The Satanic Panoramic
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| The Fallen Angel by Alexandre Cabanel (1847) |
All stories have an adversary. Sometimes they can be less concrete, such as natural disasters, or inevitable consequences of actions. Usually, however, they come in the form of an antagonist in direct conflict with the hero of the story. The Big Bad Wolf stalks and eats Little Red Riding Hood, The Evil Queen desires to kill Snow White over her beauty, Sauron seeks to destroy all who would come between him and the One Ring. In all these examples, it seems to me that the bad guy is either obsessed with the protagonist or sees them as a hindrance to their own evil agenda. One of the oldest, and most despised adversaries in western culture is, beyond a doubt, the Devil. According to mainstream Christian belief, Satan, or Lucifer, is a fallen archangel who rebelled in a war in heaven and is seen as a rival to God, striving to tempt as many souls as possible into damnation. Within the context of Christianity, Satan stands as the most obsessive villain of any story; literally spending millennia with the single-minded goal of leading all of mankind into the depths of hell. So, it may seem baffling to believers and non-believers alike that some would actually take the Satan figure and claim him to be, not only misunderstood, but a role model and paragon of freedom, individuality, and equality.
The reason I bring this topic up at all is because of the growing publicity I am seeing in the news regarding Satanism, or one branch called The Satanic Temple. Recently, attention has been drawn to the organization as ‘After School Satan’ clubs began sprouting up in elementary schools across the country. This was in response to Christian ‘Good News Clubs’ which taught Biblical lessons on school grounds and, according to the TST, goes against the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. While the
As I began to pursue these questions, I turned to the words of Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music when she sang, “Let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.” And so, going back in recorded history, I found that the name Satan directly originates from the Hebrew word, satan (Sah-Tahn) which means to obstruct, advert, oppose, and accuse. Ha-satan, is the personified being of those traits, and is mentioned by name in only two books in the Hebrew Bible: Job and Zachariah. Modern Judaism sees Satan not as a rival or opponent of God, but as his servant, tasked with testing and proving the hearts and minds of mortal beings as is depicted in the Book of Job. With the advent of Christianity came a new direction for the Satan narrative as he takes on the mantle of a fallen angel and serves as the evil duality to God’s goodness. As Christianity grew and became the established religion in Europe and across the Mediterranean, anyone who did not conform with the teachings of the Church were considered Satanic, resulting in the manipulation and demonization of pagan beliefs, inquisitions, witch-hunts, and wholesale slaughter of Jews, Muslims, Pagans, homosexuals, and even left-handed people throughout the Christian world during the Middle Ages. However, for all of the allegations and persecutions, there is no evidence to suggest that a Satanic religion was in practice during this time.
In the early 18th century England, Duke Philip of Wharton started a high-society, secret organization called the Hellfire Club, which was a way for the angsty rich to indulge in debauchery while ridiculing religion at the same time. Despite using the title ‘devils’ for members of the group, there is nothing recorded of the club ever worshiping Satan. Even so, the Hellfire Club was soon dissolved within a few short years due to pressure from Philip’s political rivals. The Second organization that was attributed with the Hellfire Club namesake was led by Sir Francis Dashwood, though he never used the moniker himself, it was later correlated to his group. They too were centered on debauchery and religious mockery, but unlike the Duke of Wharton’s club, they did not use any references to the devil, instead placing their focus on Greeco-Roman deities such as Bacchus and Venus. Other secret societies such as the Freemasons, Illuminati, Rosicrucianism, and The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn have all been accused of Satanic worship, but with no such evidence ever surfacing.
It wasn’t until the Romantic Period of the early 19th century that we began to see individuals putting Satan in a more positive light, such as Lord Byron, Percy Shelly, and Eliphas Levi. The famed occultist, Alister Crowley gained prominence for his usage of Satanic symbolism, though he never considered himself a worshipper. The first real establishment of a Satanic organization didn’t arise until 1966 when failed musician and self-described paranormal expert, Anton LaVey announced on Walpurgis Night the formation of the Church of Satan, which was the first established Satanic religion ever to be recorded.
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| Anton LeVey |
Yet, the Church of Satan, according to its own doctrine, is not a theistic religion, rather they see Satan as an archetypal myth representing rebelliousness, individuality, and enlightenment. The first real theistic religion that I could trace originates with a man by the name of Michael Angelo Aquino. He was a member of the CoS, but later became dissatisfied with the direction the church was going and resigned. Claiming to have received a vision from the Devil declaring himself as the Egyptian god Set, Aquino established what is now known as The Temple of Set in 1975. The total membership of the ToS are estimated to be between two to five hundred worldwide and are barely a footnote in world religions. Since then, other theistic Satanists have sprung up, but are not organized in any particularly structured belief system.
From here, we will divert a little from the evolution of Satanism and focus on the reaction of the general populace. In 1980, a certain book was first published called, Michelle Remembers. The book was co-written by a woman named Michelle Smith and her psychiatrist (and later husband), Lawrence Pazder. In it, the story details a series of supposed hypnotic sessions where Pazder utilizes the now debunked practice of recovered-memory therapy to tap into Michelle’s repressed experiences of abuse that she claims took place at the age of five years old in a Satanic cult. Though there were earlier works of a similar nature, such as From Witchcraft to Christ, and The Satan Seller, this book, and the subsequent uproar it caused, was the founding cornerstone to what is now known as the Satanic Panic. The sudden explosion of trepidation towards secret satanic influence caused widespread allegations – like the McMartin Preschool Trial – and paranoia the world over. Despite these works being discredited and widely panned by experts, it nonetheless has held a far-reaching influence in religion, culture, and a resurgence in the modern conspiracy theory of Qanon.
