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Satanism refers to a group of religious,
ideological An ideology is a set of beliefs or philosophies attributed to a person or group of persons, especially those held for reasons that are not purely epistemic, in which "practical elements are as prominent as theoretical ones." Formerly applied pri ...
and/or
philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Som ...
beliefs based on
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...
(also called
Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...
) – particularly the worship or veneration of him. Satan is a figure of the devil in Christian belief, a fallen angel and leader of the devils who tempts humans into sin. For many centuries the term was used by various
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...
groups as an accusation against ideological opponents. Actually self-identified Satanism is recent, Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023: section 1. What Is Satan? and is thought to have begun with the founding of the
Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in ''The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, Apr ...
by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966 – that "church" being an
atheistic Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
group that does not believe in a literal
Satan Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehoo ...
. Sharing "historical connections and family resemblances" with Satanism, and sometimes overlapping with it, are paganism, ceremonial magic, and "other dark entities such as Set,
Lilith Lilith ( ; he, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian and Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. Lilith is cited as having been "banished" from the Garden of Ed ...
,
Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depict ...
, and
Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...
", from the
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...
and the ' Left Hand Path milieu.' Accusations of groups engaged in "
devil worship Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural enti ...
" have echoed throughout much of Christian history. During the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, the
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
led by the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
alleged that various heretical Christian sects and groups, such as the
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...
and the
Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian Dualistic cosmology, dualist or Gnosticism, Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern ...
, performed secret Satanic rituals. In the subsequent Early Modern period, belief in a widespread Satanic conspiracy of witches resulted in the trials and executions of tens of thousands of alleged witches across Europe and the North American colonies, peaking between 1560–1630 CE. Thurston 2001. p. 79. The terms "Satanist" and "Satanism" emerged during the
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...
and Counter-Reformation (1517–1700 CE), as both Catholics and Protestants accused each other of intentionally being in league with Satan. Accusations of Satanism made during the 18th to 20th centuries include being the cause of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
of 1789, the evil force behind
Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, and during the 1980s and 1990s in the United States and the United Kingdom, the regular sexual abuse and murder of large numbers of children in their diabolical rites. (No evidence was found for this.) Since the 19th century, various small religious groups have emerged that identify as Satanist or use Satanic iconography. The Satanist groups that appeared after the 1960s differed greatly, but can be divided into
theistic Satanism Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural enti ...
and
atheistic Satanism LaVeyan Satanism is a nontheistic religion founded in 1966 by the American occultist and author Anton Szandor LaVey. Scholars of religion have classified it as a new religious movement and a form of Western esotericism. LaVey established his m ...
. Those venerating Satan as a supernatural deity view him not as
omnipotent Omnipotence is the quality of having unlimited power. Monotheistic religions generally attribute omnipotence only to the deity of their faith. In the monotheistic religious philosophy of Abrahamic religions, omnipotence is often listed as on ...
but as more of a
patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ce ...
. Atheistic Satanists regard Satan as a symbol of certain human traits but not ontologically real. Contemporary religious Satanism is predominantly an American phenomenon, though the rise of globalization and the Internet have seen its ideas spread in other parts of the world.


Devil in society

Historical and anthropological research suggests that nearly all societies have developed the idea of a sinister and anti-human force that can hide itself within society. This commonly involves a belief in
witches Witchcraft traditionally means the use of Magic (supernatural), magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In Middle Ages, medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually ...
, a group of individuals who invert the norms of their society and seek to harm their community, for instance by engaging in
incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...
, murder, and
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
. Allegations of witchcraft may have different causes and serve different functions within a society. For instance, they may serve to uphold social norms, to heighten the tension in existing conflicts between individuals, or to scapegoat certain individuals for various social problems. Another contributing factor to the idea of Satanism is the concept that there is an agent of misfortune and evil who operates on a cosmic scale, something usually associated with a strong form of ethical dualism that divides the world clearly into forces of good and forces of evil. The earliest such entity known is
Angra Mainyu Angra Mainyu (; Avestan: 𐬀𐬢𐬭𐬀⸱𐬨𐬀𐬌𐬥𐬌𐬌𐬎 ''Aŋra Mainiiu'') is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive/evil spirit" and the main adversary in Zoroastrianism either of the ...
, a figure that appears in the Persian religion of
Zoroastrianism Zoroastrianism is an Iranian religion and one of the world's oldest organized faiths, based on the teachings of the Iranian-speaking prophet Zoroaster. It has a dualistic cosmology of good and evil within the framework of a monotheistic ont ...
. This concept was also embraced by
Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
and early Christianity, and although it was soon marginalized within Jewish thought, it gained increasing importance within early Christian understandings of the cosmos.


Etymology and definitions


Etymology

The term "Satan" has evolved from a
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
term for "adversary" or "to oppose", into the Christian figure of a fallen angel who tempts mortals into sin. The word "Satan" was not originally a proper name, but rather an ordinary noun that means "adversary". In this context, it appears at several points in the
Old Testament The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
. For instance, in the
Book of Samuel The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...
,
David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
is presented as the satan ("adversary") of the
Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (Septuagint, LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 6 ...
, while in the
Book of Numbers The book of Numbers (from Greek Ἀριθμοί, ''Arithmoi''; he, בְּמִדְבַּר, ''Bəmīḏbar'', "In the desert f) is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and com ...
, the term appears as a verb, when Jehovah sent an angel to ''satan'' ("to oppose")
Balaam Balaam (; , Standard ''Bīlʿam'' Tiberian ''Bīlʿām'') is a diviner in the Torah (Pentateuch) whose story begins in Chapter 22 of the Book of Numbers (). Ancient references to Balaam consider him a non-Israelite, a prophet, and the son of B ...
. Prior to the composition of the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
, the idea developed within Jewish communities that Satan was the name of an angel who had rebelled against Jehovah and had been cast out of Heaven along with his followers; this account would be incorporated into contemporary texts like the Book of Enoch. This Satan was then featured in parts of the New Testament, where he was presented as a figure who tempts humans to commit
sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, ...
; in the
Book of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...
and the
Book of Luke The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vo ...
, he attempted to tempt
Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...
as the latter fasted in the wilderness. While the early Christian idea of the Devil was not well developed, it gradually adapted and expanded through the creation of folklore, art, theological treatises, and morality tales, thus providing the character with a range of extra-Biblical associations. Beginning in the early middle ages, the concept developed in Christianity of the devil as "archrepresentative of evil", and of the Satanist "as malign mirror image of the good Christian". The word "Satanism" was adopted into English from the
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
''satanisme''. The terms "Satanism" and "Satanist" are first recorded as appearing in the English and French languages during the sixteenth century, when they were used by Christian groups to attack other, rival Christian groups. In a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
tract of 1565, the author condemns the "heresies, blasphemies, and sathanismes ic of the
Protestants Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
. In an Anglican work of 1559,
Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...
and other Protestant sects are condemned as "swarmes of Satanistes ic. As used in this manner, the term "Satanism" was not used to claim that people literally worshipped Satan, but instead that they deviated from true Christianity, and thus were serving the will of Satan. During the nineteenth century, the term "Satanism" began to be used to describe those considered to lead a broadly immoral lifestyle, and it was only in the late nineteenth century that it came to be applied in English to individuals who were believed to consciously and deliberately venerate Satan. This latter meaning had appeared earlier in the
Swedish language Swedish ( ) is a North Germanic language spoken predominantly in Sweden and in parts of Finland. It has at least 10 million native speakers, the fourth most spoken Germanic language and the first among any other of its type in the Nordic coun ...
; the
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
Bishop
Laurentius Paulinus Gothus Laurentius Paulinus Gothus (10 November 1565 – 29 November 1646) was a Swedish theologian, astronomer and Archbishop of Uppsala. Biography Gothus was born Lars Paulsson at Söderköping in Östergötland County, Sweden. In 1588, Gothus travell ...
had described devil-worshipping sorcerers as ''Sathanister'' in his ''Ethica Christiana'', produced between 1615 and 1630.


Accused v. identified

Some definitions of Satanism offered/suggested by scholars include: * the worship or veneration of the figure from Christian belief known as Satan, the Devil or Lucifer (Ethan Doyle White); * the “intentional, religiously motivated veneration of Satan” (Religion scholar Ruben van Luijk); * “a system in which Satan is celebrated in a prominent position," (Satanism scholar Per Faxneld). (This definition has the advantage of avoiding "assumptions about the nature of religion"). *the simultaneous presence of three characteristics: ::1) the worship of the character in the Bible whose name is Satan or Lucifer, ::2) the organization of these "Satanists" into a group with at least some kind of organization and hierarchy, and ... ::3) and has some kind of ritual or liturgical practices .. :whether the group with these characteristics perceives Satan as personal or impersonal, real or symbolic, does not matter. (Italian sociologist
Massimo Introvigne Massimo Introvigne (born June 14, 1955, in Rome) is an Italian Roman Catholic sociologist of religionJason Horowitz"A Clash of Worldviews as Pope Meets Putin" ''The New York Times'', July 4, 2019. and intellectual property attorney. He is a ...
writing in 1994). But these definitions of Satanism are limited to * figures and groups who ''identify'' as Satanists or at least admirers of Satan (Romantic Satanists, hellfire clubs and modern Satanists). ... excluding * figures and groups ''accused'' of worshipping Satan and in the process committing horrible crimes (in the middle ages, during the 1980–1994 Satanic ritual abuse moral panic, etc.) but who either appear to have not been satanists or to not have actually existed. And by excluding the second group, you leave out most of the history of Satanism, (Joseph P. Laycock argues). Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: section 1. What Is Satanism? Anton LaVey and the Invention of Satanism If you ''do'' include both groups, you have two sides with very different views on who or what Satan was/is and represented. The accusers usually follow the Christian idea of Satan as an irredeemably evil fallen angel who seeks the destruction of both God and humanity, but who (along with his followers) is doomed to fail and to suffer eternal punishment. While the self-identified Satanists often do not believe that Satan actually exists as a being (they believe he is a symbol and a " Promethean figure", "an esoteric symbol of a vital force that permeates the universe"), Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: section 3 Satanic Sympathizers. Satan and Esotericism let alone is trying to destroy humanity. A definitions/descriptions that would include the "satanism" of heresy crusades and moral panics is: * an invention of Christianity, relying on a character deriving from
Christian mythology Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian l ...
, i.e. Satan, (another description of Satanism by Ruben van Luijk). In their study of Satanism, the religious studies scholars Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, and Jesper Aa. Petersen stated that the term ''Satanism'' "has a history of being a designation made by people against those whom they dislike; it is a term used for '
othering In phenomenology Phenomenology may refer to: Art * Phenomenology (architecture), based on the experience of building materials and their sensory properties Philosophy * Phenomenology (philosophy), a branch of philosophy which studies subject ...
'". Eugene Gallagher noted that Satanism was usually "a
polemical Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
, not a descriptive term".


