Satanism is a worldview and religion officially practiced by the Church of Satan, the provisions of which were formulated in the 1960s by Anton Sandor LaVey, author of The Satanic Bible and founder of the Church of Satan. Satanism as a "new type of religion" (LaVey) is a modern movement with several thousand followers around the world.
Satan in Satanism is perceived as a positive symbol of the worldview - a symbol of freedom, self-development and egoism (the so-called rational egoism). According to LaVey, “Satan is a symbol, nothing more. Satan symbolizes our love for everything earthly and the denial of the pale, barren image of Christ on the cross."
History
Modern Satanism as a philosophy and a religion based on it was formulated in the United States in the 1960s by Anton Sandor LaVey, who gathered around himself a wide variety of people and devoted his life to creativity and the study of the characteristics of human behavior. Its origins lie in the 1950s, when LaVey founded a community he called the Order of the Trapezoid, which brought together people who researched the occult and practiced a combination of magic (like psychodrama) and LaVey's hedonistic selfish philosophy. LaVey himself admitted that the formation of his worldview was influenced by the works of Friedrich Nietzsche, Ragnar Redbeard, Nicolo Machiavelli, Ayn Rand, Jack London, biographies of such famous personalities as Vasily Zakharoff, Count Cagliostro and Grigory Rasputin.
Later, having accumulated enough material and experience, Anton LaVey came to the conclusion that in order to achieve some changes in the world, just one more philosophy is not enough, it is necessary to officially recognize a non-standard worldview as a religion, which he called Satanism. In 1966, LaVey founds the Church of Satan, and three years later, in 1969, he publishes The Satanic Bible, which describes the foundations of the Satanic worldview.
Satanism soon became official and entered the register of religions recognized by the US armed forces (in connection with a request for a satanic funeral of a naval officer - a member of the Church of Satan), the first satanic baptisms, weddings and funerals were held, which aroused the interest of the press. In the fall of 2004, the British military officially registers the first Satanist, thereby publicly recognizing the status of Satanism as one of the practiced religions in the world.
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Satanic organizations
The Church of Satan is the oldest and largest Satanic organization, with an estimated number of thousands of people around the world. The exact number of people in this organization is unknown, since it does not provide information about its composition and does not require a public announcement of the fact of its membership. The headquarters of the Church of Satan is currently located in New York, and the post of high priest is held by Master Peter Gilmore.
In the mid-1970s, a former member of the Church of Satan, Michael Aquino, founded the Temple of Set, an organization with an ideology based on its own interpretation of ancient Egyptian myths, with a bias towards mysticism. The members of the Temple of Set position themselves as "Setians", therefore, strictly speaking, it should not be called an organization to any extent practicing Satanism.
Anton LaVey's eldest daughter, Karla LaVey, in 1999 founded a small organization called the First Satanic Church, whose ideology is based on LaVey's philosophy. There are currently no other significant organizations practicing Satanism registered.
Historical use of the term
The term "Satanism" is found in literature, at the earliest, from the 16th century, but in a different meaning, which still contributes to the confusion around its use. This term did not mean any philosophical doctrine or trend, for it was used only as a derogatory word to denote completely different heretical, from the point of view of the Catholic Church, teachings, as well as to accuse the Holy Inquisition of people of witchcraft and any other non-Christian activity. (Compare the use of the term "enemy of the people" in the USSR). There is no evidence that before the Church of Satan, founded by A. Sh. LaVey in 1966, there was any other, more ancient organization (or cult) of Satanists, which would declare its philosophy as Satanism.
The first mention of the term "Satanism"
Thomas Harding's Refutation of the Book of Apology for the Church of England (1565), which examines the teachings of Martin Luther, is considered the oldest document to contain the word Satanism:
Meaning the time when Luther first brought to Germanie the poisoned cuppe of his heresies, blasphemies, and Satanismes ("… about the time when Luther first brought this poisoned bouquet of his heresies, blasphemies and Satanisms to Germany").
It should be noted that Martin Luther never associated his philosophy with Satan and did not declare his interest in this topic. The term "Satanism" is used by Harding as a derogatory definition of doctrine opposed to canonical Christianity.
"Satanism" of the XIX century
The theme of witchcraft, witches, blasphemy and the mythical black mass attracted the attention of some French writers of the 19th century, which served as material for the artistic interpretation of "Satanism" and the activities of "Satanists". One of the most famous examples of such a description can be considered the novel "Down There" by Charles Huysmans (1891). Such works did not advance further fiction, they lack any clear definition of "Satanism" (the authors refer to the latter everything "heterodox" - that is, blasphemous and heretical), and the phenomena described in them should probably be attributed to devil worship, demonism and decadence. 19th century "Satanism" is more myth than reality.
Philosophy of Satanism
The principles of Satanism can be summarized as follows:
* indulging instincts instead of abstinence;
* full existence instead of spiritual dreams;
* striving for knowledge instead of self-deception;
* rewarding others for their merits instead of love for the ungrateful;
* revenge instead of turning the cheek;
* responsibility for their actions and their consequences;
* an integral consideration of a person without denying his animal component.
Fundamental individualism
Satanism is often mistakenly called an ideology that condones cruelty and irresponsible behavior, but this contradicts the basic principles of Satanic ethics, including the principle of responsibility for those responsible. The central idea in Satanism, inherited from Nietzsche, is that the individual must, on his own, find the purpose and meaning of life for himself and overcome the conformism of the masses. The Satanist is seen as the equivalent of the Nietzschean "superman."
Anton LaVey believed that "Satanists are born, not made", and that Satanists "suffer from a disease called independence, which should be recognized as well as alcoholism." Satanism contains an element of libertarianism: social diversity, disclosure of one's own sexuality, personal development and setting one's goals in life are encouraged. This emphasis on individuality makes Satanism a philosophy of the Left Hand Path.
