Satanism has earned a very dubious reputation in the world. This religion has often been branded as a catalyst for heinous crimes. Despite this, Satanism exists and continues to develop. In 1990, there were only 50,000 people who joined Satanism. Today, according to unofficial statistics, about 100,000 people around the world are Satanists. Also Satanism is becoming more and more socially acceptable. For example, it is now allowed in the Royal Navy of the British Armed Forces. Here are 25 facts about Satanism that lift the veil of secrecy over this movement.
1. Official Church of Satan
Anton LaVey
The official Church of Satan was founded in 1966 by Anton LaVey. The Church is dedicated to "accepting the true nature of man - a fleshly beast living in space, who is indifferent to our existence." The organization does not believe in God or Satan, so its members are essentially atheists. They do not sacrifice or abuse any other person or group. Their official website constantly emphasizes that the Church of Satan is fundamentally different from the "devil worshipers".
2. Food and self-defense
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Satanists do not practice sacrifice
Contrary to popular belief, they do not practice sacrifices. Their rules strictly prohibit harm to any living creature, with the exception of two cases: killing an animal for food or killing someone (animal or human) in self-defense. The Church of Satan accepts no responsibility for any act of violence that occurs during Satan's rituals.
3.2 February
Disagreement with mom about the date
However, in 2011, an eighteen-year-old boy in Los Angeles strangled his mother and then dismembered her with a circular saw in a satanic ritual. The boy claimed that he disagreed with his mom about a specific date (February 2), which he found in the unofficial Satanic Bible.
4. Former Christians
Imaginary and apostates
It turned out that the vast majority of Satanists who claim to be Christians before converting to Satan were only listed as Christians. In other words, they are never churchgoers.
5. Encyclopedia "Satanica"
From Gnostic to Cult
The Satanica Encyclopedia lists sixteen different Satanic groups. Their ideology is very different: from Gnostic esotericism to the cult of Cthulhu.
6. Typical American Satanist
Most Satanists are teenagers
According to a 2001 FBI report, the typical American Satanist was a 25-year-old white male who had already been a Satanist for about eight years. In other words, most Satanists are usually teenagers.
7. Satan spoke through the black crow
Ricky Kasso
Ricky Kasso was a teenager from New York who shook the world in the mid-80s when he lured his friend Gary Lawers into the forest and killed him in the name of Satan. He claimed that Satan spoke to him through a black crow, but later it was revealed that the teenager was addicted to drugs such as LSD. He committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell.
8. Pact with the devil
Robert Johnson
One of the most famous pacts with devils is the case of blues guitarist Robert Johnson, who allegedly came to an intersection, where the devil tuned his guitar and taught him all the musical skills. Johnson died a few years later under unclear circumstances.
9. Stillborns
All midwives are witches
During the Middle Ages, childbirth rates were terribly high. Women who gave birth were often accused of sacrificing babies to the devil.
10. No pretentiousness, pride, stupidity
The biggest sin is stupidity
Satanism forbids pretentiousness and excessive pride, but the greatest sin is stupidity. That's right - people deprived of intelligence are the greatest sinners in the eyes of Satanists.
11. Fourteen victims
Richard Ramirez
Richard Ramirez is one of the most famous Satanists and serial killers in history. He terrorized Los Angeles and San Francisco in the mid-1980s. Ramirez killed fourteen people using various grotesque and brutal methods, and when he was finally arrested, he declared that he was "a minion of Satan sent to Earth to carry out atrocities in the name of the devil."
12. Inflation
The soul is not enough - you need money. More money!
Once, it was only $ 2 to become a member of the Church of Satan. The membership fee has now risen to $ 200.
13. The Satanic Bible
La Vey Satanism
Anton LaVey is the founder of the Church of Satan and a new religious movement, founded in 1966, which he called LaVey Satanism. Among the many books he has written, the most famous is The Satanic Bible, which was published in 1969.
14. Epicureanism
Epicurus
The Satanic Bible consists of four books: The Book of Satan, The Book of Lucifer, The Book of White, and The Book of Leviathan. The Book of Satan challenges the Ten Commandments and also promotes Epicureanism.
15. School curriculum in Florida
Read, kids
As early as the mid-2000s, the Church of Satan attempted to incorporate its books and other materials into the reading program for schoolchildren in Florida. However, the authorities considered these materials to contain propaganda and banned them from schools.
16. Strongly against black magic
Satanists against black magic
The official position of the Church of Satan is categorically against black magic. Moreover, Satanists oppose any form of "evil" magic.
17. Small and Large Magic
Minor and Major Magic of Satanists
Satanists claim to have their own kinds of magic, which they divide into Lesser and Greater Magic, and which are associated with many logical and psychological aspects. Greater Magic is in charge of control, while Lesser Magic has more to do with intelligence and psychology.
18. Notable Satanists
Marilyn Manson
Some of the most "peaceful" and well-known Satanists and followers of the Church of Satan are Sammy Davis, Marilyn Manson, and Jane Mansfield. Because of its connections with Hollywood and the music industry, the Church of Satan has become more accessible to the mainstream of society.
19. Power of nature
Equinoxes, solar and lunar eclipses, summer and winter solstices
Satanists believe in nature and its power, which is why they tend to celebrate equinoxes, solar and lunar eclipses, and summer and winter solstices. Moreover, any traditions or practices performed during these "holidays" are not generally accepted, rather they are individual.
20. People are responsible for their lives
Satan has no control over fate
The Church of Satan declares that only humans are responsible for their own lives, and that no deity can control their fate. This also explains why the Church of Satan has always attracted so many atheists.
21. Beasts of Satan
Beasts of Satan
The Beasts of Satan are a group of like-minded Italian people who worshiped two things in their lives: Satan and black metal. In 1998, they went too far by killing two of their friends. They got away with it at the time as there was insufficient evidence, but the cultists killed other people elsewhere six years later. This time, the authorities arrested them.
22. Black Metal
Norway. Wooden church
In the early 1990s, there was a group of Satanists and Vandals in Norway, most of whom were musicians in black metal bands. From 1992 to 1996, they burned many wooden churches, including an eleventh century national monument.
23. Former chorister of the church choir - cannibal
Nikolay Ogolobiak
In 2008, a group of Russian teenagers, led by former church choir singer Nikolai Ogolobiak, killed three teenage girls and a boy by luring them into the forest. Satanists inflicted an incredible 666 cut wounds on each victim, and then partially ate them. When they were arrested, the teenagers claimed that Satan had promised to help them escape responsibility and punishment.
24.100,000 adepts
Flock growth
In 1990, there were 50,000 Satanists in the world. Currently, their number exceeds more than 100,000. This means that in twenty-five years their number has doubled.
25. Persecution Mania
Not to be afraid of! Afraid? Fear!!!
From the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, a veritable mania arose across North America: people believed that satanic cults were responsible for the rape and murder of more than 60,000 people (including children) per year. However, the statistics were found to be false as the numbers were exaggerated by people who usually lied or suffered from mental illness.