Heresy

Similar to the way certain Christian denominations accuse each other of heresy, different satanic groups – mainly the Church of Satan (CoS), the Temple of Set (ToS), the Order of Nine Angles (ONA), and The Satanic Temple (TST) – often accuse one another of being fraudulent Satanists and/or ignorant of true Satanism.


Related terms

Because the original concept of Satan come from the Judeo-Christian heritage, and because Satanists, almost by definition, oppose the teachings of those religions, people drawn to Satanism will often move on to “post-Satanism”, i.e. to a religion that does not declare itself "Satanic", but includes elements of Satanism (e.g.
Temple of Set The Temple of Set is an occult initiatory order founded in 1975. A new religious movement and form of Western esotericism, the Temple espouses a religion known as Setianism, whose practitioners are called Setians. This is sometimes identified ...
). Others may regards themselves as Satanists but promote mythological figures and traditions outside of Christianity (or Judaism). These religions are sometimes called Satanic and sometimes post-Satanic. Diane E. Taub and Lawrence D. Nelson complain that Satanism "is frequently defined either too broadly or too narrowly", with accusers sometimes including non-satanic groups like Santeria,
Witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...
, Eastern religions as well as
Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
; and academics (for example Carlson and Larue) and others sometimes restricting its definition to "recognized Satanic churches and their members", excluding those who "believes in a literal Satan". Tab and Nelson define Satanism as "the literal or symbolic worship of Satan, the enemy of the Judeo-Christian God".


Accusations of Satanism

According to author Arthur Lyons, "Satanic religions are as old as monotheism and have their origins in Persia of the sixth century", and Joe Carter of the conservative ecumenical journal ''
First Things ''First Things'' (''FT'') is an ecumenical and conservative religious journal aimed at "advanc nga religiously informed public philosophy for the ordering of society". The magazine, which focuses on theology, liturgy, church history, religio ...
'' writes that "real satanism has been around since the beginning of history, selling an appealing message: Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God". But religious scholar Joseph Laycock writes that the "available evidence suggests" that Satanism began as "an imaginary religion Christians invented to demonize their opponents". Confessions of worship of Satan came only after torture or other forms of coercion in early modern Europe. While early stories of satanic activity have been commonly labeled and regarded as propaganda based on falsehood, they also partially shaped the beliefs of what would become modern religious Satanism. Those who absorbed and accepted the tales sometimes began to imitate them (celebrating Black Masses for example), a process known to folklorists as “ostension”.


Medieval and Early Modern Christendom

As Christianity expanded throughout the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
,
North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
, and Europe, it came into contact with a variety of other religions, which it regarded as " pagan". Christianity being a monotheist religion, Christian theologians believed that since there was only one God (the God of Christianity) the gods and goddesses with supernatural powers venerated by these "pagans" could not be genuine divinities but must actually be demons. However, they did not believe that "pagans" were deliberately worshipping devils, but were instead simply misguided and unaware of the "true" God. Those Christian groups regarded as
heretics Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, in particular the accepted beliefs of a church or religious organization. The term is usually used in reference to violations of important religi ...
by the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
were treated differently, with theologians arguing that they were deliberately worshipping the Devil. This was accompanied by claims that such individuals engaged in acts of evil – incestuous sexual orgies, the murder of infants, and
cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
– all stock accusations that had previously been leveled at Christians themselves in the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Medite ...
. In Christian iconography, the Devil and demons were given the physical traits of figures from
classical mythology Classical mythology, Greco-Roman mythology, or Greek and Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and ancient Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and pol ...
, such as the god Pan,
faun The faun (, grc, φαῦνος, ''phaunos'', ) is a half-human and half-goat mythological creature appearing in Greek and Roman mythology. Originally fauns of Roman mythology were spirits (genii) of rustic places, lesser versions of their c ...
s, and
satyr In Greek mythology, a satyr ( grc-gre, σάτυρος, sátyros, ), also known as a silenus or ''silenos'' ( grc-gre, σειληνός ), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exa ...
s. The first recorded example of such an accusation being made within
Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Y� ...
took place in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
in 1022, when two clerics were tried for allegedly venerating a demon. Throughout the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
, this accusation would be applied to a wide range of Christian heretical groups, including the
Paulicians Paulicianism ( Classical Armenian: Պաւղիկեաններ, ; grc, Παυλικιανοί, "The followers of Paul"; Arab sources: ''Baylakānī'', ''al Bayāliqa'' )Nersessian, Vrej (1998). The Tondrakian Movement: Religious Movements in the ...
,
Bogomils Bogomilism ( Bulgarian and Macedonian: ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", bogumilstvo, богумилство) was a Christian neo-Gnostic or dualist sect founded in the First Bulgarian Empire by the priest Bogomil during the reign of Tsar Pet ...
,
Cathars Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian Dualistic cosmology, dualist or Gnosticism, Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern ...
,
Waldensians The Waldensians (also known as Waldenses (), Vallenses, Valdesi or Vaudois) are adherents of a church tradition that began as an ascetic movement within Western Christianity before the Reformation. Originally known as the "Poor Men of Lyon" in ...
, and the
Hussites The Hussites ( cs, Husité or ''Kališníci''; "Chalice People") were a Czech proto-Protestant Christian movement that followed the teachings of reformer Jan Hus, who became the best known representative of the Bohemian Reformation. The Hu ...
. The
Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...
were accused of worshipping an
idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...
known as
Baphomet Baphomet is a deity allegedly worshipped by the Knights Templar. that subsequently became incorporated into various occult and Western esoteric traditions. The name ''Baphomet'' appeared in trial transcripts for the Inquisition of the Knight ...
, with Lucifer having appeared at their meetings in the form of a cat. As well as these Christian groups, these claims were also made about Europe's Jewish community. In the thirteenth century, there were also references made to a group of "Luciferians" led by a woman named Lucardis which hoped to see Satan rule in Heaven. References to this group continued into the fourteenth century, although historians studying the allegations concur that these Luciferians were likely a fictitious invention. Within Christian thought, the idea developed that certain individuals could make a pact with Satan. This may have emerged after observing that pacts with gods and goddesses played a role in various pre-Christian belief systems, or that such pacts were also made as part of the Christian cult of saints. Another possibility is that it derives from a misunderstanding of
Augustine of Hippo Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North A ...
's condemnation of
augury Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" (Latin ''ausp ...
in his '' On Christian Doctrine'', written in the late fourth century. Here, he stated that people who consulted augurs were entering "''quasi pacts''" (covenants) with demons. The idea of the diabolical pact made with demons was popularized across Europe in the story of
Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The wiktionary:erudite, erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a ...
, likely based in part on the real life
Johann Georg Faust Johann Georg Faust (; c. 1480 or 1466 – c. 1541), also known in English as John Faustus , was a German itinerant alchemist, astrologer, and magician of the German Renaissance. ''Doctor Faust'' became the subject of folk legend in the d ...
. As the late medieval gave way to the early modern period, European Christendom experienced a schism between the established
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and the breakaway
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
movement. In the ensuing
Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and i ...
and Counter-Reformation (1517–1700 CE), both Catholics and Protestants accused each other of deliberately being in league with Satan. It was in this context that the terms "Satanist" and "Satanism" emerged.


Witch trials

The early modern period also saw fear of Satanists reach its "historical apogee" in the form of the witch trials of the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, when between 30,000 and 50,000 alleged witches were executed. This came about as the accusations which had been leveled at medieval heretics, among them that of devil-worship, were applied to the pre-existing idea of
the witch A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft. Witch, WITCH, or variations thereof may also refer to: Animals * Witch (lefteye flounder) (''Arnoglossus scapha''), a Pacific flatfish * Witch (righteye flounder) (''Glyptocephalus cynoglossus''), a Eur ...
, or practitioner of malevolent
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 ...
. The idea of a conspiracy of Satanic witches was developed by educated elites, although the concept of malevolent witchcraft was a widespread part of popular belief, and
folkloric Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging fro ...
ideas about the night witch, the
wild hunt The Wild Hunt is a folklore motif (Motif E501 in Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature) that occurs in the folklore of various northern European cultures. Wild Hunts typically involve a chase led by a mythological figure escorted by ...
, and the dance of the fairies were incorporated into it. The earliest trials took place in Northern Italy and France, before spreading it out to other areas of Europe and to Britain's North American colonies, being carried out by the legal authorities in both Catholic and Protestant regions. Most historians agree that the majority of those persecuted in these witch trials were innocent of any involvement in Devil worship. Historian Darren Eldridge writes that claims that there actually was a cult of devil-worshippers being pursued by witch hunters "have not survived the scrutiny of surviving trial records" done by historians from 1962-2012. However, in their summary of the evidence for the trials, the historians Geoffrey Scarre and John Callow thought it "without doubt" that some of those accused in the trials had been guilty of employing magic in an attempt to harm their enemies and were thus genuinely guilty of witchcraft.