The Satanic Panic birthed a renewed fear and superstition among Christian congregations nationwide in anything that seemed different, strange or was generally disliked. The table-top game, Dungeons & Dragons was deemed a Satanic recruiting tool; rock music was thought to have Satanic lyrics, and even Pokémon cards in the 90’s were considered to be Satan influencing children to believe in evolution. Such blatant paranoia helped turn the tides of future generations’ inclination towards traditional beliefs and organized religion on the whole. In 1990 only 11% of Americans were religiously unaffiliated, which consisted of atheists, agnostics, and even theists who could not identify with any established religion. Today, that number has almost tripled, to nearly 30% of Americans who no longer subscribe to any particular church. Meanwhile, Christianity, though technically increasing in population via birthrates and conversion, is dropping percentagewise across the United States from 86% in 1990 to 64% in 2020. I believe this to be a direct result from The Satanic Panic which created a climate of alienation and exclusivity that led to fewer people being able to align with or support the fear mongering delusions portrayed by everyone from televangelists to archbishops. This led to the statistics we see today, as well as the final iteration of Satanism on this list.
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| The Church of Satan on the left, and The Satanic Temple on the right. |
The Satanic Temple was founded in 2013 when Lucian Greaves and Malcolm Jarry (both pseudonyms) established the church as a response to perceived growing religious propagation within the United States government. Like the Church of Satan, The Satanic Temple does not actually believe in the literal entity of Satan, but interprets the myth as a metaphor, symbolizing rebellion against unjust authority and non-conformity to detrimental social norms. The differences between the CoS and TST, however, are vast. Much of the ideology of the Church of Satan stems from the works of author Ayn Rand, and philosopher Friedrich Nietzche, which breeds a far more individualistic and economically conservative viewpoint while focusing on self-gratification with a heavy emphasis on Social Darwinism and pursuing wealth and prestige in the world. On the other hand, The Satanic Temple is considerably more altruistic and egalitarian in their views. They are far more vocal in criticizing mainstream Christianity than their predecessor and are known for their sensationalist political activism. The group first began to garner attention shortly after its creation in 2013 by satirically praising a Florida law allowing prayer on school grounds, saying “how happy we
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| Tim Curry's Lord of Darkness from Legend. Because how could I write about Satanism without him in it? |
Following the line of historical and modern interpretations of Satanism, I find that it is not one lumped belief as many of the critics of Satanism would have us believe but is a multifaceted panorama of perspectives and practices. As for the TST specifically, there are many aspects of the philosophy that I appreciate. The promotion of secularism and equality in government, peer support groups in overcoming addiction, and the emphasis on science and criticism of harmful practices such as anti-gay conversion therapy. However, I feel that utilizing the ultimate villain in so many people’s belief systems, especially in the US and the Western world, is self-defeating in their advocacy. Instead of inviting God-fearing people to honestly question their long-standing traditions and ethical quandaries, the vehement mockery by TST reaffirms Christians that they are on the right side of a holy war, whichonly breeds zealous extremism on both sides. In my mind, this perpetuation of hate is detrimental to a functional society, and aids in pushing the rift between ideologies in this country further and further apart. Simply put, The Satanic Temple is a textbook counter-culture organization, composed of people shunned and rejected by Christian culture and are now fighting back by taking up the standard of the enemy of those who they feel betrayed them. In that respect, I sympathize with their plight in wanting to vent their frustrations and find a community of others in similar circumstances. I myself have felt rejected, pressured, and ignored in the church of my upbringing, though much of what made me an outsider was generally by my own choices and less so than any systemic ostracization from my religion.
To wrap up my view on this topic, I do not agree with the methodology behind throwing other people’s faith back into their faces. It is spiteful and does nothing in making the world a better place. At the same time, I can see the anguish members of Satanism have gone through, and I can’t entirely blame them for wanting to rage against what they view as the source of all their pain. It is my perspective that life is not purely black and white, but a woven tapestry of grey made up of thousands of black and white strings. My goal in this post is not to defend Satan, but to humanize those who are dehumanized by society. In the end, I just fall back on my principles on issues such as these, and that is to promote agency and accountability over all else. People ought to be free to pursue whatever path they deem correct, as long as they do not harm or hinder any other’s right to choose. So whether you’re a God-fearing disciple of Christ, a punk-rocking Satanist, a devout Buddhist, or ardent atheist, if your goal is to spread kindness and you treat others with respect and tolerance then, my friend, you’re alright in my book.
To wrap up my view on this topic, I do not agree with the methodology behind throwing other people’s faith back into their faces. It is spiteful and does nothing in making the world a better place. At the same time, I can see the anguish members of Satanism have gone through, and I can’t entirely blame them for wanting to rage against what they view as the source of all their pain. It is my perspective that life is not purely black and white, but a woven tapestry of grey made up of thousands of black and white strings. My goal in this post is not to defend Satan, but to humanize those who are dehumanized by society. In the end, I just fall back on my principles on issues such as these, and that is to promote agency and accountability over all else. People ought to be free to pursue whatever path they deem correct, as long as they do not harm or hinder any other’s right to choose. So whether you’re a God-fearing disciple of Christ, a punk-rocking Satanist, a devout Buddhist, or ardent atheist, if your goal is to spread kindness and you treat others with respect and tolerance then, my friend, you’re alright in my book.
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