Parents Targeting "Satanic" Books

For most conservative, evangelical Christians, the presence and influence of Satan are very real things that they think people should be worried about. Any time they perceive even the possible intrusion of Satan into their lives, they are likely to react - and that includes schools and library books.

The Trentonian reports on parents in Gloucester County's Washington Township School District trying to get certain books removed from the school library:

While the group concedes those books may have some educational value, its members say they don’t want elementary and middle-schoolers having access to them. "I don’t think Thomas Jefferson intended for the First Amendment to be used for this stuff,’’ Tahir Mella told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill for Friday’s editions.

Mellas and the parents’ group, which includes about 20 other parents, plan to take their campaign next to chain bookstores, which they say should treat occult books the same as pornography. As an experiment, Wanda Mella recently sent her 11-year-old daughter into some area bookstores to buy a copy of the "Satanic Bible’’ by Anton LaVey. Although the girl didn’t buy the book, her mother said the clerks gladly helped her find it. "I’m not trying to be a fanatic about the wrongdoings of the devil, but what we’re talking about is obscene,’’ she said.

She may not be trying to be a fanatic about this, but she is certainly succeeding very nicely. Will she try to have the Koran treated like pornography next, or are only certain religious books to be given this special treatment? Will Wanda Mellas set herself up as the regional censor, determining what sorts of materials all children will be exposed to and what they won't?

Thanks to "Gullibility" for linking to the above story...

Read More:

• Religious Right
• Christian Extremism
• Recent Books on Free Speech
• Court Decisions on Free Speech and Censorship