Affair of the Poison

In a scandal starting with the poisoning of three people, prominent members of the French aristocracy, including members of the king's inner circle, were implicated and sentenced on charges of poisoning and witchcraft. Between 1677 and 1682, during the reign of King
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Ve ...
, 36 people were executed in Satanic panic known to history as the
Affair of the Poisons An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...
. At least some of the accusers were implicated others under torture and in hopes of saving their lives. These highly unreliable reports include what "may be the first report of a satanic mass using a woman as an altar". Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: Chapter 2, Imagining the Black Mass. The Affair of the Poisons


18th- to 20th-century Christendom

The
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
and
Scientific Revolution The Scientific Revolution was a series of events that marked the emergence of modern science during the early modern period, when developments in mathematics, physics, astronomy, biology (including human anatomy) and chemistry transformed ...
changed humanity's understanding of the world. The mathematics of
Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a " natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the g ...
and psychology of John Locke "left little space for the intervention of supernatural beings.”
Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...
's theory of
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
undermined the doctrine of the Fall in the Garden of Eden and the role of the diabolical serpent, while also providing an "alternative account of human evil" in the form of "a residual effect of our animal nature”. The
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
and
urbanization Urbanization (or urbanisation) refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, the corresponding decrease in the proportion of people living in rural areas, and the ways in which societies adapt to this change. It is predominantly t ...
disturbed traditional social relations and folk ideas to undermine belief in witchcraft and the devil. Understanding of disorders of the mind undercut demonic possession. But while the hunting and killing of alleged witches waned, belief in Satan did not disappear. During the eighteenth century, gentleman's social clubs became increasingly prominent in Britain and Ireland, among the most secretive of which were the
Hellfire Club Hellfire Club was a name for several exclusive clubs for high-society rakes established in Britain and Ireland in the 18th century. The name most commonly refers to Francis Dashwood's Order of the Friars of St. Francis of Wycombe. Such clubs, ...
s, which were first reported in the 1720s. The most famous of these groups was the Order of the Knights of Saint Francis, which was founded circa 1750 by the aristocrat
Sir Francis Dashwood Francis Dashwood, 11th Baron le Despencer, PC, FRS (December 1708 – 11 December 1781) was an English politician and rake, Chancellor of the Exchequer (1762–1763) and founder of the Hellfire Club. Life and career Early life Dashwood wa ...
and which assembled first at his estate at
West Wycombe West Wycombe is a small village famed for its manor houses and its hills. It is three miles west of High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx of touri ...
and later in
Medmenham Abbey Medmenham () is a village and civil parish in south-west Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the River Thames, about southwest of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and east of Henley-on-Thames. The parish also includes Danesfield, a housing estate ...
. A number of contemporary press sources portrayed these as gatherings of
atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
rakes where Christianity was mocked, and toasts were made to the Devil. Beyond these sensationalist accounts, which may not be accurate portrayals of actual events, little is known about the activities of the Hellfire Clubs. Introvigne suggested that they may have engaged in a form of "playful Satanism" in which Satan was invoked "to show a daring contempt for conventional morality" rather than to pay homage to him. The
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
of 1789 dealt a blow to the hegemony of the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
in parts of Europe, and soon a number of Catholic authors began making claims that it had been masterminded by a conspiratorial group of Satanists. Among the first to do so was French Catholic priest Jean-Baptiste Fiard, who publicly claimed that a wide range of individuals, from the
Jacobins , logo = JacobinVignette03.jpg , logo_size = 180px , logo_caption = Seal of the Jacobin Club (1792–1794) , motto = "Live free or die"(french: Vivre libre ou mourir) , successor = P ...
to tarot card readers, were part of a Satanic conspiracy. Fiard's ideas were furthered by
Alexis-Vincent-Charles Berbiguier de Terre-Neuve du Thym Alexis-Vincent-Charles Berbiguier de Terre-Neuve du Thym or better known as M. Berbiguier (1765 – December 3, 1851) was a French author and demonologist who may have been suffering from psychosis. He was born, and died, in Carpentras in the sou ...
(1765–1851), who devoted a lengthy book to this conspiracy theory; he claimed that Satanists had supernatural powers allowing them to curse people and to shapeshift into both cats and fleas. Although most of his contemporaries regarded Berbiguier as suffering from mental illness, his ideas gained credence among many occultists, including
Stanislas de Guaita Stanislas De Guaita (6 April 1861, Tarquimpol, Moselle – 19 December 1897, Tarquimpol) was a French poet based in Paris, an expert on esotericism and European mysticism, and an active member of the Rosicrucian Order. He was very celebrated and ...
, a Cabalist who used them for the basis of his book, ''The Temple of Satan''. A reaction to this was the
Taxil hoax The Taxil hoax was an 1890s hoax of exposure by Léo Taxil intended to mock not only Freemasonry but also the Catholic Church's opposition to it. Taxil and Freemasonry Léo Taxil was the pen name of Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, wh ...
in 1890s France, where an anti-clerical writer
Léo Taxil Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès, better known by the pen name Léo Taxil (; March 21, 1854 – March 31, 1907), was a French writer and journalist who became known for his strong anti-Catholic and anti-clerical views. He is also kno ...
(aka Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès), publicly converted to Catholicism and then published several works alleging to expose the Satanic doings of
Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
. In 1897, Taxil called a press conference promising to introduce a key character of his stories but instead announced that his revelations about the Freemasons were made up, and thanked the Catholic
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the t ...
for helping to publicize his stories. Nine years later he told an American magazine that at first he thought readers would recognize his tales as obvious nonsense, "amusement pure and simple", but when he realized they believed his stories and that there was "lots of money" to be made in publishing them, he continued to perpetrate the hoax.''National Magazine, an Illustrated American Monthly'', Volume XXIV: April – September, 1906, pages 228 and 229 Around the same time, another convert to Catholicism
Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel '' À rebou ...
, also helped promote the concept of active Satanist groups in his 1891 work ''Là-bas'' (Down There). Huysmans "helped to cement" the idea the black mass as Satanic rite and inversion of the Roman Catholic mass, with a naked woman for an altar. (Unlike Taxil, his conversion was apparently genuine and his book was published as fiction.) In the early 20th century, the British novelist
Dennis Wheatley Dennis Yeats Wheatley (8 January 1897 – 10 November 1977) was a British writer whose prolific output of thrillers and occult novels made him one of the world's best-selling authors from the 1930s through the 1960s. His Gregory Sallust series w ...
produced a range of influential novels in which his protagonists battled Satanic groups. At the same time, non-fiction authors like
Montague Summers Augustus Montague Summers (10 April 1880 – 10 August 1948) was an English author, clergyman, and teacher. He initially prepared for a career in the Church of England at Oxford and Lichfield, and was ordained as an Anglican deacon in 1908. He ...
and Rollo Ahmed published books claiming that Satanic groups practicing black magic were still active across the world, although they provided no evidence that this was the case. During the 1950s, various British tabloid newspapers repeated such claims, largely basing their accounts on the allegations of one woman, Sarah Jackson, who claimed to have been a member of such a group. In 1973, the British Christian Doreen Irvine published ''From Witchcraft to Christ'', in which she claimed to have been a member of a Satanic group that gave her supernatural powers, such as the ability to
levitate Levitation (from Latin ''levitas'' "lightness") is the process by which an object is held aloft in a stable position, without mechanical support via any physical contact. Levitation is accomplished by providing an upward force that counteracts ...
, before she escaped and embraced Christianity. In the United States during the 1960s and 1970s, various Christian preachers—the most famous being
Mike Warnke Michael Alfred Warnke (born November 19, 1946) is an American Christian evangelist and comedian who was exposed in 1992 for inventing stories of his past as a Satanist. Before being debunked by the Christian magazine '' Cornerstone'', he was v ...
in his 1972 book ''The Satan-Seller''—claimed that they had been members of Satanic groups who carried out sex rituals and animal sacrifices before discovering Christianity. According to Gareth Medway in his historical examination of Satanism, these stories were "a series of inventions by insecure people and hack writers, each one based on a previous story, exaggerated a little more each time". Other publications made allegations of Satanism against historical figures. The 1970s saw the publication of the Romanian Protestant preacher
Richard Wurmbrand Richard Wurmbrand, also known as Nicolai Ionescu (24 March 1909 – 17 February 2001) was a Romanian Evangelical Lutheran priest, and professor of Jewish descent. In 1948, having become a Christian ten years before, he publicly said Communism a ...
's book in which he argued—without corroborating evidence—that the socio-political theorist
Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
had been a Satanist.


