Emperors_New_Religion_-_Church_of_Satan.pdf

A NALYSIS OF THE C HURCH OF S ATAN :

T HE E MPEROR ’ S N EW R ELIGION

B Y O LE W OLF

The Church of Satan has caused outrage and exten-

sive media attention since its inception as the boldest

champion of Satan in the “occult explosion” peaking

in the 1960es, and for better or for worse has become

synonymous with modern Satanism. It asserts that

Satanism is a unique philosophy distinctly tailored

to man’s life on Earth which, if followed, has the po-

tential to increase the follower’s earthly success.

This paper investigates the Church of Satan, its

ideology, and its practices, and observes that the

Church of Satan includes the same dynamics as can

be observed in many other religions. In addition, the

Church of Satan appears to deliberately mislead its

members via conflicting policy statements and com-

munication.

The paper concludes that the Church of Satan is a

personality cult that seems to have less interest in

maintaining an ideology than in gaining members,

and that the Church of Satan may be no more than

the invention of a skilled con artist who saw an un-

used opportunity.

provides no indication of the size of the organi-

zation, as all membership cards issued today

display the number 100261 (see Figure 1). While

the actual membership number probably lies

between the guesses of just a few hundred and

several millions, and while the influence of the

Church of Satan is probably less than hinted by

the organization itself and more than reported

by its enemies (anti-cult fanatics excluded), the

Church of Satan has established itself as the or-

ganization that is usually mentioned in books

describing Satanism regardless of opinion. An-

ton LaVey himself is usually mentioned in com-

pany with names such as Eliphas Lévi, Abbé

Boullard, and Aleister Crowley, all of whom are

considered leading figures in so-called “tradi-

tional” (or “religious,” or “mythical”) and

“modern” Satanism.

Hagiographies such as The Secret Life of a Sa-

tanist [3] and The Church of Satan [4], both by the

Church of Satan’s former High Priestess and

Anton LaVey’s third wife, Blanche Barton ‡

(Grand Priestess of the Temple), provide a col-

1. The Church of Satan and Its Ideology

When Anton LaVey (1930-1997, born

Howard Stanton Levey) founded the Church of

Satan reporting Walpurgisnacht (April 31) in

1966 as its birthday, † the organization de-

scribed the event as the “opening the floodgates

to a revolution” and proclaimed the event as

“Year One,” announcing a new era in History

[1].

Anton LaVey had regularly studied occultism

at home together with his so-called “Magic Cir-

cle” of devotees a few years earlier, and it was

this group that was to become the Church of Sa-

tan [2, p.29].

Membership figures are kept secret by the

Church of Satan, leaving friends and foes guess-

ing at membership figures differing by several

orders of magnitude. The membership card

Figure 1. A sample Church of Satan membership

card with the follower’s name and signature re-

moved. Apparently the number 100261 is printed on

all membership cards issued today.

† 1966 coincided with “year one” declared in Ira Levin’s Rosemary’s Baby . Anton LaVey claimed to have been involved in the 1968

movie production as both a technical advisor and as an actor. Neither claim is supported—neither the detailed biography of the movie

nor the size of the costume for LaVey’s purported role lend credibility to the claim.

‡ Some critics have suggested that Blanche Barton’s hagiographies of Anton LaVey and his organization were not written by Barton

but LaVey himself. Comparing the literary style of the books with her style after LaVey’s death lends credibility to Barton as the orig-

inal author, albeit strongly inspired by LaVey.

The Emperor’s New Religion

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orful and haunting picture of a person qualified

as no less than the Devil’s right hand man.

The strong publicity that the Church of Satan

and its founder have received is itself no indica-

tion that the Church of Satan represents Satan-

ism beyond its own claim to the title as the Dev-

il’s henchmen, however.

It can be argued that because in certain aspects

of its literature the Church of Satan references

Christianity in its departure from the creeds

usually associated with common Christian ide-

ology, in that sense at least it qualifies as an an-

ti-Christian organization and hence by Chris-

tian definition, Satanic. In particular, the first

section (most of which was adapted with few

modifications from Ragnar Redbeard’s Might is

Right [5]) of The Satanic Bible [6] by Anton LaVey

has strong anti-Christian proclamations. Anton

LaVey has later explained that this section was

intended as an eye-opener [5, p.5].

