Pseudo-Satanism

Six types of pseudo-Satanism

A group is defined as Satanic (or Christian, or Muslim, etc) if its members sincerely regard themselves to be Satanic. Unfortunately, "Satanism" and related terms have often been used as universal "snarl" words. The following are five essentially unrelated beliefs and activities that have been referred to as "Satanism":

1. 16th century Satanism: This is an imaginary, profoundly evil religion that was invented during the late Middle Ages by the Christian church. The Church taught that witches worshiped Satan, ritually killed children, boiled down their bodies to make magical ointments, etc., sold their souls to the devil, broke crucifixes, conducted black masses, created hail storms to damage crops, caused disease in farm animals and humans. etc. They were said to totally dedicate their lives to harming others.

The church's creation of Satanism created the theological foundation for the "burning times" in which tens of thousands of religious heretics, mentally ill people, and supremely unlucky individuals were burned at the stake (in Roman Catholic countries) or hanged (in Protestant countries). This form of Satanism never existed in the past as an organized entity. It does not exist today, except in the imagination of the public and horror movies. Belief in the reality of Satan-worshiping witches remains widespread in North America today, particularly among religious conservative. Sometimes, this imaginary form of Satanism is referred to as Gothic Satanism. We recommend against this term, because it could be confused with the Goth sub-culture. The latter is a philosophical, musical, cultural group that is not directly related to Satanism. However, a larger percentage of Goths are Satanists, than are found in the general population.

2. Serial murderers: Occasionally, a serial murderer will claim to be a Satanist in order to justify his (or her) horrendous activities. This is "the Devil made me do it" defense. The perpetrator admits guilt, but he is not responsible for his crimes because he was under the control of Satan. Investigation inevitably reveal the perpetrator is faking it.

3. Psychotic murderers: Occasionally, news of a Satanic ritual murder will surface, complete with Satanic rituals, symbols, etc., however, the primary cause of the murder is found to be severe mental illness on the part of the perpetrator(s). A case in Germany hit the newsstands in 2002. The accused couple, the Rudas, talked about glowing eyes, a glowing knife used as a murder weapon, a glowing victim, "Several witnesses have testified that the couple suffered from personality disorders."

4. Child molesters: A very small percentage of abusive pedophiles and other child molesters have abused children in a Satanic setting as a means of controlling their victims. The molesters are pretend Satanists; they are simply using the façade of Satanism to further their criminal acts. They figure that if one of their child victim complains to authorities, their disclosures will not be believed. A government study in England discovered three such perpetrators.

5. Heavy metal rock bands: Some musicians pretend to be associated with Satanism. Their main motivation is to gain notoriety and capture free publicity. The suggestion of Satanic involvement increases record sales. Few bands are actually formed by sincere Satanists.

6. The Temple of Set: In 1975, Michael Aquino, a member of the Church of Satan, left the organization following a disagreement and organized the Temple of Set, which follows the religion of Setianism. Members recognize a pre-Satanic deity, the Egyptian God Set, as a living entity who stands separate and apart from the forces of the natural universe. He was typically portrayed as a man with the head of an animal (perhaps a hyena). Set was copied by the Chaldeans who called him Had or Hadit; this later became Shaitan, and still later the Satan of Christianity and Islam. News reports have linked the Temple of Set with the Church of Satan and identified both as forms of Satanism. Leaders of both religious groups deny they are related.