Ritual abuse hysteria

At the end of the twentieth century, a
moral panic A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...
arose from claims that a Devil-worshipping cult was committing sexual abuse, murder, and cannibalism in its rituals, and including children among the victims of its rites. Initially, the alleged perpetrators of such crimes were labeled "witches", although the term "Satanist" was soon adopted as a favored alternative, and the phenomenon itself came to be called "the Satanism Scare". Those active in the scare alleged that there was a conspiracy of organized Satanists who occupied prominent positions throughout society, from the police to politicians, and that they had been powerful enough to cover up their crimes. One of the primary sources for the scare was ''
Michelle Remembers ''Michelle Remembers'' is a discredited 1980 book co-written by Canadian psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder and his psychiatric patient (and eventual wife) Michelle Smith. A best-seller, ''Michelle Remembers'' relied on the discredited practice of rec ...
'', a 1980 book by the Canadian psychiatrist
Lawrence Pazder Lawrence Pazder (April 30, 1936 – March 5, 2004) was a Canadian psychiatrist and author. Pazder wrote the discredited biography, ''Michelle Remembers'', published in 1980, with his patient (and eventual wife) Michelle Smith, which claimed to d ...
in which he detailed what he claimed were the
repressed memories Repressed memory is an inability to recall autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature. The concept originated in psychoanalytic theory where repression is defined as a protective mechanism that excludes memory of ...
of his patient (and wife) Michelle Smith. Smith had claimed that as a child she had been abused by her family in Satanic rituals in which babies were sacrificed and Satan himself appeared. In 1983, allegations were made that the McMartin family—owners of a preschool in
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...
—were guilty of sexually abusing the children in their care during Satanic rituals. The allegations resulted in a lengthy and expensive trial, in which all of the accused would eventually be cleared. The publicity generated by the case resulted in similar allegations being made in various other parts of the United States. A key claim by the "anti-Satanists" of the Satanic Scare was that any child's claim about Satanic ritual abuse must be true, because children do not lie. Although some involved in the anti-Satanism movement were from Jewish and secular backgrounds, a central part was played by fundamentalist and evangelical Christians, in particular
Pentecostalist Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
Christians, with Christian groups holding conferences and producing books and videotapes to promote belief in the conspiracy. Various figures in law enforcement also came to be promoters of the conspiracy theory, with such "cult cops" holding various conferences to promote it. The scare was later imported to the United Kingdom through visiting evangelicals and became popular among some of the country's social workers, resulting in a range of accusations and trials across Britain. In the late 1980s, the Satanic Scare had lost its impetus following increasing skepticism about such allegations, and a number of those who had been convicted of perpetrating Satanic ritual abuse saw their convictions overturned. In 1990, an agent of the U.S.
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
, Ken Lanning, revealed that he had investigated 300 allegations of Satanic ritual abuse and found no evidence for Satanism or ritualistic activity in any of them. In the UK, the
Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...
commissioned the anthropologist Jean La Fontaine to examine the allegations of SRA. She noted that while approximately half did reveal evidence of genuine sexual abuse of children, none revealed any evidence that Satanist groups had been involved or that any murders had taken place. She noted three examples in which lone individuals engaged in child molestation had created a ritual performance to facilitate their sexual acts, with the intent of frightening their victims and justifying their actions, but that none of these child molesters were involved in wider Satanist groups. By 1994, the Satanic ritual abuse hysteria had died down in the US and UK, and by the 21st century, hysteria about Satanism has waned in most Western countries, although allegations of Satanic ritual abuse continued to surface in parts of continental Europe and Latin America. In the United States SRA ideas persisted among much of the public even as law enforcement had grown tired of false leads. A 1994 survey for the women's magazine ''
Redbook ''Redbook'' is an American women's magazine that is published by the Hearst Corporation. It is one of the " Seven Sisters", a group of women's service magazines. It ceased print publication as of January 2019 and now operates an article-compris ...
'' reported In 1994, *70 percent of those polled "believe that at least some people who claim that they were abused by satanic cults as children, but repressed the memories for years, are telling the truth" *32 percent agreed with the statement, "The FBI and the police ignore evidence because they don't want to admit the cults exist," and *22 percent agreed that cult leaders use brainwashing to ensure that the victims would not tell.213 W. Kaminer, ''Sleeping with Extra-Terrestrials: The Rise of Irrationalism and Perils of Piety'' (New York: Vintage Books, 1999), p. 193.


QAnon

By 2017, another Satanic conspiracy theory arose in the United States. It also alleged that organized Devil-worshippers in prominent positions were committing sexual abuse, murder, and cannibalism, but was not a grassroots movement leading to the uncovering of repressed childhood memories, arrests and prosecutions of pre-school administrators, or courtroom testimony of children coached by adults. Instead it was a
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of bein ...
political movement based on claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q", which were relayed and developed by online communities and influencers. Specifically, its core claim was that a global child sex trafficking ring made up of Democratic politicians, Hollywood actors, high-ranking government officials, business tycoons, and medical experts, were kidnapping, sexually abusing and eating children, but that their enemy, President (at the time)
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...
would put a stop to this by rounding up the cabal and bring them to justice in a climactic event known to supporters as "the storm". With the lack of any evidence of child abuse or harm, and failure of the prophesized "storm" to appear before the inauguration of a new president, the conspiracy was said to have waned but not "disappeared entirely".


Modern Satanism


Precursors

Though obscure and minimal in influence, according to Laycock, a number of figures or movements preceding Anton Levey and the Church of Satan in an expression of Satanism. Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen, however, insist these figures' influence was nil. In seventeenth-century Sweden, a number of highway robbers and other outlaws living in the forests informed judges that they venerated Satan because he provided more practical assistance than Jehovah. Introvigne regarded these practices as "folkloric Satanism". The figure of "Lucifer" was taken up by the French
ceremonial magic Ceremonial magic (ritual magic, high magic or learned magic) encompasses a wide variety of rituals of Magic (supernatural), magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. I ...
ian
Éliphas Lévi Éliphas Lévi Zahed, born Alphonse Louis Constant (8 February 1810 – 31 May 1875), was a French esotericist, poet, and author of more than 20 books on magic, Kabbalah, alchemical studies, and occultism. He pursued an ecclesiastical career ...
(1810–1875), who shocked convention by turning the traditional figure of evil into a brave rebel against tyranny. Lévi has been described as a "Romantic Satanist", a Romantic literary movement that formed no organizations and did not worship Satan, but did make a crucial break away from the traditional Christian figure of the "Lord of Darkness" doomed to failure and punishment for his wickedness. They reimagined Satan as an enemy of God the powerful, but not of the weak and mortal human race. In other words, a figure it was possible for humans to sympathize with. As Lévi moved toward political conservatism in later life, he retained the use of the term, but instead applied it to what he believed was a morally neutral facet of "the absolute". Lévi was not the only occultist who used the term "Lucifer" without adopting the term "Satan" in a similar way. The early
Theosophical Society The Theosophical Society, founded in 1875, is a worldwide body with the aim to advance the ideas of Theosophy in continuation of previous Theosophists, especially the Greek and Alexandrian Neo-Platonic philosophers dating back to 3rd century C ...
believed that "Lucifer" was a force that aided humanity's awakening to its own spiritual nature. In keeping with this belief, the Society began production of the journal ''Lucifer'' in 1887. Some historians have claimed English writers
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
and
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his ach ...
to be among the first Satanists, but others believe they simply portrayed him positively without actually venerating him. The first person to promote an explicitly "Satanic" philosophy was the Polish writer
Stanisław Przybyszewski Stanisław Przybyszewski (; 7 May 1868 – 23 November 1927) was a Polish novelist, dramatist, and poet of the decadent naturalistic school. His drama is associated with the Symbolist movement. He wrote both in German and in Polish. Life Stan ...
, who based his ideology on
Social Darwinism Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in W ...
of the 1890s. Danish occultist
Carl William Hansen Carl William Hansen (11 October 1872 – 3 August 1936) was a Danish dairy farmer, Luciferian, wandering bishop, and occultist. Born in Copenhagen and first initiated into Martinism in 1898 by Alphonse Wallen, Hansen used the pseudonym Ben Kad ...
(1872–1936), who used the pen name "Ben Kadosh", listed "Luciferian" as his religious affiliation in answer to the Danish national census (his wife and children were listed as Lutheran), making him one of "the first self-declared Satanists". Hansen sought to spread a cult of Satan/Lucifer, and was involved in a variety of esoteric groups, including
Martinism Martinism is a form of Christian mysticism and esoteric Christianity concerned with the fall of the first man, his state of material privation from his divine source, and the process of his return, called 'Reintegration'. As a mystical traditio ...
,
Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, and
Ordo Templi Orientis Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.; ) is an occult Initiation, initiatory organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of the O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner (mystic), Carl Kellner, He ...
, drawing on their ideas to establish his own philosophy. He provided a Luciferian interpretation of Freemasonry in a 1906 pamphlet, though his work had little influence outside of Denmark. Stanislaw Przybyszewski (1868–1927), a “decadent Bohemian writer” who was born in Poland, was “the earliest known individual to describe himself as a Satanist”, according to Joseph Laycock. He is said to have “hinted” that he attended black masses in Paris but “there is little evidence he engaged in any sort of satanic ritual, either alone or with others”. Both during his life and after it, the British occultist
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prop ...
has been widely described as a Satanist, usually by detractors. Crowley stated he did not consider himself a Satanist, nor did he worship Satan, as he did not accept the Christian world view in which Satan was believed to exist. He nevertheless used imagery considered satanic, for instance by describing himself as "the Beast 666" and referring to the
Whore of Babylon Babylon the Great, commonly known as the Whore of Babylon, refers to both a symbolic female figure and place of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Her full title is stated in Revelation 17 ( verse 5) as "Mystery, Babylon the ...
in his work, while in later life he sent " Antichristmas cards" to his friends. Dyrendel, Lewis, and Petersen noted that despite the fact that Crowley was not a Satanist, he "in many ways embodies the pre-Satanist esoteric discourse on Satan and Satanism through his lifestyle and his philosophy", with his "image and thought" becoming an "important influence" on the later development of religious Satanism. Laycock points out that both Crowley and Church of Satan's LaVey "cultivated a sinister public image and sported shaved heads". In 1928, the
Fraternitas Saturni Fraternitas Saturni (lat.: "Brotherhood of Saturn") is a German magical order, founded in 1926 by Eugen Grosche a.k.a. Gregor A. Gregorius and four others. It is one of the oldest continuously running magical groups in Germany. The lodge is, as G ...
(FS) was established in Germany; its founder,
Eugen Grosche Eugen Grosche (11 March 1888, in Leipzig – 5 January 1964), also known as Gregor A. Gregorius, was a German occultist and author. He was founder and Grandmaster of the lodge Fraternitas Saturni from 1926 till 1964. Life and work Most of his ...
, published ''Satanische Magie'' ("Satanic Magic") that same year. The group connected Satan to
Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; ...
, claiming that the planet related to the Sun in the same manner that Lucifer relates to the human world. In 1932, an esoteric group known as the Brotherhood of the Golden Arrow was established in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
, France, by
Maria de Naglowska Maria de Naglowska (15 August 1883 – 17 April 1936) was a Russian occultist, mystic, author, journalist, and poet who wrote and taught about sexual magical ritual practices while also being linked with the Parisian surrealist movement. She establ ...
, a Russian occultist who had fled to France following the
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
. She promoted a theology centered on what she called the Third Term of the Trinity consisting of Father, Son, and Sex, the last of which she deemed to be most important. Her early disciples, who underwent what she called "Satanic Initiations", included models and art students recruited from
bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, orig ...
circles. The Golden Arrow disbanded after Naglowska abandoned it in 1936. According to Introvigne, hers was "a quite complicated Satanism, built on a complex philosophical vision of the world, of which little would survive its initiator". In 1969, a Satanic group based in
Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and accordin ...
, United States, came to public attention. Called the
Our Lady of Endor Coven Our Lady of Endor Coven, also known as Ophite Cultus Sathanas, was a Satanic cult claimed to have been founded in 1948 by Herbert Arthur Sloane (born September 3, 1905, died June 16, 1975) in Cleveland, Ohio. The group was heavily influenced by ...
, it was led by a man named Herbert Sloane, who described his Satanic tradition as the Ophite Cultus Sathanas and alleged that it had been established in the 1940s. The group had a Gnostic doctrine about the world, in which the Judeo-Christian creator god is regarded as evil, and the Biblical
serpent Serpent or The Serpent may refer to: * Snake, a carnivorous reptile of the suborder Serpentes Mythology and religion * Sea serpent, a monstrous ocean creature * Serpent (symbolism), the snake in religious rites and mythological contexts * Serp ...
is presented as a force for good, who had delivered salvation to humanity in the
Garden of Eden In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden ( he, גַּן־עֵדֶן, ) or Garden of God (, and גַן־אֱלֹהִים ''gan-Elohim''), also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the Bible, biblical paradise described in Book of Genesis, Genes ...
. Sloane's claims that his group had a 1940s origin remain unproven; it may be that he falsely claimed older origins for his group to make it appear older than Anton LaVey's Church of Satan, which had been established in 1966.


