Let's talk about Satanism. While it's certainly no secret that I am a Satanist, the concept of Satanism is often misunderstood. I hope you take the time to read this and get a better understanding of who I am and what I stand for.

Satanism? You mean like Devil Worshiping and goat sacrificing‽‽

I think when a lot of people think about Satanism they think about goat sacrifices, occultism, and running around naked in the woods and shit; but that couldn't be further from the truth. While there certainly are Satanists with ill intent and extremist sects within Satanism, these are not unique to Satanism and can be found in most if not all religious organizations.

For centuries there has been a lot of work to cast satanism under a negative light, creating myths and urban legends to vilify practicing satanists. If we look at more recent history, we can look back to the 80's and the Satanic Panic. Many childhoods and lives were ruined because of overprotective and heavily religious parents who believed that Dungeons and Dragons, comic books, cartoons, and heavy metal music were all tools of the devil being used to "ruin" these kids. They also doubled-down on things like homosexuality and transgender, treating them like some sort of disease or satanic curse that could simply be prayed (or beat) out of people instead of simply accepting the fact that human nature is complex and completely ignoring the fact that these people were simply just trying to be happy and express who they are -

- just like heterosexual and cisgendered people have been doing from day one. It's this strict sticking to social and religious norms that took us back 100 years in the period of a decade. Even today homosexual and transgendered people have to fight hard to simply enjoy the things everybody else takes for granted; even despite the fact that their lifestyles do not in any way negatively effect those of the people around them.

The fearmongering and lies continue even today with the creation of QAnon and their push to get people to believe that there's some sort of "demonic pedophile ring" secretly trying to destroy the world (among other nonsense).

My Satanic Beliefs

I'm a member of The Satanic Temple (TST). We are a non-theistic group. We don't actually believe in the devil, or god; heaven or hell. We use the imagery because a lot of it is pretty badass and the concept of Satan really appeals to who we are - outcasts that strive to push social norms by using critical thinking and always striving to learn more. TST is still a fairly new religion, it was formed in 2012 by Lucien Greaves and Malcolm Jarry. The religion is especially prevalent in the USA with some chapters forming in Canada in more recent years. We also have a chapter representing the UK. You can see all the active chapters and their logos here

Seven Tenets of the Satanic Temple

We follow 7 (for now) tenets that focus on things like acceptance, critical thinking, and bodily autonomy. We also do what we can to celebrate ourselves and each other for our accomplishments and try to recognize our failures. They are:

I. One should strive to act with compassion and empathy toward all creatures in accordance with reason.

II. The struggle for justice is an ongoing and necessary pursuit that should prevail over laws and institutions.

III. One’s body is inviolable, subject to one’s own will alone.

IV. The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one's own.

V. Beliefs should conform to one's best scientific understanding of the world. One should take care never to distort scientific facts to fit one's beliefs.

VI. People are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one's best to rectify it and resolve any harm that might have been caused.

VII. Every tenet is a guiding principle designed to inspire nobility in action and thought. The spirit of compassion, wisdom, and justice should always prevail over the written or spoken word.

The Church of Satan

Probably the next most popular Satanic group is the Church of Satan (CoS) which was started by Anton LaVey in 1966. This is the religion that really got the Christians riled up and triggered the satanic panic. Like me and most of my fellow TST members, they are also non-theistic. They have a few more tenets than us that are (in my opinion) more dated and less accepting. I personally believe that our tenets are much more positive and open-minded. Here are the Church of Satan's 11 rules:

1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.

2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.

3. When in another's home, show them respect or else do not go there.

4. If a guest in your home annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are 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 they cry 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.

As you can see, they're much less friendly and open-ended. Whereas with TST you can really form the tenets to your needs, the CoS is much more cut-and-dry.

Phew, that was a lot to take in - is there a quick infographic tl;dr?

Yes! I mean, it's a bit cheeky and thrown together by TST, but here you go!

So you're basically atheists, then?

You could consider us to be atheism+. We are a recognized religion in the USA, and in the works of being recognized in Canada. There are a lot of politics at play in each country (and sometimes even within different states or provinces of countries) that define what a religion is, and how to be officially recognized. There is also a lot of work within TST to become an officially recognized chapter.

This includes having a proper staff structure, meetings at least once a month (we're doing virtual right now), and eventually a community project to help your area. TST Chapters function much like typical churches with discussions about personal, social, and sometimes even political concerns. We're there for each other through the good and bad times, and do the best we can to help everybody and the community out in any way possible. Our members also include all walks of life which also helps to diversify conversations and topics that are discussed. I can personally say that being a member of TST has really helped me open my mind to being a better, more accepting person. The Satanic Temple is a way for people who don't necessarily believe in the whole theism thing to still enjoy religion, and get the same religious freedoms that they may not normally have being atheist/agnostic.

But wait, you've left out [so-and-so Satanic Group]!

There are definitely other Satanic religions and groups out there. The concept of Satanism goes pretty deep and well beyond my knowledge. There's at least one fairly well-known group that I don't even want to mention whose history is really a "big yikes" to read into.

I'd love to talk more - I've only been an official member of TST since November, but it's been an overall positive experience for me. If you have some questions or anything, drop a reply and I'll get back to you when I can.

Ave Satanas! Hail yourself! 🤘♥️