high school in Kissimmee, where he also signed a bill (HB 1317) giving more school access to “patriotic organizations.”
“We’re not playing those games in Florida,” DeSantis said. “That is not a religion. That is not qualifying to be able to participate in this.”
DeSantis emphasized that the program is voluntary, allowing parents and students to choose whether to participate.
Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple, has responded to Governor DeSantis’ remarks by challenging him to a debate on religious freedom.
“Despite DeSantis’s contempt for religious liberty, the Constitution guarantees our equal treatment under the law, and DeSantis is not at liberty to amend the Constitution by fiat, at whim,” said Lucien Greaves, co-founder of the Satanic Temple. “He just invited Satanic chaplains into public schools, whether he likes it or not,”
Greaves added that the IRS recognizes the Satanic Temple as a tax-exempt church, further asserting its legitimacy as a religious organization.
As the bill progressed through the legislative process, the Satanic Temple threatened to sue the state if any of its members were banned from serving as chaplains. Greaves contends that excluding the Satanic Temple from the chaplain program would constitute discrimination.
The Satanic Temple’s executive director of operations, Rachel Chambliss, has even extended an invitation to Governor DeSantis for a public debate on their status as a federally recognized religious organization.
Governor DeSantis has not responded to the Satanic Temple’s challenge or the request for a debate. However, Greaves believes that if the governor continues to exclude the Satanic Temple from the chaplain program, it would demonstrate a disregard for the intelligence of the people of Florida.
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