Contemporary tendencies and groups

"The intentional, religiously motivated veneration of Satan" (the "working definition" of Satanism of historian of religion Ruben van Luijk), comes in different forms. Satanism has been called a "
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 ...
", and other times judged to defuse to merit that description and been called instead a "
milieu The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educate ...
", (Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen), united by "
family resemblance Family resemblance (german: Familienähnlichkeit, link=no) is a philosophical idea made popular by Ludwig Wittgenstein, with the best known exposition given in his posthumously published book '' Philosophical Investigations'' (1953). It argues t ...
", and the fact that most of them were
self religion A self religion (or self-religion) is a religious or self-improvement group which has as one of its primary aims the improvement of the self.Chryssides, pp. 290–291. The term "self religion" was coined by Paul Heelas and other scholars of religi ...
s. Some of the resemblances in this Satanic milieu are: * the positive use of the term "Satanist" as a designation, * an emphasis on individualism, * a genealogy that connects them to other Satanic groups, * a transgressive and
antinomian Antinomianism (Ancient Greek: ἀντί 'anti''"against" and νόμος 'nomos''"law") is any view which rejects laws or legalism and argues against moral, religious or social norms (Latin: mores), or is at least considered to do so. The term ha ...
stance, * a self-perception as an elite, and * an embrace of values such as pride, self-reliance, and productive non-conformity. A minority of Satanists have some kind of association with the political far-right. Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen argue that the groups within the Satanic milieu can be divided into three groups: reactive Satanists, rationalist Satanists, and esoteric Satanists. *Reactive Satanism (they believe) encompass "popular Satanism, inverted Christianity, and symbolic rebellion" and situates itself in opposition to society while at the same time conforming to society's perspective of evil. *'Rationalist Satanism is used to describe the trend in the Satanic milieu which is
atheistic Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...
,
skeptical Skepticism, also spelled scepticism, is a questioning attitude or doubt toward knowledge claims that are seen as mere belief or dogma. For example, if a person is skeptical about claims made by their government about an ongoing war then the pe ...
,
materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...
ic, and
epicurean Epicureanism is a system of philosophy founded around 307 BC based upon the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus. Epicureanism was originally a challenge to Platonism. Later its main opponent became Stoicism. Few writings b ...
. According to Joseph Laycock, "most contemporary Satanists" are nontheistic. *Esoteric Satanism applied to those forms which are
theistic Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of a supreme being or deities. In common parlance, or when contrasted with ''deism'', the term often describes the classical conception of God that is found in monotheism (also referred to ...
and draw upon ideas from other forms of
Western esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...
,
Modern 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 ...
,
Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
, and
Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global po ...
. Diane E. Taub and Lawrence D. Nelson (publishing in 1993, at the end of the "Satanic ritual abuse" panic) divide Satanism into two: * "Establishment" Satanism, or the "respectable" form of Satanism that is "usually highly visible and structured", and emphasizes its law-abiding nature. (This may include both Rationalist Satanism and Esoteric Satanism.) An example of "Establishment Satanism" is the
Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in ''The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, Apr ...
, which "officially condemns illegal activity". (Other Establishment Satanists are the Church of Satanic Brotherhood or the Temple of Set.) It is the variety of Satanism most studied by academic sociologists, who also represent Satanism in their "discourse" as "harmless, law-abiding alternative religions", ignoring the second type of Satanism ... * "Underground" Satanism, the Satanism of "reputed criminal elements", and the variety that lay groups and the media tend to focus on (especially during the Satanic Panic of the 1980s). (Satanic Underground may be similar to Reactive Satanism.) Information on the underground is often less than reliable, as reports are sensational and the Satanists themselves are secretive.Hicks, Robert D., 1991. ''In Pursuit of Satan: The Police and the Occult'', Buffalo: Prometheus Book.Richardson, James T., "Satanism in the Courts: From Murder to Heavy Metal." pp. 205–217 in ''The Satanism Scare'', edited by James T. Richardson, Joel Best, and David G. Bromley. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter. Establishment and Underground Satanism conflict, the first wanting to preserve its social acceptance and tax-exempt status that the sensational crimes or alleged crimes of the underground put in jeopardy. How much cause and effect there is a between Underground Satanism and crime comes into question because according to at least one report, "nearly worshipping criminal has had a history of anti-social behavior ... long before taking up occult trappings.") On the other hand, evidence of personality disorders does not mean the disorder sufferer does not have sincere Satanic beliefs. Contemporary religious Satanism is predominantly an American phenomenon but has spread elsewhere via globalization and the Internet, allowing for intra-group communication and creation of a forum for Satanist disputes. Satanism started to reach
Central and Eastern Europe Central and Eastern Europe is a term encompassing the countries in the Baltics, Central Europe, Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe (mostly the Balkans), usually meaning former communist states from the Eastern Bloc and Warsaw Pact in Euro ...
in the 1990s—in time with the fall of the
Communist Bloc The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
—and most noticeably in
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...
and Lithuania, predominantly Roman Catholic countries.


