Satanism

"Satanism" is a term which has been used since the end of the Middle Ages to describe a number of different (accusated) belief systems in a number of contexts. People claiming to be Satanists, or outsiders claiming to describe Satanism, ascribe a wide variety of beliefs to Satanism. At the same time there is no established, common sense of this word. These range from the obviously fanatiс sects to the groups of people in search of themselves; from the literal deistic worship of a spiritual being (Theistic Satanism) to the monography of the atheistic philosopher; from a subversive ritual performance stressing the mockery of Christian symbols (most notably the Black Mass) to denying all rituals; from the claimed rediscovery of an ancient but misunderstood religion (e.g. Setianism, associated with the Egyptian god Set who is conflated by some with the biblical Satan) to the exaltation of hedonistic recreation and the celebration of selfishness and pleasure.

Satanism also refers to the despair at the possibility of salvation as exemplified in the poetry of for instance Gérard de Nerval and Charles Baudelaire.

Known Satanists

The most prominent and widely known Satanist in recent years (as of 2007) is, and was, Anton Szandor LaVey, who founded the Church of Satan in 1966. LaVey wrote The Satanic Bible (1969) and other works which remain highly influential, though controversial, among avowed Satanists. LaVey rejected the Black Mass, cruelty to animals, and a literal deistic belief in, or worship of, Satan, instead considering Satan as the human instinct within ourselves, which is what LaVeyan Satanism celebrates. He supported a view of human beings as animals, and rejected many social structures that he believed inhibit natural human instincts.

Equally celebrated within some, though not all, Satanic and occult circles would be ritual magician Aleister Crowley, who referred to himself as "The Great Beast 666." Though not a worshiper of any deity known as Satan, his severe disdain for Protestant Christianity and his occult activities have been confused and conflated into his fame as a "Satanist".

See also

• Hellfire Club
• LaVeyan Satanism
• Luciferianism
• Setianism
• Theistic Satanism

Churches

• The Church of Satan
• Temple of Set
• First Satanic Church

Books on the history of Satanism

• 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. Translated from the German by Christine Trollope

• Medway, Gareth (2001). Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism. ISBN 978-0814756454.

External links

• Official Church of Satan website
• Official First Satanic Church website
• Religious Tolerance page on Satanism
• The Circle of Leviathan (est 1996)
• The League of Independent Satanists
• Australian Grand Lodge
• Modern Church of Satan
• Sinagogue of Satan
• The Satanic Chapel
• The definition of Satanism according to new-religion scholars and other observers