1. Life is the great indulgence—death, the great absti-

nence. Therefore, make the most of life—HERE AND

NOW.

2. There is no heaven of glory bright, and no hell where

sinners roast. Here and now is our day of torment!

Here and now is our day of joy! Here and now is our

opportunity. [6, p.33]

Man is thus given with the chance to live in in-

dulgence only while alive, and had better make

full use of it while it lasts. † This is a recurring

theme in the second section of The Satanic Bible .

Followers of the Church of Satan are encour-

aged to make that of Satanism which suits each

individual follower’s best needs:

As far as Satanists are concerned, taking the way things

are and taking what suits you best and dwelling on it—

that’s what it is all about. [10, p.234]

The Church of Satan generally uses Satan as a

symbol of man’s nature as that of any other ani-

mal, and rejects the belief in Satan as an anthro-

pomorphic being. Some of Anton LaVey’s clos-

er associates, however, seem to have been told a

different story. For example, Michael Aquino,

who resigned from the Church of Satan and

formed a new organization, The Temple of Set

in 1975, explains that the belief in a literal Devil:

… was axiomatic to all of our [Aquino’s and LaVey’s]

conversations and collaborations [11]

and Blanche Barton explained to The San Fran-

cisco Chronicle at a press conference following

Anton LaVey’s death in 1997 that Anton LaVey

had believed in the Devil [12]. In an article in

The Occult Explosion Anton LaVey had acknowl-

edged that:

…many members of the Church of Satan who are mys-

tically inclined prefer to think of Satan in a very real,

anthropomorphic way. Of course we do not discourage

this, because we realize that it is very important to

many individuals to ritualistically conceptualize a

well-wrought picture of their mentor or tutelary divini-

ty. [2, p.740]

He ventured on to explain that:

In answer to those who would label us “Devil worship-

pers” or … Satan worshippers, I must say that Satan

demands study , not worship. [2, p.740]

Note that Anton LaVey did not reject the belief

in Satan, only the worship of the deity.

The Satanic Bible defines Satan somewhat am-

biguously as a unified God (that is, not a god

among others) which:

… is seen as the balancing factor in nature, and not be-

ing concerned with suffering. [6, p.40]

1.1 Satanic Ideology

Anton LaVey has claimed inspiration from,

and ideological parallels with, several sources

with leanings toward atheistic or non-Christian

morality, including Mark Twain, Jack London,

P.T. Barnum, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ragnar Red-

beard, Orrin Klapp, Niccolò Machiavelli,

Charles Finney, Adolf Hitler, Charles Darwin,

Ayn Rand, Herbert Spencer, H.G. Wells, Yefi-

movitch Rasputin, George Bernard Shaw, Sig-

mund Freud, Ambroce Bierce, Sir Basil Zaha-

roff, and Voltaire, to name just a few [3, p.24; 5,

p.5-6; 2, p.492, 741; 7, p.xii; 8, p.51; 9]. Satan-

ism, according to the Church of Satan, is a fu-

sion of the thoughts expressed by these authors

and philosophers, etc.:

[Anton LaVey’s] ideas evolved from his enthusiasm for

Satanic sympathizers and reprobates like George Bern-

hard Shaw, John Milton, Goethe, […] peppered with a

liberal dose of the Johnson, Smith & Co. Catalogue of

Jokes, Tricks and Novelties. [7, p.xii]

That is, although neither thought alone was

novel, no one before Anton LaVey had connect-

ed the dots to synthesize a new religion based

on the thoughts combined.

The Church of Satan’s ideology states that

man alone is responsible for his own success,

and that there is no reward in Heaven or pun-

ishment in Hell for man’s intents and doings on

Earth. As The Satanic Bible states:

† In contrast to popular opinion among Church of Satan followers there is no implication that there is no life after death; the text only

states that once one is dead, one will be unable to indulge in one’s desires.

The Emperor’s New Religion

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and

Most Satanists do not accept Satan as an anthropomor-

phic being with cloven hooves, a barbed tail, and

horns. He merely represents a force of nature …

[which] is an untapped reservoir that few can make

use of… [6, p.62]

This definition, in conjunction with the term

“god,” lends itself to a theistic or deistic percep-

tion of Satan in addition to the atheistic persua-

sion also presented in the book.