Atheistic Satanism


Church of Satan and Anton LaVey

Satanism as "a self-declared religion" is said (by most scholars of Satanism), to have "truly" begun in 1966 with the founding of the
Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in ''The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, Apr ...
(CoS) by Anton Szandor LaVey. Religious scholars have called the Church not only the oldest, continuous satanic organization (Joseph Laycock), ( James R. Lewis), (Asprem, Granholm), (Faxneld and Petersen), but the most influential, with "numerous imitator and breakaway groups" (Laycock), (R. Van Luijk).R. van Luijk, Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 305. Founded in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, California in an era when there was much public interest in the
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...
,
witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have u ...
and Satanism, the church enjoyed a heyday for several years after its founding, when a "gigantic media circus" developed around "the Father of Satanism" and his Satanic aesthetics—LaVey shaved his head and wore a goatee, performing Black Masses with nude women serving as altars, Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023: section 4. The Church of Satan. From the Magic Circle to the Church of Satan was invited on national talk shows, and mingled with celebrities attending his satanic parties. Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023: section 4 The Church of Satan. LaVey’s Satanism As an entrepreneur, he saw an opening for a new religion in the spiritual void of a secularizing post-Christian West. But LaVey also promoted his ideas, and his 1969 ''
Satanic Bible ''The Satanic Bible'' is a collection of essays, observations, and rituals published by Anton LaVey in 1969. It is the central religious text of LaVeyan Satanism, and is considered the foundation of its philosophy and dogma. It has been descri ...
'' ("the best-known and most influential statement of Satanic theology"), sold nearly a million copies. These had "very little" connection with "either Satan or the worship of Satan, but were based on the
Romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...
literary concept of Satan, not as a symbol of evil, but as a rebel anti-hero, defying God’s tyranny with charisma and bravery. Together with the romanticism, "humanism, hedonism, aspects of pop psychology and the human potential movement" were weaved together by LaVey, and publicized with "a lot of showmanship". Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: section 4 The Church of Satan. Philosopher
Ayn Rand Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
, who argued that "selfishness" is a virtue, "unfettered self-interest is good and altruism is destructive", was a major influence. According to both LaVey and sociologist of religion James R. Lewis, Ayn Rand's thought was a cornerstone of his philosophy (along with "ceremony and ritual" or "ritual magic"). Other influences were
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his c ...
(who celebrated the Ubermensch, proclaimed "God is dead", and preached against the ‘slave’s morality’ of mercy, charity, and helping the weak); English occultist
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley (; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, painter, novelist, and mountaineer. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the prop ...
(famous for the axiom "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the
oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or ora ...
Law"); and
Arthur Desmond Arthur Desmond (c. 1859 – 23 January 1929?), also known as Arthur Uing, Richard Thurland, Desmond Dilg, and Gavin Gowrie, was a political activist, poet, and author. He lived for periods in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, and Engl ...
(strongly associated with
Social Darwinism Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in W ...
and the expression "the survival of the fittest"). LaVey used Christianity as a "negative mirror" for his new faith, rejecting the basic principles, theology and values of Christian belief, along with other major religions and philosophies such as
humanitarianism Humanitarianism is an active belief in the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...
and
liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
– which he saw as negative forces. Instead of idealism, humility, abstinence, (self-denigration), obedience, (herd behavior), spirituality, and irrationality; he praised the
seven deadly sins The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings. Although they are not directly mentioned in the Bible, there are parallels with the seven things ...
(
pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...
,
greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as undes ...
,
wrath Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat. A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, suc ...
,
envy Envy is an emotion which occurs when a person lacks another's quality, skill, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. Aristotle defined envy as pain at the sight of another's good fortune, stirred b ...
,
lust Lust is a psychological force producing intense desire for something, or circumstance while already having a significant amount of the desired object. Lust can take any form such as the lust for sexuality (see libido), money, or power. It ca ...
,
gluttony Gluttony ( la, gula, derived from the Latin ''gluttire'' meaning "to gulp down or swallow") means over-indulgence and over-consumption of food, drink, or wealth items, particularly as status symbols. In Christianity, it is considered a sin ...
and
sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their li ...
), as virtues not vices. LaVey went beyond discouraging sexual inhibitions and feelings of guilt and shame over fetishes, calling for a celebration of, and indulgence in, humanity's animal nature and its desires, which Christianity sought to suppress. Human beings should seek out the carnal rather than the spiritual; satisfying the ego's desires enhanced an individual's pride, self-respect, and self-realization. Hate, and aggression were necessary and advantageous for survival, victims should not "turn the other cheek" but take an "eye for an eye". Satanists should be individualistic, non-conformist, contemptuous of "colorless" mainstream society. LaVey saw Satanism as something like a personality type as much as a belief, since Satanists "are outsiders by their nature", and "born, not made". Since gods are actually a creation of man and not the other way around, LaVey asked "'Why not really be honest and if you are going to create a god in your image, why not create that god as yourself'.... every man is a god if he chooses to recognize himself as one". Not everyone would measure up to being a god however. Human social equality was a "myth", leading to "mediocrity" and support of the weak at the expense of the strong. "Social stratification" was part of Levey and the Church's "Five Point Program". A "true Satanic society" was described in Lavey's church's periodical ''The Black Flame'' and highlighted by 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 s ...
; it would be one in which the population consists of "free-spirited, well-armed, fully-conscious, self-disciplined individuals, who will neither need nor tolerate any external entity 'protecting' them or telling them what they can and cannot do." Another version of the Satanic society envisioned by LaVey was the breeding of an elite people "superior" in their creativity and nonconformity. These would live apart from the rest of the human "herd" — who would be relegated into ghettoes, ideally "space ghettoes" located on other planets. LaVey's ideas were also said to "seem "contradictory" (according to Joseph Laycock). According to one CoS priest (Gavin Baddeley), LaVey's church combined “a love of life garbed in the symbols of death and fear”, and while LaVey himself pontificated on personal freedom, he "micromanaged the lives of his followers". Some (
Lucien Greaves Douglas Mesner, better known as Lucien Greaves, is a social activist and the spokesman and co-founder (alongside Malcolm Jarry) of The Satanic Temple. Biography Greaves was born in Detroit, Michigan, United States. His mother was a Protestant ...
) doubted his atheist naturalism. LaVey insisted the church scoffed at the supernatural, but also told a interviewer he considered "curses and hexes" against enemies a form of human sacrifice "by proxy". Contradictions in his thought have been explained by his wanting it to have as wide appeal as possible, balancing (in his words) “nine parts” of “respectability” to “one part” of “outrageousness”. If Satanism was to be Satanic, it required some outrageous/anti-social elements, but if it was going to be a viable organization, these could not be allowed to frighten off potential congregants and attract unwanted attention. One "outrageous" issue that LaVey was criticized for was his "ambivalent relationship" with
far right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
groups (
United Klans of America The United Klans of America Inc. (UKA), based in Alabama, is a Ku Klux Klan organization active in the United States. Led by Robert Shelton, the UKA peaked in membership in the late 1960s and 1970s,Abby Ferber. '' White Man Falling: Race, Gender, ...
, National Renaissance Party, and the
American Nazi Party The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American far-right and neo-Nazi political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization was originally named the World Union of Free Enterprise Nationa ...
) that he neither endorsed nor rejected. Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023: section 4. The Church of Satan. The Rise and Fall of Anton LaVey "Evil, Anyone?” ''Newsweek'' (August 16, 1971), p. 56. LaVey died in 1997, but the church maintains a purist approach to his thought, insisting he and the church have "codified" Satanism as "a religion and philosophy", and dismisses other Satanist groups (atheistic or otherwise), as reverse-Christians, pseudo-Satanists or Devil worshipers.


The Satanic Temple

The Satanic Temple (TST), has been called the "most prominent" satanic organization "in terms of both size and public activity" (as of late 2023). Based in
Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, located on the North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem would become one of the most significant seaports tr ...
and active since 2012, it claims 700,000 members worldwide. Like the older Church of Satan, its congregants do not believe in a supernatural Satan, but if the CoS saw Satanism as a "negative mirror" of Christianity, reversing Christian principles of altruism (helping the downtrodden and community-mindedness), the Christian principles TST wants to reverse are politically conservative activist ones – the elimination of the right to abortion, the teaching of evolution, the separation of church and state, etc. This "left-wing", “socially engaged Satanism”, involves activism, Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023: 7 Contemporary Developments in Satanism rather than the individualism and right-wing-oriented, "getting what you want for yourself", of the CoS. They have been called "rationalist, political pranksters" (by Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen), with pranks designed to highlight religious hypocrisy and advance the cause of
secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on secular, naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state, and may be broadened to a si ...
. One such prank was performing a "Pink Mass" over the grave of the mother of the evangelical Christian and prominent anti-LGBT preacher
Fred Phelps Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American minister who served as the pastor of the Westboro Baptist Church, worked as a civil rights attorney, and ran for statewide election in Kansas. He gained nationa ...
and claiming that the mass converted the spirit of Phelps' mother into a lesbian. The "Seven Fundamental" tenets of the temple on its website mention compassion, justice, freedom, inviolability of the human body, conforming to scientific understanding, human fallibility – but say nothing about Satan. Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023: 7. Contemporary Developments in Satanism. The Satanic Temple. The Temple has been described as using the literary Satan as metaphor to promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity; and as a symbol to represent "the eternal rebel" against arbitrary authority and social norms. The temple has also demanded the privileges the government affords Christians, such as giving prayers before city council meetings, erecting (satanic) statues on government property, distributing it's materials in public schools. As the movement became bigger, its congregations volunteered to clean highways and help the homeless, at least in part to demonstrate they were civic minded and not evil. It has made efforts at
lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whic ...
, with a focus on the separation of church and state and using satire against Christian groups that it believes interfere with personal freedom. The Satanic Temple and Church of Satan have publicly disagreed on which organization is truly Satanic. Lucien Greaves has described the Temple as being a progressive and updated version of LaVey's Satanism, posted a fairly detailed refutation of LaVey's doctrines, accusing the Church of fetishizing
authoritarianism Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in the rule of law, separation of powers, and democratic vo ...
, and explaining how elements of
Social Darwinism Social Darwinism refers to various theories and societal practices that purport to apply biological concepts of natural selection and survival of the fittest to sociology, economics and politics, and which were largely defined by scholars in W ...
and
Nietzscheanism Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900) developed his philosophy during the late 19th century. He owed the awakening of his philosophical interest to reading Arthur Schopenhauer's ''Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung'' (''The World as Will and Represe ...
within LaVeyan Satanism are incongruent with game theory,
reciprocal altruism In evolutionary biology, reciprocal altruism is a behaviour whereby an organism acts in a manner that temporarily reduces its fitness while increasing another organism's fitness, with the expectation that the other organism will act in a similar m ...
, and cognitive science. The Church of Satan, on the other hand, has declared the TST members as only "masquerading" as Satanists, being in violation of the "five decades of a clearly defined belief system called Satanism expounded by a worldwide organization", (i.e.
LaVeyan Satanism LaVeyan Satanism is a nontheistic religion founded in 1966 by the American occultist and author Anton Szandor LaVey. Scholars of religion have classified it as a new religious movement and a form of Western esotericism. LaVey established his ...
).


First Satanic Church

After LaVey's death in 1997, the Church of Satan was taken over by a new administration and its headquarters were moved to
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
. LaVey's daughter, the High Priestess Karla LaVey, felt this to be a disservice to her father's legacy. She re-founded The First Satanic Church on October 31, 1999, back in its city of origin,
San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for "Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. This church has been called "a lot more exclusive" than the original and as of late 2023 was known for producing a "Black X-Mass concert" in San Francisco "every year for the last couple decades".


Theistic Satanism

Theistic Satanism Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural enti ...
(also known as traditional Satanism, Spiritual Satanism or
Devil A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of ...
worship) is a form of Satanism with the primary belief that Satan is an actual deity or force to revere or worship. Other characteristics of theistic Satanism may include a belief in Magic (paranormal), magic, which is manipulated through ritual, although that is not a defining criterion, and theistic Satanists may focus solely on devotion.


Temple of Set

The Temple of Set (ToS) is an Initiation, initiatory
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...
left-hand path religious organization. It was founded in 1975 when Michael Aquino, the founder of a Church of Satan "Grotto" in Louisville, Kentucky, and editor of the Church's newsletter, ''The Cloven Hoof'', left the church, taking 28 members with him. Aquino's anger that LaVey had devalued his high level grade of "magister" in the church may have initiated his break, but Aquino also disagreed with LaVey's materialist philosophy, arguing that while the church might publicly be materialist, Satan as symbol was "only part of the truth". Aquino held a ritual to ask Satan "where to lead" his CoS defectors and on the night of June 21–22, 1975, Satan allegedly told him to “Reconsecrate my Temple and my Order in the true name of Set. No longer will I accept the bastard title of a Hebrew fiend.” Thus Aquino came to believe that the name ''Satan'' was a corruption of the name ''Set'', the Egyptian god of darkness. Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: 5 The Temple of Set and Esoteric Satanism.The Temple of Set The philosophy of the Temple of Set may be summed up as "enlightened individualism"— enhancement and improvement of oneself by personal education, experiment, and initiation. This process is necessarily different and distinctive for each individual. The members do not agree on whether Set is real or symbolic, and they're not expected to. The Temple teaches that Set is a real entity, and the only real god in existence, with all other gods being created by the human imagination. Set is described as having given humanity —through the means of non-natural
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
— the "Black Flame" or the "Gift of Set", which is a questioning intellect that sets humans apart from other animals. While Setians are expected to revere Set, they do not worship him. Central to Setian philosophy is the human individual, with self-deification presented as the ultimate goal. Estimates of the Temple's total are between 300 and 500 as of 2005 (Petersen); and approximately 200 as of 2007 (Granholm). Members must remain active. New members have one year to join a pylon (a Local chapter) and must reach the second degree of adept by showing proficiency in magic within two years, or have their memberships revoked. Aquino died in July 2020 at the age of 73. High priests after Aquino were Don Webb starting in 1996, Zeena Schreck starting in 2002 (who lasted only six weeks when Aquino took over again), Patricia Hardy starting in 2004.


