A Study of Satanism
So many religions are improperly labeled and described these days, it can be hard at times to separate the fact from the fiction.  One of the worst cases of religiously intolerant stereotypes is the horrible reputation that has been garnered by Satanism.   It is typically assumed, with little doubt or questioning, to be an evil cult that promotes sacrificial killings and Black Mass, selling your soul to the Devil in return for a taste of his power.  True Satanists are often highly offended by such views, as these speculations show no knowledge of the actual beliefs of this faith.  Satanism is not devil-worship, nor is it without good morals or ideas.  Satanism is a lifestyle that supports being yourself, instead of being who society expects you to be. Although Satanism is often thought poorly of by other faiths, it has its own sound reasoning and qualities that appeal to some people and repel others, as all religions do.
The general stereotype awarded to Satanism is the image created by the Christian church centuries ago.  During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church, in an attempt to eliminate all opposing religions, labeled all non-Christian faiths as Devil-worshippers.  This created a widespread notion of people who promised their soul to the Devil in exchange for demonic magical powers, dedicating their lives to evil actions in his name (Robinson).  That image has remained even centuries later, leading to the persecution and murder of millions, possibly billions, of pagans and other non-Christian persons throughout the years.  This fabricated version of Satanism holds next to no precedence in Satanism today.  The closest forms of Satanism to these medieval ideas are those known as “rebels” or “dabblers.” Because they are the sort that tend to give Satanism it’s awful reputation, this is perhaps the most well known type.  This variation is also the loosest definition of the faith; it isn’t true Satanism, but a blend of Religious Satanism, the dark image created by fearful Christians, and pieces of Wicca and other neopagan religions.  These Rebel Satanists are generally teen misfits who are looking for something to draw attention and shock people, and find Satanism’s dark reputation a good catalyst.  These young adults in general are not truly devoted to it, and they tend to grow past this phase given time.
Due to the reputation it has, most people never even consider Satanism to be about anything not related to black magic and evil.  In truth, there are a couple of variations of Religious Satanism, which hold extremely different concepts from those prejudiced rumors.  The oldest true form of Religious Satanism is called traditional or spiritual Satanism, and is also known as Luciferianism.  This form predates Christianity by some years.  Unlike some forms of Satanism, Luciferianists claim the actual existence of Satan, or Lucifer, as their higher power.  Yet he is not truly a god in the sense that most take the term for.  Instead, he is a sort of divine father figure to them (modernsatanism.com).   Next you have the Modern Satanists, many of whom follow the teachings of Anton Szandor LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan in 1966.  LaVey is responsible for making Satanism more well-known and understood, having written several books on the teachings of Satanism, including The Satanic Bible. Modern Satanism, LaVey’s variant in particular, is the most widely followed form of Satanism today.
Modern Satanism as a religion can be confusing for people only familiar with the rumors.  The general assumption is that they worship “The Devil,” also known as Satan, or Lucifer.  In Christian mythology, Lucifer was an angel who was cast out of Heaven for questioning God.  To the Christians, he is the epitome of a sinner, embracing all evil things that are against God’s will.  However, Satan as viewed by a Satanist has absolutely nothing to do with God or angels.  “The Devil” is a purely Christian concept.  To the average Modern Satanist, Satan is a symbol, and nothing more.  He symbolizes indulgence, wisdom, kindness and respect to those deserving of it, vengeance, responsibility, and the so-called “sins” as outlined by the Christian Church, including pride, greed, gluttony, wrath, envy, lust, and sloth.  In Satanism, those are viewed as healthy needs that lead to physical, mental, and emotional health and satisfaction (Modernsatanism.com).  For Satanists, such things are only a sin when a person becomes consumed by that desire.  Indulgence is encouraged; compulsion and addictions are considered weak and disgraceful.
One of the key beliefs of Modern Satanism is that you, and you alone, are responsible for yourself, your actions, and their consequences.  Rather than Satan being their god, a Satanist is his or her own god.  They believe in taking care of yourself rather than letting a god look after you.  They promote pride and dignity; YOU worked hard to earn your place, so YOU should get the credit (Modernsatanism.com).  Satanists have a sort of elitist mindset – another key belief is that one should constantly work towards bettering themselves.  Confidence and self-esteem are essential to this lifestyle.  Often Satanists prefer to practice solo rather than in groups, theorizing that something so intensely personal should be kept more private.  They encourage individuality and creativity above all else, followed closely by respect.  All people should be given general politeness, but those who earn it are given true respect.  
