Satanic Temple awaits passage of school chaplains bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – As legislation that would allow volunteer chaplains in Florida public schools nears passage, The Satanic Temple says it’s looking forward to the opportunity.

“Any opportunity that exists for ministers or chaplains in the public sector must not discriminate based on religious affiliation,” The Satanic Temple’s director of ministry, who goes by Penemue Grigori, said in an email.

“Our ministers look forward to participating in opportunities to do good in the community, including the opportunities created by this bill, right alongside the clergy of other religions.”

The House has already approved its version of the legislation (HB 931). The Senate bill (SB 7044) got through its final committee earlier this week, setting it up for a final vote in that chamber.

But First Amendment advocates and others already are questioning how local school districts, if they choose to do so, will put the chaplain program into practice without running afoul of concerns over religious freedom.

The measure, geared at helping address students’ mental health needs, authorizes school districts and charter schools to adopt a policy “to provide support, services, and programs to students.”

It requires parental consent before a student meets with a chaplain and says they must undergo background checks first. It also mandates that districts publish a list of the chaplains on its website and for school principals to inform parents about them.

Other than that, most of the rollout of the legislation is left to local school officials. But one thing they couldn’t do is exclude religions, said Ryan Jayne of the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s lobbying arm. That includes satanic ones.

“I think there is a 100% chance you see satanic chaplains, and also of course other religious minorities that the majority-Christian population might not be a fan of,” said Jayne, the senior policy counsel for the FFRF Action Fund. “The Satanic Temple is a church, whether people like it or not. And the idea that you can just exclude a disfavored minority religion from a bill, it just runs straight into the First Amendment.”

When asked if she had concerns about satanic chaplains, bill sponsor and Republican state Sen. Erin Grall said she did.

“But I think that as soon as we get in the middle of defining what is religion and what is not, and whether or not someone can be available and be on a list, we start to run up to constitutional problems,” Grall said.