The "sinister tradition" and the Order of Nine Angles

During the 1990s, the idea that groups like Church of Satan and Temple of Satan were "too benevolent and law-abiding" to be true Satanists grew, particularly among musicians and fans in extreme heavy metal music, where being more extreme meant being more authentic. Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: 5 The Temple of Set and Esoteric Satanism.Amoral Groups and the Order of Nine Angles These antinomian and amoral Satanic (or post-Satanic) groups are sometimes called the "sinister tradition" of Satanism. The Order of Nine Angles has been called "the ur-type that defines the sinister tradition" and is connected to multiple killings, rapes, and cases of child abuse and right-wing terrorism. According to the group's own claims, the Order of Nine Angles (O9A or ONA) was established in Shropshire, England, during the late 1960s, when a Grand Mistress united a number of ancient pagan groups active in the area. This account states that when the Order's Grand Mistress migrated to Australia, a man known as "Anton Long" took over as the new Grand Master. From 1976 onward, he authored an array of texts for the tradition, codifying and extending its teachings, mythos, and structure. Various academics have argued that Long is the pseudonym of British National Socialist Movement activist David Myatt, (Myatt denies it but Religion scholar Jacob Senholt "copies of ONA documents from 1978 with Myatt’s name on them" have been found and "early ONA texts were published" by a press that "Myatt owned"). The O9A arose to public attention in the early 1980s, spreading its message through magazine articles over the following two decades. In 2000, it established a presence on the internet, later adopting social media to promote its message. O9A consists largely of secretive, autonomous covert cell, cells known as "nexions", operating as a network of allied Satanic practitioners, which it terms the "kollective". The majority of these are located in Britain, Ireland, and Germany, although others are located elsewhere in Europe, and in Russia, Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Australia, and the United States. In recent decades up to 2023, O9A has caught the attention of “white supremacist groups and troubled young men” through its material online, and as of 2013 2,000 people “may be associated with the ONA in one form or another.” according to one estimate.Monette, Mysticism in the 21st Century, p. 89. The O9A describe their occultism as "Traditional Satanism". The O9A's writings not only encourage human sacrifice, but insist it is required in Satanism, referring to their victims as ''opfers''. According to the Order's teachings, such opfers must demonstrate character faults that mark them out as being worthy of death. No O9A cell has admitted to carrying out a sacrifice in a ritualized manner, but rather, Order members have joined the police and military in order to carry out such killings. Faxneld described the Order as "a dangerous and extreme form of Satanism", while religious studies scholar Graham Harvey (religious studies scholar), Graham Harvey wrote that the O9A fit the stereotype of the Satanist "better than other groups" by embracing "deeply shocking" and illegal acts. Several British politicians, including the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party's Yvette Cooper, chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, have pushed for the group to be banned as a terror organization, and according to the BBC News, "the authorities are concerned by the number of paedophiles associated with the ONA". Additionally, there are various followers of the O9A paradigm who are (or were) also members of banned militant national-socialist groups, namely the Atomwaffen Division, Combat 18, and Nordic Resistance Movement, the first of which even openly aims to perpetrate terror attacks. * * * *


Joy of Satan

Joy of Satan is a website and western esotericism, esoteric
occult The occult, in the broadest sense, is a category of esoteric supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving otherworldly agency, such as magic and mysticism ...
group that combines Satanism, the Ancient astronauts, ancient alien astronaut "hypothesis", and antisemitism. Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: 5 The Temple of Set and Esoteric Satanism. Other Esoteric Groups It was founded in the early 2000s by Maxine Dietrich (pseudonym of Andrea Maxine Dietrich), wife of the National Socialist Movement (United States), American National Socialist Movement's co-founder and former leader Clifford Herrington. With its inception, spiritual Satanism was born – a current that until recently was regarded only as "theist", but then defined into "spiritual Satanism" by Theistic Satanists who concluded that the term "spiritual" in Satanism represented the best answer to the world, considering it a "moral slap" toward the earlier carnal and materialistic LaVeyan Satanism, and instead focusing its attention upon spiritual evolution. Joy of Satan presents a unique synthesis of theistic Satanism, Nazism, Gnosticism, Modern Paganism, Paganism,
Western esotericism Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas a ...
, UFO conspiracy theory, UFO conspiracy theories, and extraterrestrial hypotheses similar to those popularized by Zecharia Sitchin and David Icke. Members of Joy of Satan are generally polytheists, believing that Satan is one of many deities. While Satan and demons are considered deities within JoS, the deities themselves are understood to be highly evolved, un-aging, sentient, and powerful humanoid extraterrestrial beings. Satan and many demons are equated with gods from ancient cultures, some of which include the Sumerian religion, Sumerian god Enki, and the Yazidism, Yazidi angel Melek Taus being seen as Satan, borrowing their theistic Satanist interpretations of Enki from the writings of Zecharia Sitchin, and Melek Taus partially deriving from the writings of Anton LaVey. Satan is seen not only as an important deity but a powerful and sentient being responsible for the creation of humanity. Satan is also revered by JoS as "the true father and creator god of humanity", the bringer of knowledge, and whose desire is for his creations, humans, to elevate themselves through knowledge and understanding. In their beliefs, Yazidism (a pre-Islamic religion of about one million members found mainly in northern Iraq, that holds that Melek Taûs ''Tawûsî Melek'', "the Peacock Angel", is the leader of the archangels and functions as the ruler of the world; but who Muslims believe is a fallen angel), is in juxtaposition with Satanism as they consider the two share similar elements, such as Yazidi devotees being defined by Muslims as "devotees to Shaytan" and regarded as Satanists. It is also believed that the figure of Melek Taus, the peacock angel, may derive from much older pagan deities, such as Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of wisdom who rides a peacock, or even the god Indra, who transforms into a peacock. The story of Melek Taus itself is also considered by JoS to have many satanic elements, such as being described as the angel who rebelled against the Abrahamic god. The sacred text of the Yazidis, the Al-Jilwah, is claimed by the JoS as the word of Satan. While maintaining some popularity as a Theistic Satanist sect, the group has been widely criticized for its association with the National Socialist Movement and its racial anti-Jewish, anti-Judaic, and Criticism of Christianity, anti-Christian sentiment, as well as its anti-Semitic conspiracy theories. Much of their beliefs on aliens, meditation, and telepathic contacts with demons have become popular in a larger milieu within the currents of recent non-LaVeyan theistic Satanism. According to Petersen's survey (2014), Joy of Satan's angelfire network has a surprising prominence among theistic Satanist websites on the internet. In addition, James R. Lewis's "Satan census" (2009) also revealed a presence of respondents to Joy of Satan.


Luciferianism

Luciferians reportedly revere Lucifer not as the devil, but as a destroyer, guardian, liberator, light bringer, and/or guiding spirit to darkness, or even as the true god, as opposed to Jehovah. The Greater Church of Lucifer of Houston lost its place of worship in 2017 after vandalism death threats to its landlord caused him to refuse to renew the church's lease.


Personal Satanism

In contrast to the organized and doctrinal Satanist groups is the personal Satanism of individuals, who identify as Satanists due to their affinity for the general idea of Satan, including such characteristics as viciousness and/or subversion. Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen used the term "reactive Satanism" to describe one form of modern Satanism. They described this as an adolescent and anti-social behaviour, anti-social means of rebelling in a Christian society, by which an individual transgresses cultural boundaries. which tends to fall into two tendencies: *"Satanic tourism"—characterized by the brief period of time in which an individual was involved; *"Satanic quest"—typified by a longer and deeper involvement. The researcher Gareth Medway noted that in 1995 he encountered a British woman who stated that she had been a practicing Satanist during her teenage years. She had grown up in a small mining village and had come to believe that she had psychic powers. After hearing about Satanism in some library books, she declared herself a Satanist and formulated a belief that Satan was the true god. After her teenage years she abandoned Satanism and became a chaos magickian. Some personal Satanists are teenagers or mentally disturbed individuals who have engaged in criminal activities. During the 1980s and 1990s, several groups of teenagers were apprehended after sacrificing animals and vandalizing both churches and graveyards with Satanic imagery. Introvigne stated that these incidents were "more a product of juvenile deviance and marginalization than Satanism". In a few cases, the crimes of these personal Satanists have included murder. *In 1970, two separate groups of teenagers— one led by Stanley Baker in Big Sur, and the other by Steven Hurd in Los Angeles, killed a total of three people and consumed parts of their corpses in what they later claimed were sacrifices devoted to Satan. *The American serial killer Richard Ramirez claimed that he was a (theistic) Satanist; during his 1980s killing spree he left an inverted pentagram at the scene of each murder and at his trial called out "Hail Satan!" *In 1984 on Long Island, a group allegedly called the Knights of the Black Circle killed one of its own members, Gary Lauwers, over a disagreement regarding the group's illegal drug dealing; group members later related that Lauwers' death was a sacrifice to Satan. In particular, self-declared Satanist and alleged member of the Knights of the Black Circle, Ricky Kasso, Ricky "the Acid King" Kasso, became notorious for torturing and murdering Lauwers while attempting to force Lauwers to declare "I love Satan" during the murder. *On November 21, 1998, Jarno Elg, a Finland, Finnish Satanist, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering a 23-year-old man in Hyvinkää, Finland, Human cannibalism, eating some of the body parts and instigating others to participate in a ritual that included torturing the victim. *Nikolai Ogolobyak, who confessed to being a member of a Satanic cult, was sentenced to 20 years in 2010 for the ritual killing of four teenagers in Russia's Yaroslavl region.