Satanism and God
Satanism is seen as an antagonist to the so-called "life-denying" religions (that is, religions focused mainly on a posthumous existence with the rejection of earthly goods). Satanists do not believe in the Judeo-Christian concept of God, and most of them are atheists and agnostics. In Satanism, every single individual - a Satanist - is metaphorically recognized as his own god or goddess. Usually Satanists are very skeptical about various "divine revelations" of other religions.
Lex talionis
Another important element of the Satanic worldview is the principle known as the "Law of Retribution" (Latin Lex talionis) (in the Bible, for example, phrased as "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"), which is to "do this to others. how they treat you. " LaVey did not agree with the Christian Golden Rule, which required a person to "do to others as he wants people to do to him," considering him psychologically harmful. According to LaVey, love, compassion and sympathy should be given only to those who deserve it, and not be wasted on the ungrateful, since this is energetically more economical and reasonable; “If you“do to people as you want them to do to you,”and they treat you badly, it would be against human nature to continue to treat them with respect. You can do to others as you like,to act with you, but if your kindness remains unrequited, they will need to be treated with the hatred that they deserve."
Nine Foundations of Satanism
1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence!
2. Satan represents being of life instead of spiritual illusions!
3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom instead of hypocritical self-deception!
4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it instead of love wasted on flatterers!
5. Satan represents revenge instead of turning the other cheek!
6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible instead of caring for psychic vampires!
7. Satan presents man as just another animal, which is sometimes better, but more often much worse than those that walk on four legs, which due to its "excellent development of spirituality and intellect" has become the most vicious animal of all!
8. Satan represents all so-called sins if they are physically, mentally, or emotionally satisfying!
9. Satan was the best friend for the Church, because all the past years He kept her busy!
The eighth commandment also means that Satanism, unlike many conservative ideologies and religions, is tolerant (subject to the principle of responsibility for those responsible) in relation to, for example, homosexuality, bisexuality, fetishism and some other sexual practices that for a long time fell under the category of taboo in western world. Obviously, this understanding of Satanism is significantly different from the everyday understanding of the "cult of evil."
Nine Satanic Sins
The main "sins", that is, qualities that are not recommended for a Satanist to have, are:
1. Stupidity (the most serious sin in Satanism).
2. Pretentiousness.
3. Solipsism.
4. Self-deception.
5. Herd conformism.
6. Lack of open-mindedness.
7. Ignorance of the experience of generations.
8. Counterproductive pride.
9. Lack of aesthetic sense.
Speculation around Satanism. Satanic Panic
Many media and Christian organizations continue to disseminate incorrect information about Satanism, presenting it mainly as a "cult of evil" with "worship of the devil" and "killing of unbaptized babies." Data on such crimes are often unverifiable, and therefore, can be false or, at least, grossly distorted. Vandalism of cemeteries, ritual murders of people, abductions of babies, etc. are not part of the practice of Satanism and have nothing to do with it. Moreover, the Church of Satan insists on the legal activity of all its members and immediately deprives of membership those who are seen in the commission of criminal activity.
Pseudo Satanism
A certain number of young people who are fond of heavy rock music (such directions as black, death, alternative metal, etc.) can talk about their interest in Satanism. However, they are usually limited to external attributes, and subsequently, the interests of such individuals often change dramatically. This phenomenon is called pseudosatanism.
Among people who do not belong to Satanists, but are often confused with them, there are also socially dangerous elements, either suffering from mental disorders, obsessive and manic states, or simply committing illegal actions without a deep reason, or worshiping the Devil. These people have no real relation to Satanism as a worldview.
In the 1980s, an avalanche of criticism fell on Satanists and the Church of Satan, mainly from TV evangelists, who claimed that there was an extensive network of Satanists in the United States, numbering up to several million, conducting illegal activities (murder, rape, kidnapping, etc.).). This phenomenon is called "Satanic Panic". An FBI investigation has shown that these charges are false. Despite this, some "yellow" publications, including in Russia, continue to spread disinformation, intentionally or unintentionally.
Satanism and Nationalism. Andrey Bortsov
Warrax - Andrey Bortsov - is the owner of the Black Fire Pandemonium website with a rich collection of philosophical, journalistic and literary materials. He became famous in 1997-98 thanks to his website Black Fire Pandemonium, where he was one of the first to post an electronic copy of Anton Sandor LaVey's The Satanic Bible in Russian, and later - thanks to his articles, in a harsh and sarcastic manner criticizing communities and personalities to whom Bortsov felt antipathy (Christians in general and Orthodox in particular, "pseudo-Satanists", supporters of the Holocaust theory, national and sexual minorities, liberals, etc.). Andrei Bortsov has also been known lately for his commitment to nationalism.
The issue of nationalism should be clarified separately: adherence to nationalism characterizes exclusively Warrax and his supporters, which gave rise to the ironic term "national-satanism"; according to Andrei Bortsov's own words, Satanism and nationalism belong to different cognitive fields. According to the foundations of the philosophy of Satanism, formulated by Anton Sandor LaVey, a person is considered solely by his individual qualities, while adherence to ideologies like nationalism is one of the main qualities of the “human herd”. According to some critics, Satanism is generally incompatible with nationalism or any other mass ideology based on certain dogmas; this issue is one of the controversial ones and its detailed consideration is already beyond the scope of the review article.
Satanism in Russia
There are no officially registered satanic organizations on the territory of the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. However, according to the PCA, in Russia, Ukraine and some other countries there are several private groups - associations of individuals who are members of the Church of Satan, or who independently practice Satanism. The information of some media about the diversity of satanic organizations in the territory of the former Soviet Union, due to the extremely low degree of data verifiability, cannot be considered valid.