What do Satanists believe? It’s a timely question, given that accusations of Satanism and reports of Satanic activity have become worryingly mainstream in recent years, particularly in the USA.
What is Satanism? And where does social justice fit into this controversial religion?
What do Satanists believe? It’s a timely question, given that accusations of Satanism and reports of Satanic activity have become worryingly mainstream in recent years, particularly in the USA.
We’re all familiar with the feverish imaginings of QAnon adherents and their belief in the existence of a global network of Satanist paedophiles.
But even among seemingly rational people on the American political right, the name of Satan is dropped with increasing frequency, and unwelcome cultural phenomena routinely denounced as “Satanic”.
Are Satanists really out there? And do they pose some sort of demonic threat to decent society?
The short answers are (1) yes, and (2) no — and beyond the scare stories lie some fascinating complexities.
From sketchy figure to symbol of freedom
It’s worth noting that while the image of Satan in Christian folklore and popular culture is elaborate and detailed, Satan in the bible is a sketchy, minor figure, and a surprisingly innocuous one.
Satan first pops up in the Book of Job (his Hebrew name satan means “opponent” or “adversary”), where he and God appear on perfectly amicable terms, and even engage in a friendly wager.
In the New Testament Gospels, Satan subjects Jesus to various temptations, but he’s easily outwitted by the Son of God. In the Book of James, it’s suggested that even the everyday Christian might find Satan something of a pushover: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
So far, so unthreatening. But what do Satanists take from all this?
The first and most important thing to understand is that by and large, Satanists are not devil worshippers. They don’t believe in the existence of Satan as a supernatural entity.
Satan in modern Satanism functions more as a symbol of certain things that Satanists venerate: freedom, knowledge, fearlessness, power, pleasure. But there’s no God-figure, and no worship.
Peter H Gilmore, current High Priest of the international Church of Satan, puts it very simply: “There’s no belief or spirituality in Satanism. We’re carnal, we’re sceptical, we’re proudly faithless people.”
So why make it a religion? Why have a church of Satan?
“Satanism understands that we are creatures of conceptual consciousness”, says Gilmore, “and our concepts are put together in such a way as to make symbols.”
This activity includes the creation of such symbolic institutions as churches.
“It’s a very powerful thing, and it leads to ritual as a form of human behaviour. We employ symbols and ritual to enact self-transformation and catharsis — hence the church, and the religion.”