Satanism
Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs that align with Satanism—is considered a countercultural Abrahamic religion.
The phenomenon of Satanism shares "historical connections and family resemblances" with the Left Hand Path milieu of other occult figures such as Asmodeus, Beelzebub, Hecate, Lilith, Lucifer, Mephistopheles, Pan, Prometheus, Samael, and Set. Self-identified Satanism is a relatively modern phenomenon, largely attributed to the 1966 founding of the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States—an atheistic group that does not believe in a supernatural Satan.
Accusations of groups engaged in "devil worship" have echoed throughout much of Christian history. During the Middle Ages, the Inquisition led by the Catholic Church alleged that various heretical Christian sects and groups, such as the Knights Templar and the Cathars, 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 and 1630. The terms Satanist and Satanism emerged during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation, as both Catholics and Protestants accused each other of intentionally being in league with Satan.
Since the 19th century various small religious groups have emerged that identify as Satanist or use Satanic iconography. While the groups that appeared after the 1960s differed greatly, they can be broadly divided into [|nontheistic Satanism] and theistic Satanism. Those venerating Satan as a supernatural deity are unlikely to ascribe omnipotence, instead relating to Satan as a patriarch. Nontheistic Satanists regard Satan as a symbol of certain human traits, a useful metaphor without ontological reality. Contemporary religious Satanism is predominantly an American phenomenon, although the rise of globalization and the Internet have seen these ideas spread to other parts of the world.
Etymology and definitions
Etymology
The term Satan has evolved from a Hebrew 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. For instance, in the Book of Samuel, David is presented as the satan of the Philistines, while in the Book of Numbers, the term appears as a verb, when Jehovah sent an angel to satan Balaam.Prior to the composition of the New Testament, 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 such as 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 the Book of Matthew and the Book of Luke, he attempted to tempt Jesus of Nazareth 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 satanisme. The terms Satanism and Satanist are first recorded as appearing in the English and French languages during the 16th century, when they were used by Christian groups to attack other, rival Christian groups. In a Roman Catholic tract of 1565, the author condemns the "heresies, blasphemies, and sathanismes " of the Protestants. In an Anglican work of 1559, Anabaptists and other Protestant sects are condemned as "swarmes of Satanistes ". 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 19th 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 19th 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; the Lutheran Bishop Laurentius Paulinus Gothus had described devil-worshipping sorcerers as Sathanister in his Ethica Christiana, produced between 1615 and 1630.
Definitions
Some definitions of Satanism:- the worship or veneration of the figure from Christian belief known as Satan, the Devil or Lucifer
- the "intentional, religiously motivated veneration of Satan"
- "a system in which Satan is celebrated in a prominent position" This definition has the advantage of avoiding "assumptions about the nature of religion".
- the simultaneous presence of three characteristics:
- figures and groups who identify as Satanists or at least admirers of Satan.
- figures and groups accused of worshipping Satan and in the process committing horrible crimes but who either appear to have not been satanists or to not have actually existed.
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, let alone is trying to destroy humanity.
Definitions that would include the "satanism" of heresy crusades and moral panics is:
- an invention of Christianity, relying on a character deriving from Christian mythology, i.e. Satan.
Eugene Gallagher noted that Satanism was usually "a polemical, not a descriptive term".
Similar to the way certain Christian denominations accuse each other of heresy, different satanic groups—mainly the Church of Satan, the Temple of Set, the Order of Nine Angles, and The Satanic Temple —often accuse one another of being fraudulent Satanists and/or ignorant of true Satanism.
Related terms
Because the original concept of Satan came from Judaism and was embraced by Christianity, 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. 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 such as Santeria, Witchcraft, Eastern religions as well as Freemasonry; and academics and others sometimes restricting its definition to "recognized Satanic churches and their members", excluding those who "believes in a literal Satan". Taub and Nelson define Satanism as "the literal or symbolic worship of Satan, the enemy of the Judeo-Christian God".
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, a group of individuals who invert the norms of their society and seek to harm their community, for instance by engaging in incest, murder, and cannibalism. 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, a figure that appears in the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism. This concept was also embraced by Judaism and early Christianity, and although it was soon marginalized within Jewish thought, it gained increasing importance within early Christian understandings of the cosmos.
The Native South American terrible god Tiw is traditionally honored with the syncretic dance and parade Diablada that was opposed to the Catholic Church in origin.
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 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."
On the other hand, 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, a process known to folklorists as "ostension".