''Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology'' is an academic anthology published by

Ashgate Ashgate Publishing was an academic book and journal publisher based in Farnham (Surrey, United Kingdom). It was established in 1967 and specialised in the social sciences, arts, humanities and professional practice. It had an American office in ...

in 2009 and edited by the Norwegian religious scholar Jesper Aagaard Petersen, then a lecturer at the

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

. The book is divided into three sections, containing eight separate papers produced by various scholars working in the field of Satanism studies; ''Contemporary Religious Satanism'' examines different forms of

Satanism Satanism is a group of ideological and philosophical beliefs based on Satan. Contemporary religious practice of Satanism began with the founding of the atheistic Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966, although a few hi ...

as practiced in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. It was a part of Ashgate's series of books on "Controversial New Religions" alongside tomes devoted to the

academic study of new religious movements The academic study of new religious movements is known as new religions studies (NRS). The study draws from the disciplines of anthropology, psychiatry, history, psychology, sociology, religious studies, and theology. Eileen Barker noted that t ...

, such as

Wicca Wicca () is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religion categorise it as both a new religious movement and as part of the occultist stream of Western esotericism. It was developed in England during the first half of the 20th century and was ...

and the

Order of the Solar Temple The Order of the Solar Temple (french: Ordre du Temple solaire, OTS) and the International Chivalric Organization of the Solar Tradition, or simply The Solar Temple, is a cult and religious sect that claims to be based upon the ideals of the K ...

. Academic reviews were mixed, being printed in

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

s such as ''

Nova Religio ''Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering religious studies, focusing on the academic study of new religious movements. It was established in 1997 by Seven Bridges Pre ...

'', ''

Aries Aries may refer to: *Aries (astrology), an astrological sign *Aries (constellation), a constellation of stars in the zodiac Arts, entertainment and media * ''Aries'' (album), by Luis Miguel, 1993 * ''Aries'' (EP), by Alice Chater, 2020 * "Aries" ...

'', and ''

Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft ''Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that focuses on magic scholarship. It is published triannually (spring, summer, winter) by the University of Pennsylvania Press. The founding editors were Michael Bailey (Iowa S ...

''. It was recognised as a pioneering publication in the field of Satanism studies.

Reception

The volume was reviewed by the British anthropologist

Jean La Fontaine Jean Sybil La Fontaine FRAI (born 1 November 1931) is a British anthropologist and emeritus professor of the London School of Economics. She has done research in Africa and the UK, on topics including ritual, gender, child abuse, witchcraft and ...

for the ''

'' journal, and by the Swedish historian of religion Per Faxneld of

Stockholm University Stockholm University ( sv, Stockholms universitet) is a public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, so ...

for the ''

'' journal.

Erik Davis Erik Davis (born June 12, 1967) is an American writer, scholar, journalist and public speaker whose writings have ranged from rock criticism to cultural analysis to creative explorations of esoteric mysticism. He is perhaps best known for his b ...

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

reviewed the anthology for the ''

'' journal, noting that the book was primarily

sociological Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation and ...

in basis but that it opened up "an underresearched and underreported topic". Describing Petersen's "thorough introduction", he then discusses the various papers within the anthology. He opines that Lowney had "beautifully" described her encounters, but that it was "unfortunate" that she spent so much of the text reflecting on her logistical challenges, subsequently describing Søderlind and Dyrendal's contribution as "one of the most lively and entertaining" parts of the volume. He remarks positively of Granholm's criticism of the term "Satanism", describing his chapter as a "crucial contribution", and believing that he has made a "good case" for the term "

left-hand path In Western esotericism the left-hand path and right-hand path are the dichotomy between two opposing approaches to magic. This terminology is used in various groups involved in the occult and ceremonial magic. In some definitions, the Left-Han ...

". The volume also dedicates an essay to the old-school Norwegian Black Metal scene, which according to Davis "shows how ..aesthetics, ethos, and metaphysical worldview" are "fused into a paradigmatic (and sometimes violent) moment of satanic sincerity—one whose grim ascesis features, paradoxically, an almost total inversion of LaVey's call for hedonic enjoyment". Moving on to review the inclusion of primary documents at the end of the volume, he believes that the works presented appear "minor in context", and that it is unfortunate that texts from Anton LaVey and Michael Aquino were not included. As such, he believes that ''Contemporary Religious Satanism'' is not "the perfect reader." Wishing that philosophical and symbolic analyses of Satanism had been included alongside the sociological studies, he also felt that "much more can be made" regarding the differences between LaVeyan-influenced secular Satanists and the mystical left-hand path followers. He believed that the volume would be of great interest to scholars of

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

contemporary Paganism Modern paganism, also known as contemporary paganism and neopaganism, is a term for a religion or family of religions influenced by the various historical pre-Christian beliefs of pre-modern peoples in Europe and adjacent areas of North Afric ...

, and

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as alternative spirituality or a new religion, is a religious or spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin or th ...

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

;Academic sources ;Academic reviews * * * {{refend 2009 non-fiction books English-language books Religious studies books Satanism Ashgate Publishing books