The Church of Satan’s Grotto Master applica-

tion requires prospective “Grotto Masters,”

who are individuals that lead a local chapter of

Church of Satan followers, to perform a self-ini-

tiation ritual:

15. Before you complete this application—when you

sense the time is right—perform a ritual (using the ba-

sic elements described in The Satanic Bible ) to petition

Satan and the Dark Legions to accept you as a Grotto

Master. Write down the ritual you performed and the

results, if any. [13]

Again, this ritual, requesting an infernal man-

date, has theistic overtones.

Part of the Church of Satan’s ideology specifi-

cally appeals to people that feel a need to bol-

ster their egos, feeling that they are more impor-

tant than their social recognition reflects. The Sa-

tanic Bible provides a salt water injection to such

people’s egos with the assertion that Satanists

are intrinsically superior people. Church of Sa-

tan literature, such as The Black Flame , bulge

with racist, fascist, and Nazi-oriented essays

and imagery, all of which are recurring themes

among people whose self-esteem is out of pro-

portion with their physical or intellectual abili-

ties. Organizations promising religious or simi-

lar emotionally gratifying compensation for

lacking achievements thrive on such people.

The Church of Satan acknowledges an emotion-

al link between its ideology and Nazism:

Barton: It’s an unholy alliance … The anti-Christian

strength of National Socialist Germany is part of the

appeal to Satanists. …

LaVey: … The aesthetics of National Socialism and Sa-

tanism dovetail. [10, p.236]

Anton LaVey states in The Satanic Bible that

there is evidence of an emerging Satanic age. At

that time there was increasing focus on personal

freedom, relaxed sexual morals, rebellion

against authorities, and iconoclastic behavior,

all cardinal to the hippie movement that was

gaining foothold in the years before the Church

of Satan was created. The first three clauses in

the Church of Satan’s official, semi-political pro-

gram, Pentagonal Revisionism , which was pub-

lished in The Devil’s Notebook [14, p.93] demand

stratification (which is a form of meritocracy

that rejects undeserved power), taxation of

churches, and separation of church and state.

These issues were also important in the “free-

dom movement” of the 1960es. Interest in An-

ton LaVey’s pet projects, the construction of ar-

tificial human companions and total environ-

ments (i.e., fantasy worlds) had already peaked

a decade earlier when robots were the big hit on

the screen and popular literature, and the con-

temporary fashion dictated a new home with a

characteristic departure from traditional fur-

nishing.

Whether the evidence reflected a “zeitgeist”

that was genuinely indicative of an emerging

Satanic age or whether Anton LaVey simply de-

fined social trends at that time as Satanic is diffi-

cult to tell. However, lending itself well to the

prevalent social trends the Church of Satan was

certainly a product of its time.

1.2 The Satanic Bible

The Satanic Bible formally defines the Church

of Satan’s ideology, and the Church of Satan re-

fers to the book as:

a diabolical book, the basis for our philosophy. [1]

The book was released in 1969, three years af-

ter the establishment of the Church of Satan.

Anton LaVey explains that he was prompted to

write The Satanic Bible by his agent and publish-

er’s suggestion with a tight deadline:

Then […] came the official commission to write a “Sa-

tanic Bible”. My agent and publisher wanted the mate-

rial I had already printed in tract form, with additional

stuff, to make up the “Bible” as quickly as possible. [5,

p.4]

The Satanic Bible is comprised of, in the follow-

ing order:

1. An anti-Christian diatribe. This section

seems to appeal especially to those that were

brought up in Christian homes and are fed

up with that religion. The Church of Satan

explains that this section is a wake-up call

that is only necessary for some readers.

2. A level-headed refutation of Christian dog-

ma; an assertion that there is no afterlife and

hence no reward or punishment after one

dies; and elaborations on different facets of a

life lived accordingly. This section contains

many examples of how even seemingly con-

flicting behavior is Satanic according to the

The Emperor’s New Religion

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author, and effectively virtually any behavior

is inherently Satanic.

3. Three recipes for magic focusing on aggres-

sion, lust, and compassion. The magic in the

third section obviously appeals to people

that enjoy magic settings, but the Church of

Satan accepts that some followers do not feel

so inclined.

