Satanists applying to fill school counselor roles in Florida after DeSantis law

Satanists in Florida are volunteering to fill school counselor roles after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a law allowing religious chaplains into public schools, while the education industry struggles with staffing shortages.

In a statement to The Hill, Lucien Greaves, a co-founder and spokesperson for The Satanic Temple, shared more light on their temple’s efforts.

“Nothing in the text of the bill serves to exclude us, and no credible interpretation of the First Amendment could. Should a school district now choose to have chaplains, they should expect Satanists to participate as well,” Greaves said.

When the bill was signed into law in April, DeSantis said that Satanism was “not a religion” and its members wouldn’t be allowed to participate in the new program despite growing concerns that they might.

“We’re not playing those games in Florida. That is not a religion. That is not qualifying to be able to participate in [the chaplain program.] We’re going to be using common sense… you don’t have to worry about that,” DeSantis said at the time .

However, Greaves says he was taken aback by the comments as the Republican governor had “openly lied to the public” about the situation.

“Either entirely ignorant of the most basic fundamentals of constitutional law, or too incompetent to care, DeSantis fails to recognize that it is not the place of the government to confer unique rights to one religious identity while denying them to another,” he said.

While in some states, Christianity is being used as lesson material in public school environments, including mandates that the Bible or Ten Commandments be taught in classrooms, the Satanic Temple has been fighting back.

The temple has leaned into the fight over freedom of religion and has even established After School Satan Clubs across the country.

Founded in 2014, the temple says it is on a mission to “encourage benevolence and empathy, [and] reject tyrannical authority.”