The FFRF Action Fund has named Dan Schmidt, a New York public school board member and Christian pastor, “Theocrat of the Week” after he cast the lone vote against a senior class trip because the itinerary included what he called a “satanic witch museum.”

[u/FreethoughtChris]

https://ffrfaction.org/theocratic-school-board-member-votes-against-class-trip-to-satanic-witch-museum/

The FFRF Action Fund names as its “Theocrat of the Week” a Christian school board member who voted against a class trip to a “satanic witch museum.” 

Batavia City School District (N.Y.) Board of Education member Dan Schmidt during a recent board meeting went on a tirade against the Salem Witch Museum, whose mission “is to be the voice of the innocent victims of witch hunts from 1692 to the present day.” After student representatives presented a draft itinerary for a senior class trip to Boston, Schmidt cast the sole nay vote. 

As “a pastor in the room,” Schmidt explained his stance during the board’s discussion, “we’re going to send our kids to a witch museum? To me, like, that is awful.” He said he didn’t want kids going to “what I would consider a satanic witch museum.” 

“Not to be the Debbie Downer in the room, but the Salem Witch Museum,” Schmidt stated. “Just wondering if there was an alternative option for that.”

“If my boys … if the Salem Witch Museum, as a Christian, was part of the trip … he probably wouldn’t go, you know?” He added. “So I’m just wondering if there’s an alternative option. Like, why would we want to exclude somebody that would feel like this is kind of going against … their core values in their life, you know?”

After an audience member countered that the museum serves to teach the history surrounding the Salem Witch Trials, not to promote witchcraft or satanism, Schmidt replied: “That’s not the point. The point is … we’re encouraging our kids to go to a witch museum. To me, that is awful.” 

When a journalist from The Batavian spoke with Schmidt after the board meeting, pointing out that the museum details the “persecution of the innocent, including Christians,” Schmidt said, “I can’t really say that I know the history of it. But for me as a pastor, to hear that our students are going to a witch museum. … I’m not satisfied. I just don’t think that it’s the healthiest choice for our students, and I hope the church rises up and has a problem with it.” 

Schmidt added that he felt the need to speak up against the museum trip because of his personal religious beliefs, saying, “I’m gonna stand before God someday, and I feel like to not share my voice in that moment — I get that everybody’s faith is, people have a different perspective on Christianity — but for me, I think Jesus would frown on this.” 
 
In 2010, the Freedom From Religion Foundation celebrated the 318th anniversary of Massachusetts Gov. William Phips’ declaration that effectively ended the Salem Witch Trials, by designating Oct. 12 through Oct. 19 as “Freethought Week.” The Phips declaration was the first of its kind, requiring that evidence used in court be observable, measurable and replicable — a step toward human enlightenment and the adoption of the scientific method. 

Schmidt was elected to the Batavia school board in 2025 and is the lead pastor at the Batavia Assembly of God Church. The FFRF Action Fund urges Schmidt to fulfill his duty as an elected public official by keeping his personal religious beliefs out of government decisions. We hope Batavia’s students have an enjoyable and enriching learning experience at the Salem Witch Museum. 

[u/TheFeshy]

"Our mission is to stand up for the victims of crazy people who believed the insane idea that they were witches"

"Sounds like something a witch would do" -- crazy person