A Pennsylvania school modified its dress code after complaints from the founder of a satanic group he described as discriminatory.
Joseph Rose who runs Demonic Delco, says fellow Satanists who have children in schools in the Rose Tree Media School District and alerted him to language in the dress code prohibiting “inherently demonic” clothing or equipment, WPVI mentioned.
Rose then embarked on a month-long campaign to get district officials to remove the talk, the station reported.
“Obviously the idea that a public school would allow religious expression in school, but choosing to limit and prohibit expression of a particular religion was a problem for us,” Rose told WPVI.
The province’s dress code prohibited clothing and items containing sexually suggestive images, those that advocate violence or promote the use of alcohol or drugs, and any that are in obscene or “disrespectful” language, as well as demonic images.
WPVI reports that District Administrator, Eleanor Di Marino Lenin, sent out an announcement confirming the change.
“Although we have had no complaint or concern by any student, we will remove such language from the existing dress code information in the Student Handbook,” the letter states.
The station stated that reactions to the change of dress code were mixed.
“I really like the way they worded it,” Villanova law professor Ann Giuliano said, adding that district officials likely took the right step. “They realize that there can be religious beliefs in question – not their existence – but that they can exist, so they will take them out.”
Residents in Midia, where the area is located, were less enthusiastic about the move.
“As far as kids are concerned, I don’t think you want to start having thoughts in their heads about demonic things or anything else,” Richard Phillips told the station.
Another resident wondered if changing the dress code language had gone too far to please one group.
“It’s like a free speech issue,” Donna Willis told WPVI. “Will they allow the Nazis to put symbols on children’s T-shirts and send them to school?”
Lisa Cotrofilo, from nearby Clifton Heights, said she agreed.
“I don’t want satanism or worship anything on clothes in schools,” she said.
Meanwhile, Rose is already working on a similar campaign in another school district in Glen Mills. He wants the Garnet Valley School District, which currently bans demonic or cult-related equipment, to drop that language from its dress code policy.
“It kind of raises awareness about what Satanists are, and what we’re not, and maybe it helps empower us a little bit when we have to get to our next high school, which I do,” he told WPVI.
The Satanic Delco website says that its followers do not worship Satan and do not believe in the existence of Satan or the supernatural.
The site reads: “We believe that religion can and should be separated from superstition.” “As such, we do not encourage belief in a personal demon. Embracing the name Satan means embracing rational research removed from supernatural doctrine and superstition based on ancient traditions.”
groups private facebook page He describes it as an “active, independent group” of modern Satanists stationed near Philadelphia. As of Thursday, it has 316 members.
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