Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci | Renacci's Facebook page
Ohio gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci | Renacci's Facebook page
The Satanic Temple After-School Satan Club's plan to use an elementary school cafeteria to host the after-school program for children in first through fifth grades has sparked some outrage.
In a release Friday, gubernatorial candidate Jim Renacci sided with parents who have expressed anger over the club, stating schools should just be safe places to learn.
“The Satan Club should have no access to our children, let alone hold meetings in our schools,” Renacci said in the release.
This comes as flyers posted around Donovan Elementary School in Lebanon advertised the club as an alternative to the school’s Christian-based “Good News Club,” receiving widespread criticism from parents.
“Parents have it hard enough trying to keep their children safe from the nefarious forces on the internet,” Renacci added in the release.
Following criticism of the flyers, Lebanon City Schools Superintendent Isaac Seevers sent a letter to concerned parents and community members, stating the Satanic Temple After-School Satan Club was not sponsored by the district or school.
With this, he stated the schools "do not endorse the activities or intent of this group or any other religiously affiliated groups."
The Satanic Temple's website states that the group does not worship Satan, but rather believes in "rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions," the Dayton Daily News reports.
The Satanic Temple After-School Satan Club is planned to focus on games, arts and crafts, science projects and nature activities, the Dayton Daily News said. Volunteers with the group have cleared criminal background checks, and students must have parental permission to attend it as with any other after-school program.
Despite this, it has still earned the disapproval of many, including Renacci.
Running for election this year, Renacci, 63, is an accountant and entrepreneur who once owned the Columbus Destroyers Arena Football Team. He won election to the U.S. Congress in 2010 as part of the Tea Party movement, and later endorsed Donald Trump over then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich in the 2016 primary for president.
Incumbent Gov. Mike DeWine will face off against Jim Renacci in the May 3 GOP gubernatorial primary. The winner will go on to appear on ballots for the general election on Nov. 8.
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