#Satanic Temple offers ‘Devil’s Advocate Scholarship’ to high-school grads

High-school graduates can grab the college admission process by the horns by applying for the new “Devil’s Advocate Scholarship” offered by the Satanic Temple. The Salem, Massachusetts-based institution, which promotes the separation of church and state, will be awarding two lucky 2020 graduates $500 to help fund their pursuit of higher education.

The Satanic grant is an “opportunity to offer our own scholarship that reflects our values,” Malcolm Jarry, co-founder of The Satanic Temple, told CNN. Said values include “religious pluralism,” “benevolence and empathy,” the rejection of “tyrannical authority” and the protection of “free-thought,” according to the description on the group’s website.

Jarry was reportedly inspired to create the “Devil’s Advocate Scholarship” after a high-school student was denied a religious grant after asking him for a recommendation.

To apply for the Luciferian fellowship, college hopefuls must answer one of two questions. One prompts applicants to list initiatives they’ve “undertaken that are consistent with TST’s tenets and mission.” Graduates can also draft an essay, poem, art work, film or other creative medium describing a teacher who “who crushed your spirit, undermined your self-confidence, and made you hate every minute you were forced to be in school,” per the website.

Jarry added that “the scholarship allows students a rare opportunity to be critical of an institution that only rewards sycophantic adulation.” Indeed, despite providing a college scholarship, the Satanic Temple shuns traditional schooling, which they claim “violates the fundamental civil rights of the children who are forced to attend,” according to the group’s charter.

Naturally, some might balk at enlisting the devil to help them get into college. However, Satanic Temple members stress that they only believe in Beelzebub as a literary figure, and simply use his unholy image to promote their message, reports CNN. 

In the past, the Satanic Temple unveiled a massive statue of Baphomet (a goat-horned Satanic idol) during a protest of a Ten Commandments monument at the Arkansas State Capitol. More recently, the hell-raising organization threatened to sue the state of Mississippi if they added the words “In God We Trust” to its new flag.

Jarry claims that they’ve already received 50 applications for the “Devil’s Advocate Scholarship,” and they will continue to accept them until August 31.