Satanism: Devil Worship or Misunderstood Philosophy?

Satanism, at least the variety founded by Anton LeVay, is in many ways a misunderstood philosophy. Please note that while I say it is misunderstood, it does not mean that I agree with its tenets. However, as I personally believe it is important to understand religions as much as possible to know where another person is coming from, I cannot let the myths spread by Fundamentalist Christian groups about the philosophy of Satanism continue. Satanism's followers will sometimes encourage the image that surrounds them in order to keep what they call the sheep at bay. Keep in mind I cannot go into great detail about the various facets of Satanism in one article here.

Because the term Satanism can be used to describe a wide variety of religious beliefs, it is nearly impossible to get an accurate count of just how many Satanists there are worldwide. During the 1980s a belief in Satanic Ritual Belief emerged that last until the mid 1990s. Many of the events were blown out of proportion although supporters claimed that the evidence was swept away by the government in a manner similar to that claimed by supporters of other conspiracy theories. Other researcher prefer the term Sadistic ritual abuse which includes a number of people who have little or no knowledge of Satanism either. Some Christian groups still buy into the notion that people involved in Satanism are engaged in rituals that cause this abuse, but the credibility of the authors and their publishers is often called into question.

The organization that would evolve into the Church of Satan was established by Anton LeVay in 1966. This branch of satanism emphasizes individualism and borrows elements of its philosophy from Ayn Rand's Objectivism and the writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. As with Wicca and the philosophy known as Thelema, ritual magic is part of Satanism and the religions adherents describe themselves as left-hand pathers.

Satanists do have a moral call which they call the Eleven Rules of the Earth. It is not possible to go into great detail here some aspects of it are: do not harm little children, do not give advice unless you are asked, do not kill non-human animals unless attacked or for food, do not go to another's lair unless asked. Some of the parts that may give more conservative people trouble are not taking the property of another unless it is a burden to you, and treating someone cruelly if they are in your lair. The details of Rules of the Earth that the adherents of Satanism must live be can be found here.

The Church of Satan describes Satanism as mankind's first carnal religion and the first to be free of the shackles of spirituality, and says that others describe it as a non-religion because of the lack of belief in God. However, belief in god is not required for a religion. Many Buddhists do not believe in a God figure, which is the only possible connection that can be made between the two philosophies as they are widely different in every other aspect.

I may not personally subscribe to this philosophy, but it is better to go to the source of a religion about what the religion currently believes rather than rely on those getting it through a filter who agrees with the reader's own viewpoint. While most people are honest and try to be as objective as possible, everyone whether they admit it or not, is driven by an agenda. To decide whether the philosophy espoused by the Temple of Set or Church of Satan is bad is best determined by the individual. Both of their websites contain information on Anton LeVay's philosophy of Satnism that the groups follow.

Sources:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/satanism.htm

http://www.religioustolerance.org/sra.htm

http://web.satanism101.com/