Satanism
Definition of Satanism
Many people use the term satanism to refer to very different religions and practices. Before we can proceed with a study of satanism, it is necessary to clear up the confusion behind the definition of satanism.
In a Christian-dominated America, fundamentalist Christians have been known to use the term satanism to define any practice other than Christianity. This would make 75% of the world's population satanic. A more common definition of satanism is any practice that deals with the occult, such as wicca, santeria, neopagan traditions, etc. These are not at all related and often have completely different beliefs and structures. For the purpose of this web site, I will narrow down the definition of satanism to any individual or group that worships Satan or a precursor/analogue of Satan, either in a literal or figurative form. Below is a further explanation of these divisions.
Atheistic vs. Theistic Satanism
Atheistic Satanism: Satanists in this tradition believe in, and worship, no deity at all. Instead they honor the spirit of Satan, or at least some equivalent of Satan (such as the ancient Egyptian god Set, who will be discussed later). Atheistic Satanists worship the ideals of Satan and present him as an idol whose traits are to be emulated. Satan is often also worshipped simply as a symbol of resistance to dominant Christian ethos. A good example of a group based on these principles is the Church of Satan.
Theistic Satanism: These are practices that involve the belief that Satan or some equivalent does exist, and this satanic deity is the main focus of worship. The Temple of Set, a splinter group from the aforementioned Church of Satan, is a church that leans more toward this philosophy.
Satanism Through History
The earliest satanic tradition began with the ancient Egyptian deity Set, who dates back at least until 3200 BC, possibly as early as 5000 BC. Set was a god that represented individual consciousness. He also was linked to dark forces such as thunder and hostility. When temples that worshipped rival deities such as Osiris took over, Set was cast as an evil and malevolent being. Some Setian ideas of independence and magic survived and would become a tradition in the ancient Greek world.
Satan was adopted by the Hebrews as an agent for God, somewhat of an angel sent to punish the sinners. Later Satan was changed into the antithesis of God, and thus an innately evil god. When Christianity took hold, deities from pagan traditions would be incorporated into the image of Satan (cloven hooves, horns, etc.). In 1486, two monks, Kramer and Sprenger, wrote The Malleus Maleficarium, also know as The Witches' Hammer. This book detailed activities of witches and other so-called satanists. These activities included: flying on broomsticks, having wild sexual orgies, eating children, and inducing plagues. No evidence of any kind of organized religion with these activities has ever surfaced. Nevertheless, the book began an satanic panic that resulted in many "heretics" being tortured and executed by Christian inquisitions. There are no accurate records of the number of people killed by various inquisitions, but estimates range up to 13 million.
The black arts and various occult practices resurfaced in the 19th century. The most famous movement was led by Aleister Crowley, a mystic who would believed in pagan traditions and sex magick. Though not a satanist, Crowley's ideas would influence later satanist traditions. These culminated in the creation of the world's first organized satanic church, the Church of Satan, in 1966. This church and the Temple of Set are discussed in detail in their own separate links; the rest of this page is dedicated to recent myths surrounding satanism.
Modern Satanic Panics
The 1980s saw a wave of satanic panics that spread through America. "Satan mongers," often conservative Christians, made charges that there was a huge underground satanic conspiracy. Some estimate that the number of satanists nationwide number in the millions. This satanic underground, they charge, is responsible for such crimes as torturing and mutilating animals, child pornography and molestation, child kidnappings, and the ritualistic murder of children. Some estimate that there are between fifty thousand and two million children sacrificed to Satan every year.
A number of different people have stepped up to verify the existence of such satanic cults. Michelle Smith published Michelle Remembers in 1980, which told gruesome stories being abused at the hands of an organized cult. Lauren Stratford gained much attention with her book Satan's Undergroud, which told of her being used as a "baby breeder" to provide satanic cults with human babies for sacrifice. Numerous other people have testified in books, radio programs, TV shows, so on to claim that they are personal witnesses to the horrors of satanism.
This all sounds horrifying, but the fact is that no solid evidence indicating the presence of an organized satanist underground has ever been discovered.
How, then, has all this testimonial evidence surfaced?
Much can be explained by a process called Recovered Memory Therapy (RTM). Many therapists during the 80s used this process to try to unearth memories of abuse suffered as a child. This was undergone with the assumption that most troubled patients had suffered terrible trauma at a young age, and it was the job of the therapist to discover the hardship in any way possible. Such methods included suggestive and leading questions, hypnotism, implantation of ideas, and coersive conversation. As a result, thousands or even tens of thousands of confused patients "remembered" being abused as children, sometimes by their parents, often at the hands of satanic cults. Many families were torn apart as a result of these accusations.
During the 1990s, more and more mental health organizations determined that RMT often produced false memories in the minds of patients, and warned against the further use of this technique. Countless patients retracted their memories gained in RMT, and many therapists were sued for damages caused. Now such practices are widely disregarded as flawed methods.
Much of what the patients had "remembered" had been proven to be either unlikely, impossible, or outright false. Patients gave names that didn't exist. They named times when they were "baby breeders" (birthed babies specifically for ritual murder) when they clearly weren't pregnant. They contradicted themselves frequently. They accuse people of committing crimes they couldn't possibly have committed.
Yet in the 80s, when these methods were widely accepted, panics about satanic cults flourished. This may have been enhanced by the rise of the Religious Right early in the decade. This group tended to characterize such things as heavy metal, Dungeons and Dragons and other role playing games, violence in TV and movies, and teen sexuality as immoral influences and thus satanic.
Studies of satanic panics found that, as sociologist Jeffrey S. Victor put it, "the fear of 'satanic cults' is a manifestation of social paranoia in times of uncertainty". Victor found that these panics occurred most often in areas of economic hardship and turmoil, where people were insecure about their ability to provide a regular family life. The rumors of satanic activities, such as murdering helpless pets or innocent blond-haired blue-eyed virgins, were symbolic of their feelings of helplessness. These rumors, especially the ones that feared satanic activities on a given Halloween or Friday the 13th, never were proven to be true.
Distortion of evidence caused much of these panics. Occasionally a group of pets or livestock would be found mutilated, but most of the cases studied were proven to be caused by wild animals such as wolves or coyotes. Instances would occur where a ghastly crime was accompanied by satanic symbolism; yet there was no cause for believing these were committed by anything more than a deranged individual who dabbled in black magic. Where there was potential support for a case for satanic cult behavior, facts simply became blown out of proportion.
The sheer numerical estimates for a large satanic underground are clearly incompatible with the complete lack of evidence. The claim that tens of thousands of babies are ritually murdered each year has not been supported by any factual confirmation. No one has been proven to be a "baby breeder" for a satanic cult. There are not enough children kidnapped to allow for these mass infanticides. The majority of child kidnappings are simply parents fighting over custody: the number of child kidnappings committed by strangers has been documented at well under 100 per year. Of those, half are recovered within 5 years.
Satanic scares have declined in the last decade. Yet myths still exist about a secret satanic underground, propagated by the obsession with satanism in popular culture. Horror movies and books still flourish, implanting the possibility of something sinister lurking below. The important thing to remember is that this is all simply a figment of the imagination.