Misplaced Pages

Talk:Satanism: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 16:13, 30 January 2011 editSelf-ref (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users1,295 editsm Problems in the chapter "Symbolic satanism": notability, no originals← Previous edit Latest revision as of 07:28, 5 December 2024 edit undoCzello (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users, Page movers, Pending changes reviewers41,276 edits Sentence about violence: ReplyTag: Reply 
(366 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{talk header}} {{Talk header}}
{{notaforum|Satanism}} {{notaforum|Satanism}}
{{WikiProjectBannerShell|1=
{{WikiProject Religion|class=Start|LeftHandPath=yes}}
{{WikiProject Occult|class=Start|importance=High}}
{{WikiProject Spirituality}}
}}
{{controversial}} {{controversial}}
{{WikiProject banner shell|class=B|vital=yes|1=
{{see also|Talk:List of Satanists}}
{{WikiProject Religion|importance=Top|NRM=yes|NRMImp=Top|LeftHandPath=yes}}
{{archive box|search=yes|
{{WikiProject Occult|importance=High}}
*]
{{WikiProject Horror|importance=Top}}
*]
{{WikiProject Spirituality|importance=mid}}
*]
}}
*]
{{archivebox|auto=y|
*]
* ]
*] }}
}}

== Proposed Fix to 2021 Canadian Census Section ==
In the 2021 Canadian Census Section (https://en.wikipedia.org/Satanism#2021_Canadian_census), the statement "although the Japanese are an exception (with the Japanese comprising 0.3% of both Satanists and the population as a whole)" is incorrect. The Japanese are not an exception because they are the lowest percentage out of all the minority groups. <!-- Template:Unsigned --><small class="autosigned">—&nbsp;Preceding ] comment added by ] (] • ]) 05:16, 9 June 2023 (UTC)</small> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->

== Temple of Set ==

The Temple of Set does not consider themselves to be Satanists, rather Setians. Since they formed from ex-members of the Church of Satan there's a value to including them but listing them as a Satanic group is misleading and confusing, perhaps there's a more accurate way to mention them? ] (]) 12:53, 23 November 2017 (UTC)

== External links modified ==

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on ]. Please take a moment to review ]. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit ] for additional information. I made the following changes:
*Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20070712000522/http://www.xeper.org/maquino/nm/COS.pdf to http://www.xeper.org/maquino/nm/COS.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

{{sourcecheck|checked=false|needhelp=}}

Cheers.—] <span style="color:green;font-family:Rockwell">(])</span> 05:42, 2 December 2017 (UTC)

== 1948 Devil worshiper Ernie Yost ==

Mainstream media newspapers from 1948 have articles about devil worshiper, Ernie Lee Russell Yost. I have tried to add information about him from the articles on the Satanism Wiki page, but the addition was erased by someone claiming that only Academic Sources can be used. However, according to Misplaced Pages guidelines, (https://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources ) articles in reliable newspapers can be used. These references are reliable; they were the main newspapers of West Virginia at the time: The West Virginian and The Fairmont Times. Could others please clarify on this subject. I think the Satanism page should be complete. I am unsure why anyone would want information to be suppressed. Thank you. <!-- Template:Unsigned --><small class="autosigned">—&nbsp;Preceding ] comment added by ] (] • ]) 16:23, 4 December 2017 (UTC)</small> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->
:When it comes to highly controversial issues such as Satanism, press accounts are often sensationalistic and ill-informed — think of all the nonsense that was published in the press during the ] hysteria of the 1980s and 1990s, or the way in which the press have appended the terms "Satanist" or "devil-worship" to practitioners of ], ], and ] over the years. While press articles can be used as reliable sources at Misplaced Pages, we should be very careful about how and when we use them. This is an example of an article where we have more than enough academic sources available to us, so there should really be no need to resort to poorer-quality press material, particularly material published in the 1940s. In addition, I find it concerning that one of the sources that you used in citing explicitly describes itself as a novel, albeit one based on true events. ] (]) 17:22, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
:] Why don't you first try to create a well-referenced article about the Yost story, or the new book , and eventually, if/when more information and references turn up, you can try to link your information into the current article somehow.] (]) 22:49, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

== Satanic rhetoric ==

{{re|FreeKnowledgeCreator|Seanbonner}} Instead of persistently reverting eachother, please discuss here. I was about to request temporary full protection but that may not yet be necessary and would prevent useful editing. Thanks, —]] – 16:59, 28 July 2018 (UTC)

:Seanbonner is trying to make a change to the article for which there is no consensus, and which is opposed by Midnightblueowl, as well as by me. That is enough reason for the user to stop trying to make that change at least for the moment. Seanbonner is free to try to establish consensus for his change, of course. ] (]) 22:34, 28 July 2018 (UTC)

