Satanism. The cult of Satan, or Satan worship, is in part a survival of the ancient worship of demons and in part a revolt against Christianity or the church. It rose about the 12th cent. in Europe and reached its culmination in the blasphemous ritual of the Black Mass, a desecration of the Christian rite. The history of early Satanism is obscure. It was revived in the reign of Louis XIV in France and is still practiced by various groups throughout the world, particularly in the United States. One of the largest and most influential Satanic groups is the Church of Satan (1966), founded by Anton LaVey in San Francisco. A splinter group, the Temple of Set (1975), was organized by Michael Aquino. Many Satanic groups, including the ones mentioned, attest that such worship does not necessarily imply evil intentions, but rather an alternative to the repressive morality of many other religious groups. Such groups see no harm in their indulgence in "worldly pleasures" that other religions forbid. Other, more severe brands of Satanism likely exist, although much of the activity pegged as "Satanic" has less to do with the religion than with various forms of sociopathy. Indeed, reliable research has found no evidence indicating the existence of alarming, large-scale Satanic phenomena. An unfortunate mistake is the unfounded—yet common—linkage of minority religious traditions, such as the African-derived voodoo and Santería, with Satanism. See also witchcraft.

Worship of Satan, or the devil, the personality or principle regarded in the Judeo-Christian tradition as embodying absolute evil, in complete antithesis to God. Cults associated with satanism have been documented, however sketchily, back to the 17th century. Their central feature is the black mass, a corrupted and inverted rendition of the Christian Eucharist. Practices are said to include animal sacrifice and deviant sexual activity. Worship is motivated by the belief that Satan is more powerful than the forces of good, and so is more capable of bringing about the results sought by his adherents.

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For other uses of the word, see Satanism (disambiguation).

Satanism can refer to a number of belief systems depending on the user and context. The word, in basic context, can refer to the worship of the Christian devil, thus being a Christian denomination, the Occult/Ritual Magic, and the left hand path belief system founded by Anton LaVey. It is often the practice of any given Satanist not to refer to themselves with a hyphenated prefix. Each "type" of Satanist will usually refer to themselves only as Satanists.

Theistic Satanism

Theistic Satanism, also called Spiritual or Traditional Satanism, is the worship of Satan, and consists of several viewpoints and groups. One group that falls under the definition of Theistic Satanism are called "reverse Christians"; this is sometimes used as a disparaging term by other theistic Satanists, and embraced to a lesser or greater extent by the groups given this label. Groups called "Reverse Christian" are said to practice what Christians claim Satanists do, and worship the enemy of Christ and God. Some other groups of Theistic Satanists do not accept the Bible as depicting the true Satan to the same degree. The Spiritual Satanists however see Satan as a god that looks just like any other human, but as with all religions, is not uniform throughout all believers. While there are those who view Satan as a human-like entity, there are those who accept the ancient Roman image of Lucifer, and even those who imagine him as the image of the Greek god Pan. Spiritual Satanists tend to focus their time on meditation and self expansion. Their beliefs have nothing to do with Christianity or the Bible, and their view on Satanism.

Luciferianism

Luciferianism is a recently developed offshoot of Satanism that keeps most of the tenets of Satanism, yet has more leniency to what is commonly referred to as a 'good' morality. Their view of Satan may incorporate some concepts from contemporary western religion, such as the sense of him by some of them as a father. One of these groups considers themselves to be 'Christian Satanists,' rejects the ideas of magic and rituals, and define themselves as being in the middle of LaVeyan Satanism and Christian teachings. This stance has led to their rejection from the Church of Satan.

Atheistic Satanism

LaVeyan Satanism

LaVeyan Satanists are technically Atheists and Agnostics, and believe that Satan is a metaphor that represents the natural urges of mankind. The term LaVeyan Satanist or symbolic Satanist, is used by other Satanists to refer to supporters of the writings of Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey and successors such as Peter H. Gilmore. Use of the word Satanism in this context, according to religioustolerance.org, refers to a "small religious group that is unrelated to any other faith, and whose members feel free to satisfy their urges responsibly, exhibit kindness to their friends, and attack their enemies.

Temple of Set

The largest or most visible organized group of Religious Satanists appears to be the Temple of Set, organized by Michael Aquino from members of the Church of Satan who left that Church in 1975.

Modern Satanism

Modern Satanism is the observance and practice of Satanic religious beliefs, philosophies and customs. In this interpretation of Satanism, the Satanist does not worship Satan in the theistic sense, but is an adversary to all spiritual creeds, espousing hedonism, materialism, Randian Objectivism, antinomianism, rational egoism, individualism, suitheism, Nietzschean and some Crowleyan philosophy and anti-theism. Modern Satanists are also sometimes referred to as symbolic Satanists.

Groups alleged to have practiced Satanism

Many groups have been believed to have worshiped Satan, from pagans celebrating Pan to Yezidis worshiping Melek Taus.

However, while some debate their authenticity, other artists have professed Satanic beliefs. Glen Benton, vocalist and bassist of the band Deicide, once openly claimed to be a practitioner of Theistic Satanism, and has spoken publicly on numerous occasions to profess staunch anti-Christian sentiment. Norwegian black metal artists, such as those from bands Gorgoroth and Mayhem, have also defended modern Satanic ideology. Numerous burnings of churches that covered parts of Norway in the early 1990s were also attributed to youths involved in the black metal movement, who claimed to have theistic Satanic beliefs and strong "anti-LaVeyan" attitudes. However, the legitimacy of such actions as Satanic endeavors, rather than simply rebellious actions done for publicity, is something that has been doubted by even those who contribute to the genre.

See also

• Arthur Desmond
• Boyd Rice
• Hellfire Club
• Might is Right
• Satanic holidays

References

Further reading

• Michelet, Jules (1862). Satanism and Witchcraft: The Classic Study of Medieval Superstition. ISBN 978-0806500591. Considered the first modern work to discuss Satanism.
• Cavendish, Richard (1967). The Black Arts: An Absorbing Account of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages. ISBN 978-0399500350. Summary of the history of Witchcraft, Satanism, and Devil Worship in the last part of the book.
• Zacharias, Gerhard (1980). The Satanic Cult. ISBN 978-0041330083. Translated from the 1964 German edition by Christine Trollope.
• Medway, Gareth (2001). Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism. ISBN 978-0814756454.

External links

• Sinagogue of Satan Manifesto
• Theistic Satanism resource site
• Religious Tolerance page on Satanism
• Modern Church of Satan
• Modern Satanism
• Description, Philosophies and Justification of Satanism
• Satanism of All Types Both Fictional and Actual
• Satanic Discussion Group