MEDIA, Pennsylvania —Joseph Rose, the founder of a local organization called Satanic Delco, says fellow Satanists with children attending schools within the Rose Tree Media School District made him aware of the verbiage in the dress code banning any clothing or gear that are “satanic in nature.”
“The idea that a public school would allow religious expression in school, but choose to single out and prohibit the expression of one specific religion obviously seemed like a problem for us,” Rose said.
Not everyone is happy though. Some predictably made a comparison to Nazi symbols. Others had other worries.
“I wouldn’t want a Satanic or cultish anything on clothing in schools,” said Lisa Cutrufello of Clifton Heights.
Do the Satanists worship Satan?
Not according to their website, Satanic Delco:
No, nor do we believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural. We believe that religion can, and should, be divorced from superstition. As such, we do not promote a belief in a personal Satan. To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions. Satanists should actively work to hone critical thinking and exercise reasonable agnosticism in all things. Our beliefs must be malleable to the best current scientific understandings of the material world — never the reverse.
From the student handbook.
- 4. Students should not dress in a manner that advocates illegal or anti-social behavior. Examples of prohibited items include, but are not limited to clothing, patches, buttons, pins, jewelry, and backpacks that:
- ● Have sexually suggestive writing/pictures
- ● Advocate violence
- ● Advertise or promote the use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs
- ● Have double meaning wording or obscene language/gestures
- ● Are disrespectful
- ● Satanic in nature