:It's an unsourced and factually inaccurate claim, we don't need consensus as wikipedia policy already applies, it should be removed until a source to support it is provided. The article is about Satanism, this a section about a person who was not a Satanist, who died years before the bulk of the events described in the article, he was an occultist and used occult and religious imagery, calling it Satanic is an incorrect descriptor. Even if some of the image was later used by Satanists, it wasn't being used by Satanists when he used it and so calling any of it "Satanic" is misleading and inaccurate. This is like arguing that Darth Vader used First Order iconography, the timeline is backwards. You could factually argue that Satanists use imagery that was used by occultists previously, but claiming occultists used Satanic imagery makes no sense. ] (]) 04:54, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

::I tend to agree considering the various definitions of satanism. There were for instance the Catholic-parodying ones, the legendary ones of literature, the alleged satanists of the various moral panics, then today's mostly atheist "satanic" movements, none of which have to do with eachother. "Satanic imagery" was also borrowed from older tradition including Baphomet's inspiration from older horned/animal gods, etc. The Christian concept of Satan also gets lost in the Tanakh where there were mostly references to older Babylonian or Caanite deities which were later confused with the devil... So what does "satanic" really mean? It would be useful to attribute it to a notable author using a source, instead of stating it in Misplaced Pages's voice. —]] – 07:20, 29 July 2018 (UTC)

::: So given that it's uncited and inaccurate, can we please per wikipedia policy remove it? ] and ] are pretty clear that this shouldn't remain in the article. I'm confused why there is any objection. ] (]) 09:39, 5 August 2018 (UTC)
::::Seanbonner, I disagree with edit. I do not think that you have a secure consensus for it, and you should seek ]'s comments here before repeating it. You altered a caption of an image of Aleister Crowley to read, "Aleister Crowley was not a Satanist"; such a caption is singularly unhelpful and I do not consider it appropriate. You also altered a sentence that began, "He nevertheless used Satanic imagery, for instance by describing himself as "the Beast 666" and referring to the ] in his work" by removing the "He nevertheless used Satanic imagery" part. The removal of that portion of the sentence makes the rest of it irrelevant to the article, making it simply strange that it would be included at all. I appreciate that you are trying to improve the article, however, you need to reconsider your approach. ] (]) 07:38, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:::::I looked up the cited source, Ronald Hutton's book ''The Triumph of the Moon''. It states that "it is well known, and true, that Crowley identified himself with the Beast 666 of the Book of Revelation and the satanic idol, Baphomet, allegedly worshipped by the medieval Knights Templar". The statement that Crowley used satanic imagery is supported by the source cited. ] (]) 08:25, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::Academic sources discussing Satanism tend to stress that although Crowley was not a Satanist in the modern religious sense of the word, he drew upon a great deal of older imagery which in Western society has been regarded as unambiguously satanic for a long time (Whore of Babylon, "the Beast 666" etc). The article should reflect this and, I believe, has done so until the recent alterations were made without any attempt to gain Talk Page consensus first. ] (]) 09:33, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
:::::::Misplaced Pages policy is not to gain consensus before any edit, rather "when in doubt, delete" as I did. It was brought to the Talk page after that as others disagreed, however per policy the deletion should remain until a consensus is found, not that it should be reverted. The source does not support the claim, this is an editor making an assumption. Someone who repeatedly claimed not to be a Satanist, who was using imagery that was not associated with Satanism at the time, should not be accused of using "Satanic imagery" simply because decades later that that imagery was also used by Satanists. The Knights Templar also didn't consider themselves Satanists so claiming that Crowley was using their imagery so it's OK to say it was Satanic is not correct and is OR. Unless you can find a source that directly says Crowley used Satanic imagery that claim should not be on a wikipedia page. ] (]) 23:17, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::::You understanding of Misplaced Pages policy is not correct. There is nothing in our policies that says that a "deletion should remain until a consensus is found". I am not surprised that you do not refer to or quote an actual policy. Having examined the source, which states that Crowley identified himself with a "satanic" idol, for myself, it is clear to me that it does support the statement that Crowley used satanic imagery. Your comments above about this issue are simply confused. Your comment, "The Knights Templar also didn't consider themselves Satanists so claiming that Crowley was using their imagery so it's OK to say it was Satanic is not correct and is OR", is ungrammatical and I do not understand what it is intended to mean. I am not seeing a coherent argument anywhere in your comment. You begin by saying that Crowley repeatedly claimed not to be a Satanist; that's true but also irrelevant. ] (]) 23:53, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::::: It's actually a quite clear argument. The article is about Satanism, this section is about Crowley who wasn't a Satanist. The imagery that Crowley used was not also used by Satanists at the time he used it, thus it was not Satanic imagery. If after Crowley's death Satanists began using the imagery that doesn't retroactively make it Satanic when Crowley used it. Saying that he both "claimed not to be a Satanist" but also "used Satanic imagery" is confusing to the reader and suggests that maybe he was a Satanist. You are the one who brought in the Knights Templar and my point is that your mentioning them is irrelevant as they were not Satanists either, unless you are trying to argue that Crowley used Templarian imagery, in which case you could make that argument and that claim would be valid, but again it would be pointless to include on an article about Satanism. ] (]) 08:42, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::::::"The imagery that Crowley used was not also used by Satanists at the time he used it, thus it was not Satanic imagery." I find this argument problematic. As far as scholars of Satanism see it, Satanism did not appear only with the first self-described Satanists. It began with the Satanic imagery that emerged within Christendom in the early years of the Common Era. It was only centuries later that we find examples of people calling themselves "Satanists", but they post-date Satanism itself by quite a large margin. The argument that you are using is akin to that of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan; the claim that they are the "true" Satanists and have the right to define what is and what is not Satanic, calling things other than themselves "devil worship". They are of course free to believe such a thing, but scholars do not follow their example and neither should this article. ] (]) 09:36, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::::::: Luckily for everyone this article doesn't need to conform to what you personally consider problematic or not. The fact is that this imagery wasn't associated with Satanism, no matter how you want to define that, at the time Crowley used it. The article and all supporting citations supports that argument, and the previous version of the article was misleading. The current compromise version introduced by ] resolves the issue. ] (]) 02:17, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::::::::"The fact is that this imagery wasn't associated with Satanism, no matter how you want to define that, at the time Crowley used it." This simply isn't true, Sean. "666", the "Great Beast", the "Whore of Babylon", and the idea of inverting Christianity are all long established tropes associated with Satanism going back decades and in some cases centuries prior to Crowley's birth. You are of course fully entitled of your own, personal understanding of "Satanism" (which I suspect derives at least in part from LaVeyan uses of the term), but that is not how most scholars of the subject see it and it is not how this article should present it. Crowley was most certainly not a ''religious Satanist'', but he did play with ''Satanic imagery''. ] (]) 08:42, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
:::::::::::::You are mistaken, as those are examples of Christian imagery. ] (]) 14:53, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
::::::::::::::Where do you think that Satan and Satanism come from if not Christianity? ] (]) 15:17, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
:::::::::::::::Perhaps you might want to read the article we're discussing, specifically . As this article details, Satanism as a pejorative (and a label applied to others) is a creation of Christianity, Satanism as a religion (and a self applied label) is based on the pre-Christian definition of the word satan. Someone referencing elements from the Bible is referencing Christian elements, referring to that as Satanic when they themselves didn't consider it Satanic is pejorative not descriptive.] (]) 23:16, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

