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The Satanic Temple Wants to Save Kids from Abusive Teachers

The Temple plans to erect billboards in areas that still allow corporal punishment in public schools and notify school boards of children's civil rights.

Given the right context, and everyone's permission, spanking can be a lot of fun. But that's probably not true for public school students in the 19 states where corporal punishment is still allowed. Thankfully, though, the Satanic Temple has stepped in to help.

After crusading for various free speech issues in schools, the Temple is now campaigning to end corporal punishment in public schools by launching the Protect Children Project. Children can register with the project—regardless of religious affiliation—and it will notify that child's school board that any harm toward them is a violation of their civil rights.

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"The Protect Children Project utilizes the First Amendment to protect public school students from being subjected to corporal punishment, solitary confinement, physical restraints, and the deprivation of bathroom access as these abusive practices violate our religious belief of bodily inviolability," according to the press release.

Alongside the announcement, the Temple also plans to erect a giant billboard along Route 199 in Springtown, Texas. Back in 2012, the town's school board decided to change its rules, rather than discipline a male teacher who broke school policy when he paddled two female students. Now male administrators in those schools can physically punish female students as long as there is another female faculty member present.

The proposed billboard for Springtown reads "Never be hit in school again. Exorcise your religious rights," alongside a giant pentagram and more information about the Protect Children Project.

"Hopefully, our billboard will serve as a daily reminder to the citizens there that they live in a barbaric backwater town where dysfunctional and possibly sexually disturbed middle-aged men may depravedly titillate themselves by violently spanking teenaged girls," Satanic Temple spokesperson Lucien Graves said in the church's statement

In its dogged pursuit of religious equality, the Satanic Temple has launched After School Satan Clubs in school districts that have after school Christian programs, which promote "a rationalist, scientific, non-superstitious worldview." It's also distributed Satanic coloring books in a Florida school district that allowed the distribution of Christian religious pamphlets.

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