Claim: Schools in Florida are distributing satanic coloring books to children.
 | TRUE: The Satanic Temple has submitted a coloring book for distribution in Florida public schools. |
 | FALSE: The Orange County school board has decided to include the Satanic Coloring Book with other religious materials distributed in schools. |
Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2014]
"This site claims Satanic coloring books are being distributed in Florida schools. Is this true?"
Origins: On 30 October 2014, the Satanic Temple submitted a coloring book for distribution by Orange County Schools in Florida. The satanic coloring book is not, however, currently being given out to students. District counsel Woody Rodriguez said the district's legal staff needs to review the material before it is approved for distribution:
"We definitely, definitely will not be distributing those materials until we have a work session on that issue"
Orange Schools did allow World Changers of Florida, Inc, to distribute Bibles to students in January 2013. In response, the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF) started handing out atheist materials in area schools as well. When the school board tried to stop FFRF from distributing its pamphlets, the group filed a lawsuit against the school district:
"The school district prohibited one book because its message that Jesus was not crucified or resurrected 'is age inappropriate for the maturity levels of many of the students in high school.' However, the Bible that the school approved for distribution claims that [Jesus was] crucified and resurrected. Permitting one viewpoint (the crucifixion and resurrection occurred) and censoring the opposing viewpoint (the crucifixion and resurrection did not occur) is unconstitutional."
The lawsuit was eventually dismissed as the school agreed to allow the FFRF to distribute some atheist materials to children. This settlement opened the door for the Satanic Temple to submit their own materials.
The Orange School district hasn't approved the satanic coloring book yet, but Lucien Greaves, spokesperson for the Satanic Temple, said the school cannot "simply deny our literature because of its religious viewpoint." Greaves argued that religious material should not be distributed to children in any school; however, if Orange County schools are going to allow the distribution of Bibles, he maintained, then they should also allow satanic coloring books as well:
"We would never seek to establish a precedent of disseminating our religious materials in public schools because we believe our constitutional values are better served by respecting a strong separation of Church and State. However, if a public school board is going to allow religious pamphlets and full Bibles to be distributed to students, as is the case in Orange County, Florida, we think the responsible thing to do is to ensure that these students are given access to a variety of differing religious opinions, as opposed to standing idly by while one religious voice dominates the discourse and delivers propaganda to youth."
The Satanic Children's Big Book of Activities isn't in schools yet, but it does exist and is available for purchase. The book contains a word search for words like "friends" and "acceptance," a
Last updated: 31 October 2014