Demographics

A survey in the Encyclopedia of Satanism found that people became involved with Satanism in many diverse ways and were found in many countries. The survey found that more Satanists were raised as Protestant Christians than Catholic. Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen observed that from surveys of Satanists conducted in the early 21st century, it was clear that the Satanic milieu was "heavily dominated by young males". They nevertheless noted that census data from New Zealand suggested that there may be a growing proportion of women becoming Satanists. In comprising more men than women, Satanism differs from most other religious communities, including most new religious communities. Most Satanists came to their religion through reading, either online or books, rather than through being introduced to it through personal contacts. Many practitioners do not claim that they converted to Satanism, but rather state that they were born that way, and only later in life confirmed that Satanism served as an appropriate label for their pre-existing worldviews. Others have stated that they had experiences with supernatural phenomena that led them to embracing Satanism. A number of Satanists reported anger toward some practicing Christians and said that the monotheistic gods of Christianity and other religions are unethical, citing issues such as the problem of evil. For some practitioners, Satanism gave a sense of hope, even for those who had been physically and sexually abused. The surveys revealed that atheistic Satanists appeared to be in the majority, although the numbers of theistic Satanists appeared to grow over time. Beliefs in the afterlife varied, although the most common beliefs about the afterlife were reincarnation and the idea that consciousness survives bodily death. The surveys also demonstrated that most recorded Satanists practiced magic (supernatural), magic, although there were differing opinions as to whether magical acts operated according to etheric laws or whether the effect of magic was purely psychological. A number of Satanists described performing curse, cursing, in most cases as a form of vigilante justice. Most practitioners conduct their religious observances in a solitary manner, and never or rarely meet fellow Satanists for rituals. Rather, the primary interaction that takes place between Satanists is online, on websites or via email. From their survey data, Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen noted that the average length of involvement in the Satanic milieu was seven years. A Satanist's involvement in the movement tends to peak in their early twenties and drops off sharply in their thirties. A small proportion retain their allegiance to the religion into their elder years. When asked about their ideology, the largest proportion of Satanists identified as apolitical or non-aligned, while only a small percentage identified as conservative. A small minority of Satanists expressed support for Nazism; conversely, over two-thirds expressed opposition or strong opposition to it.


2021 Canadian census

The 2021 Canadian census states that 5,890 Canadians identify as Satanist, representing 0.02% of the population. Compared to the general population, Satanists are more likely to be male, aged in their 20s or 30s, and not a member of any recognized minority group, although the Japanese are an exception (with the Japanese comprising 0.3% of both Satanists and the population as a whole).


Legal recognition

In 2004, it was claimed that Satanism was allowed in the Royal Navy of the British Armed Forces, despite opposition from Christians. In 2016, under a Freedom of information in the United Kingdom, Freedom of Information request, the Navy Command Headquarters stated that "we do not recognise satanism as a formal religion, and will not grant facilities or make specific time available for individual 'worship'." In 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States debated in the case of ''Cutter v. Wilkinson'' over protecting minority religious rights of prison inmates after a lawsuit challenging the issue was filed to them. The court ruled that facilities that accept federal funds cannot deny prisoners accommodations that are necessary to engage in activities for the practice of their own religious beliefs. In 2019, The Satanic Temple was granted religious 501(c)(3) organization, IRS 501(c)(3) status.


Art


Literature

From the late 1600s through to the 1800s, the character of Satan was increasingly rendered unimportant in western philosophy, and ignored in Christian theology, while in folklore he came to be seen as a foolish rather than a menacing figure. The development of new values in the Age of Enlightenment (in particular, those of reason and individualism) contributed to a shift in many Europeans' concept of Satan. In this context, a number of individuals took Satan out of the traditional Christian narrative and reread and reinterpreted him in light of their own time and their own interests, in turn generating new and different portraits of Satan. The shifting concept of Satan owes many of its origins to John Milton's epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' (1667), in which Satan features as the protagonist. Milton was a Puritan and had never intended for his depiction of Satan to be a sympathetic one. However, in portraying Satan as a victim of his own pride who rebelled against the Judeo-Christian god, Milton humanized him and also allowed him to be interpreted as a rebel against tyranny. In this vein, the nineteenth century saw the emergence of what has been termed "literary Satanism" or "romantic Satanism", where in poetry, plays, and novels, God is portrayed not as benevolent but using His omnipotent power for tyranny. Whereas in Christian doctrine Satan was an enemy of not only god but humanity, in the romantic portrayal he was a brave, noble, rebel against tyranny, a friend to other victims of the all powerful bully, i.e. humans. These writers saw Satan as a metaphor to criticize the power of churches and state and to champion the values of reason and liberty. Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981: chapter 1. What Is Satanism? Anton LaVey and the Invention of Satanism This was how Milton's Satan was understood by John Dryden and later readers like the publisher Joseph Johnson (publisher), Joseph Johnson, and the anarchist philosopher William Godwin, who reflected it in his 1793 book ''Enquiry Concerning Political Justice''. ''Paradise Lost'' gained a wide readership in the eighteenth century, both in Britain and in continental Europe, where it had been translated into French by Voltaire. Milton thus became "a central character in rewriting Satanism" and would be viewed by many later religious Satanists as a "''de facto'' Satanist". According to Ruben van Luijk, this cannot be seen as a "coherent movement with a single voice, but rather as a ''post factum'' identified group of sometimes widely divergent authors among whom a similar theme is found". For the literary Satanists, Satan was depicted as a benevolent and sometimes heroic figure, with these more sympathetic portrayals proliferating in the art and poetry of many romanticist and Decadent movement, decadent figures. For these individuals, Satanism was not a religious belief or ritual activity, but rather a "strategic use of a symbol and a character as part of artistic and political expression". Among the romanticist poets to adopt this concept of Satan was the English poet
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley ( ; 4 August 17928 July 1822) was one of the major English Romantic poets. A radical in his poetry as well as in his political and social views, Shelley did not achieve fame during his lifetime, but recognition of his ach ...
, who had been influenced by Milton. In his poem ''Laon and Cythna'', Shelley praised the "serpent", a reference to Satan, as a force for good in the universe. Another was Shelley's fellow British poet
Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...
, who included Satanic themes in his 1821 play ''Cain (play), Cain'', which was a dramatization of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. These more positive portrayals also developed in France; one example was the 1823 work ''Eloa'' by Alfred de Vigny. Satan was also adopted by the French poet Victor Hugo, who made the character's fall from Heaven a central aspect of his ''La Fin de Satan'', in which he outlined his own cosmogony. Although the likes of Shelley and Byron promoted a positive image of Satan in their work, there is no evidence that any of them performed religious rites to venerate him, and thus they cannot be considered to be religious Satanists. Radical left-wing political ideas had been spread by the American Revolution of 1775–83 and the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
of 1789–99. The figure of Satan, who was seen as having rebelled against the tyranny imposed by Jehovah, was appealing to many of the radical leftists of the period. For them, Satan was "a symbol for the struggle against tyranny, injustice, and oppression... a mythical figure of rebellion for an age of revolutions, a larger-than-life individual for an age of individualism, a free thinker in an age struggling for free thought". The French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, who was a staunch critic of Christianity, embraced Satan as a symbol of liberty in several of his writings. Another prominent 19th century anarchist, the Russian Mikhail Bakunin, similarly described the figure of Satan as "the eternal rebel, the first freethinker and the emancipator of worlds" in his book ''God and the State''. These ideas likely inspired the American feminist activist Moses Harman to name his anarchist periodical ''Lucifer the Lightbearer''. The idea of this "Leftist Satan" declined during the twentieth century, although it was used on occasion by authorities within the Soviet Union, who portrayed Satan as a symbol of freedom and equality.


Metal and rock music

During the 1960s and 1970s, several rock bands— namely the American band Coven (band), Coven and the British band Black Widow (band), Black Widow, employed the imagery of Satanism and witchcraft in their work. References to Satan also appeared in the work of those rock bands which were pioneering the heavy metal music, heavy metal genre in Britain during the 1970s. For example, the band Black Sabbath made mention of Satan in their lyrics, although some of the band's members were practicing Christians, and other lyrics affirmed the power of the Christian god over Satan. In the 1980s, greater use of Satanic imagery was made by heavy metal bands like Slayer, Kreator, Sodom (band), Sodom, and Destruction (band), Destruction. Bands active in the subgenre of death metal— among them Deicide (band), Deicide, Morbid Angel, and Entombed (band), Entombed, also adopted Satanic imagery, combining it with other morbid and dark imagery, such as that of zombies and serial killers. Satanism would come to be more closely associated with the subgenre of black metal, in which it was foregrounded over the other themes that had been used in death metal. A number of black metal performers incorporated self-injury into their act, framing this as a manifestation of Satanic devotion. The first black metal band, Venom (band), Venom, proclaimed themselves to be Satanists, although this was more an act of provocation than an expression of genuine devotion to the Devil. Satanic themes were also used by the black metal bands Bathory (band), Bathory and Hellhammer. However, the first black metal act to more seriously adopt Satanism was Mercyful Fate, whose vocalist, King Diamond, joined the
Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in ''The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, Apr ...
. More often than not musicians associating themselves with black metal say they do not believe in legitimate Satanic ideology and often profess to being atheists, agnostics, or religious skeptics. In contrast to King Diamond, various black metal Satanists sought to distance themselves from LaVeyan Satanism, for instance by referring to their beliefs as "
devil worship Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural enti ...
". These individuals regarded Satan as a literal entity, and in contrast to Anton LaVey, they associated Satanism with criminality, suicide, and terror. For them, Christianity was regarded as a plague which required eradication. Many of these individuals, most prominently Varg Vikernes and Euronymous, were involved in the early Norwegian black metal scene. Between 1992 and 1996, such people destroyed around fifty Norwegian churches in arson attacks. Within the black metal scene, a number of musicians later replaced Satanic themes with those deriving from Heathenry (new religious movement), Heathenry, a form of modern Paganism.


See also

* ''Contemporary Religious Satanism'' * Demonology * Devil in popular culture * Satanic ritual abuse


References


Notes


Footnotes


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Further reading

*


External links


Religious Tolerance page on Satanism
* {{Authority control Satanism, Left-Hand Path