In addition to these key beliefs, Satanists have their own set of moral guidelines laying out the general rules for what is considered proper conduct.  These are the Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth, as laid out by Anton LaVey in his Satanic Bible:
1) Do NOT give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
2) Do NOT tell your troubles to others unless you’re sure they want to hear them.
3) When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do NOT go there.
4) If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.
5) Do NOT make sexual advances unless given the mating signal.
6) Do NOT take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.
7) Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires.  If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success you will lose all you have obtained.
8) Do NOT complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.
9) Do NOT harm little children.
10) Do NOT kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.
11) When walking in open territory, bother NO ONE.  If someone bothers you, ask him to stop.  If he does not stop, DESTROY HIM. (qtd. in Modernsatanism.com)
Satanists, despite assumptions, have morals and do in fact greatly value life.  The Satanic Rules are, for the most part, centered on respect.  Satanists greatly value manners, but also individuality and honesty, not only to others, but also to oneself.  The Nine Satanic Sins are based around all three of these concepts as well.  
The first cardinal sin of Satanism is Stupidity.  To their mind ignorance can be forgiven, but blindly following orders and teachings is absolutely unacceptable.  The next is Pretentiousness.  Those who are undeserving of praise or attention should receive none, and should never expect to receive it just because.  Solipsism is also a sin; you should never expect other to treat you as you treat them.  You will surely be disappointed, so it is unwise to expect mutual respect.  Self-deceit, or allowing oneself to conform to other’s expectations, is also considered a Cardinal Sin the same way Stupidity is.  In relation to both Stupidity and Self-Deceit, Herd Conformity makes up the fifth Satanic sin.  One should only ever follow group expectations if it will benefit them in some way, and should never let themselves get drawn in unwittingly.  One should “choose a master wisely instead of being enslaved by the whims of many” (LaVey).  Lack of Perspective is despised as well; forgetting how much you can impact society and history because of whom and what you are can lead to some very big mistakes.  One should always give credit where it is due, because Forgetfulness of Past Orthodoxies is the Seventh sin.  Only paying attention to the new and ignoring the original “makes for a disposable society,” and makes creation pointless, since it will later be replaced (LaVey).  While Pride is a sin according to both Satanists and Christians, Satanists are much more specific.  They consider general pride valuable.  However, if you make a mistake, then you should not let pride keep you from admitting it and moving on.  Thus, Counter-Productive Pride becomes the eighth sin.  Lastly is the sin of a Lack of Aesthetics.  Satanists promote taking pride in oneself and one’s work.  Therefore, you should try to be tasteful and sensually pleasing in your creative endeavors (LaVey).  These guidelines for the accepted and rejected ideals of Satanism show a deep focus on personal attentiveness, not allowing anyone else to dictate who you should be.  The freedom of expression is a very basic requirement for this lifestyle to stay successful and be mentally and emotionally helpful to it’s followers.  However, many people deny Satanists a chance to ever display their good qualities, too easily swayed by the stereotypes.
While Christians and the government are often avid perpetrators of religious intolerance towards Satanist, they are not the only ones to blame.  Even Wiccans and other Neopagans, so often labeled Devil-worshippers themselves, seem to hold Satanists with great disdain.  One author claims them to be “self-serving and manipulative, [who] will routinely lie about their intentions, actions, and objectives to gain control over others” (Zell-Ravenheart 295).  Satanists are often thought to engage in criminal behaviors such as murder, ritual abuse, drug use, vandalism, even cannibalism by the general populace.  Violent persecution against suspected black-magic users did not stop after the Salem Witch Trials, either.  As recently as the 1980’s and 1990’s, there were a series of “Satanic Panics.”  During these years, there was a sudden surge of frightened accusations of Satanists committing mass murder and crime.  Wild speculations of massive underground cults sacrificing babies and virgins to the Devil spread swiftly across America.  As there was a lack of any kind of hard evidence, such charges were forced to be dropped, though the dark thoughts and rumors still continue to circulate today.
Besides the general assumptions of devil-worship, there are other misconceptions about Satanism held by the ignorant and uneducated.  One of the most common mistakes made is that Satanism and Wicca, and/or other Neopagan faiths, are one and the same.  In truth, they have very different beliefs and principles.  For instance, Pagans claim a god or higher power, often nature-based, while Satanists refer to Lucifer as an archetypal character with no real manifestation.  Pagans often promote peace and general goodwill towards all people while Satanists are only kind to those who have proved themselves worthy, and demand retribution rather than forgiving others their discrepancies.  