The Church of Satan states that belief in liter-

al demons is permitted within the confines of

the ritual chamber and abandoned outside of

the chamber. Presumably this argument also

holds in rituals such as “The Satanic ‘Bap-

tism,’” [15, p.212] which directly refers to the

literal Satan. It is a valid argument, but the

dual acceptance of belief and non-belief is al-

so an effective tool for appealing to such

strongly diverging groups of people as the-

ists and atheists simultaneously.

4. A listing of eighteen “Enochian Keys.” Ironi-

cally, this section contains the very occult-

nick bunk that Anton LaVey prides The Sa-

tanic Bible as being devoid of in the preface of

the book. Both readers despising such bunk-

ery and readers desiring it are generously

satisfied.

The Satanic Bible thus represents an occultnick

slam dunk: most readers will agree with certain

portions of The Satanic Bible as long as they are

either atheists on a rational level, deists with

symbolism but no supernatural beliefs, or even

theists believing in God and/or Satan but not

particularly caring about their sentences in their

afterlives.

Indeed, because most readers can find some-

thing they agree with in The Satanic Bible almost

regardless of personal belief, and because they

are encouraged to pick and choose those items

they agree with, the only obstacle to being a Sa-

tanist per the Church of Satan’s requirements

lies in the readers’ potential unwillingness to ac-

cept the label “Satanist.” This conclusion is sup-

ported by Blanche Barton’s welcoming state-

ment on the official Church of Satan Web page,

where she explains that:

The philosophy really isn’t that esoteric and doesn’t

take much pondering to understand. But it’s that loom-

ing figure in the shadows, that majestic silhouette of

Satan—leathery wings outstretched, standing proudly,

backlit by the flames of Hell—that people find… dis-

quieting. [16]

Church of Satan officials have argued that

parts of the The Satanic Bible were intended as

sincere philosophy while other parts were in-

tended to mislead the rubes begging to be

mocked and derided. According to William

Gidney (Priest of the Church of Satan):

The Church of Satan champions the Machiavellian eth-

ic of misdirection: You should try actually reading the

philosophical content of The Satanic Bible far more

carefully. What confusion we inspire is of no interest to

us. [17]

Hence, the inclusion of the so-called Enochian

Keys, a hoax invented by John Dee and Edward

Kelley, in The Satanic Bible might be an ironic at-

tempt at misdirection put there to confuse the

rubes, but any references to Machiavellian eth-

ics would be sincere. Presumably only the elite

(that is, whoever happened to read The Satanic

Bible ) would be able to realize that the Crowley-

inspired parts were misdirection, while the

Redbeard and Machiavelli musings were sin-

cere—or vice versa. Each follower of the Church

of Satan is left with the impression that he or

she and a few others understand the true mean-

ing of Satanism, and everyone else does not.

It is more plausible, however, that when An-

ton LaVey wrote The Satanic Bible , he decided to

take a dash of Crowley (whose interest in Dee

and Kelley is well documented) from here, and

a dash of Machiavelli and Nietzsche from there,

and bake his Satanic cake appealing to the wid-

est audience possible.

The Church of Satan states that the contradic-

tions are only apparent:

It is then up to the rank and file members, as well as

anyone else who has an interest in this material, to ana-

lyze these ideas and synthesize the apparent contradic-

tions into a “Third Side” that is the essence of Satanic

understanding. [18]

Or, in other words, the reason that there are

contradictions is that there are none; and by

perceiving the ideology as ambiguous, one has

not gained Satanic understanding. As in Hans

Christian Andersen’s popular story, The Emper-

or’s New Clothes , where people would rather not

admit to being stupid not seeing the emperor’s

marvelous new (missing) clothes, followers of

the Church of Satan would probably rather not

admit they have no “Satanic understanding.”

Inevitably individual Satanists will reach dif-

ferent interpretations. The Church of Satan con-

tinues:

Will everyone arrive at the same synthesis? No. Sur-

prised? You shouldn’t be, as Satanism is a religion

which embraces the practice of individualism, not de-

manding that all its members have some kind of lock-

step sameness. [18]

The Emperor’s New Religion

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Different and contrary individual interpreta-

tions do not warrant religious unity, however.