Their views on magic are also drastically different.  With most neopagan religions, especially Wicca, magic is meant to find greater understanding of the world and to work towards achieving your goals.  However, such magical practices are only ever permitted if they do not harm others.  If they affect other people in any way, one must first obtain permission from that person.  To do otherwise is unethical, and they consider it Black Magic. (Cantrell 42-45).  Satanists, on the other hand, deny the concepts of “white magic” versus “black magic.”  They have two forms of magic.  The first is that which is done for emotional and spiritual empowerment, called Ritual or Greater Magic.  The second is called Lesser Magic, or Manipulative Magic.   These are more a form of mental mind games than anything else, using wit and confidence to subtly shift things in your favor (Crabtree).  Though the form this takes is not magic in the way most Wiccans would think of it, the sentiment behind it, which offers no overpowering concern for how this manipulation may affect others, as long as it does not come into conflict with the Satanic Rules of the Earth, causes many Wiccans to label it as “Black Magic.”  
While Modern Satanism is entirely separate from the Christian mythology surrounding their enemy figure, the Devil, there are other, more factual reasons that Christianity could utilize to condemn the other faith.  Many of the ideals that Satanism promotes, such as indulgence in pleasure, pride in yourself, and you being your own god, are dramatically against what they believe is righteous and true.  Christians feel justified in condemning Satanism because to them, this way of life is morally wrong.  The Christian sins are considered good and healthy concepts in Satanism.  Christians, however, while they may feel justified, have no right to slander the Satanist Religion as they have in the past.  Under the Bill of Rights in the United States Constitution, all Americans have the right to freedom of religion and freedom of speech.  Since the Satanists encourage respect and minding one’s own business, and the Christians openly and vehemently condemn several Satanist values, it’s likely that the two religions will always be at odds, and may in fact never be able to fully coexist peacefully.
Knowing that Satanist standards are very different from it’s inaccurate and derogatory reputation, we can now define what Satanism really is.  We know that Satanism is based on respect, not just for those around you, but for yourself.  Those who violate that respect should be treated in like kind, without mercy.  We also have learned that Satanism places a lot of focus on being an individual, and on staying true to oneself and who you want to be rather than who other people want you to be.  It has many appealing ideals.  There are legitimate reasons both to follow it’s ideas and to seek and alternative.  It’s emphasis on creativity, individuality, ambition, and strength is found very attractive, but it’s ruthlessness, seeming selfishness, harshly elitist standards, and almost cruel ideal of seeking revenge rather than forgiving faults can be disturbing, and the last could even be considered slightly hypocritical, when you take into account their emphasis on respect.  Satanism is a lifestyle and religion that is very self-centered, focusing on improving yourself and becoming the best you can be rather than paying homage to an invisible divine character.  When I began my research, I understood little more about Satanism than I was able to glean from the very stereotypes I have just disproved.  I’d never heard any differently until a friend mentioned some of Modern Satanism’s real values and practices.  I was disgusted with myself for letting myself follow the stereotype in question.  On that point, at least, I agree with Satanism’s teachings; that blindly ignorant follower’s mentality is both disgraceful and disrespectful to all parties involved.  I hope I have rectified my mistake by making an effort to learn and to share my knowledge, rather than to simply follow.  I also hope that future generations will try to learn about a culture before judging it based on premade assumptions.

Works Cited
Cantrell, Gary. Wiccan Beliefs and Practices. St. Paul, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications, 2001.
Crabtree, Vexen. “Satanic Ritual and Magic.” Description, Philosophies and Justification of
Satanism. 6 Jan. 2002.  2004. <http://www.dpjs.co.uk/magic.html#Supernatural>
LaVey, Anton S. “The Nine Satanic Sins” Church of Satan. 1999. 2008.<http://www.churchofsatan.
com/Pages/Sins.html>
Robinson, B. A. “Two Active Forms of Satanism.”  Satanism. 25 Mar. 2004.  Religious Tolerance.  14
Mar. 2008.  <http://www.religioustolerance.org/satanis3.htm>
“What is Satanism.” Modern Satanism.16 Mar. 2008. <http://www.modernsatanism.com/satanism.html>
Zell-Ravenheart, Oberon Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard. Franklin Lakes: New Page Books, 2004