People do not unite in dis agreement—not unless

they join hands in a shared disagreement with

something entirely different, such as Satanists’

pet demon: Christianity. If the Church of Satan

does indeed unite its followers despite oppos-

ing interpretations, their unity is not about its

ideology at all.

Rituals serve as self-programming devices that

maintain the follower’s dedication to the reli-

gion, and they have a transfusing effect on the

person’s life.

The Satanic Rituals includes the following ritu-

als:

1. Le Messe Noir —a rite of passage intended to

rid the follower of Catholic Christian dogma.

2. L’air Epais —an initiation ritual in which the

participant symbolically dies and is reborn as

a Satanist.

3. Das Tierdrama —a reminder of one’s animal

heritage.

4. Homage to Tchort —draws inspiration from

Russian folklore of various demons, which

are summoned during the ritual.

5. The Ceremony of the Nine Angles —inspired by

H.P. Lovecraft, it is intended to “emphasize

potential.”

6. The Call to Cthulhu —also inspired by H.P.

Lovecraft, it “reflects the dimness of an al-

most forgotten past.”

7. The Satanic Baptisms —baptism rituals for chil-

dren and adults.

Rituals 4, 5, and 6 have no clear purpose.

Michael Aquino, the author of rituals 5 and 6,

explains that the fledgling organization’s theory

regarding rituals was not all that deep or

thought-through, and that the purpose of some

rituals was only to act as a vehicle for the emo-

tional or intellectual stimulation or pleasure of

the participants [11]. Given no explanation of

their purpose in The Satanic Rituals , it is likely

that these three rituals fall into that category.

Rituals actualize ideology, that is, they are

physical manifestations of the abstract thoughts

expressed by the ideology. Like birthdays are

times where the birthday celebrant may think

ahead or back, rituals typically act as reflective

moments where participants stop and relate to

their nature and situation. Rituals are not con-

sidered in the everyday life, but require partici-

pants to stop and act . It is not clear how inspira-

tion from Russian folklore and Lovecraftian fic-

tion actualizes the Satanic ideology as outlined

in The Satanic Bible .

It is remarkable that rites of passage, such as

wedding and death, admission to adulthood

(the Church of Satan has a concept of children

vs. adults, as evidenced by The Satanic Baptisms ,

which come in those two forms), etc. are absent

from the available material. Such rituals serve to

sustain a religion and reinforce its ideology.

1.3 Satanic Rituals and Magic

The Satanic Bible formally defines magic as:

The change in situations or events in accordance with

one’s will, which would, using normally accepted

methods, be unchangeable. [6, p. 110]

The statement echoes Aleister Crowley’s defi-

nition, and in admitting to a rather broad defini-

tion Anton LaVey refers to the equivalence be-

tween the perception of magic and science, pos-

sibly borrowing Athur C. Clarke’s famous Third

Law, which stipulates that “[a]ny sufficiently

advanced technology is indistinguishable from

magic.” Most interpretations ranging from mys-

ticism to die hard science are thereby covered.

Anton LaVey asserted that magic falls into

three basic categories: anger, lust, and compas-

sion [6, pp. 114-115]—feelings that are often dif-

ficult to cope with in many societies. Two sec-

tions of The Satanic Bible are devoted to the prac-

tice of magic. One section contains three recipes

for the aforementioned three categories of mag-

ic. The other section lists the Enochian Keys.

Anton LaVey has later conceded that he chose

to include the Enochian Keys in The Satanic Bible

simply because he was told that they were dan-

gerous to mention [5, p.4].

When the Church of Satan uses the term “cere-

mony,” it means “ritual” in sociology. When it

uses the term “ritual,” it means “magic” in soci-

ology. This document uses the sociological no-

menclature.

The rituals and magic that are publicly avail-

able—the three basic types in The Satanic Bible

and the ones in The Satanic Rituals —are free to

use by anyone. The three basic types of magic

can be performed solitarily, and can be expected

to be the most widespread Satanic magic based

on the ease of performance, and on the few ritu-

al settings and/or participants required.

The Church of Satan’s rituals, as explained by

Anton LaVey in The Satanic Rituals , are intended

to sustain the Satanic ideology:

Generally, a ritual [i.e., magic] is used to attain , while a

ceremony [i.e., a ritual] serves to sustain . [15, p.17]

The Emperor’s New Religion

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