== Semi-protected edit request on 2 February 2019 ==

{{edit semi-protected|Satanism|answered=yes}}
Please add the following to your page. Thank you.
:] '''Not done:''' please provide ] that support the change you want to be made.<!-- Template:ESp --> ] (]) 16:02, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

== Satan's Curse ==
Satan's Curse is a description of the fact that the power structure within Satanism has taken a 'wrong turn'. Although the group of hypnotists is technically not part of the 'power structure', they are those who have maintained Satanism for centuries - and therefore completely unjustified. It was probably already at the beginning of the Jewish era that this 'power deformity' took place. After a few centuries of experimenting with the basic principles of satanism (hypnosis, hypnosis regression, emotion enhancement and 'knowledge'), it was the intention of the 2 'groups fighting for power' (and thus executing) the DOEN - of the satanic doctrine) to withdraw. However, it went 'wrong' with the group (tribe or clan) of the hypnotists. Also against them must be said that they can keep up with it but because they are always in the majority (including in a witch circle including the men) the 'Satan' continues to run. In short, the hypnotists make sure that 'satanism' continues to exist despite everyone's realization that the total is no longer worth it (so today only 'stuff' is made by order of 'the satanic king' x must make a number of sacrifices ..). All the "miracles" (that for which Satanism was "set up" at the time) have been executed, documented and well-known. At the moment there are even 'dragons' and 'turners' who are recording 'miracles' with their mobile phones to convince the hypnotists that 'satanism' no longer has any right to exist. THEY have known for a long time what the effects ('the miracles') are of what they 'can' do. ] (]) 10:45, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

:This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Satanism WP-article. What change/addition do you suggest, and which ] supports your change? ] (]) 11:19, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

== In some poor countries like Armenia, Greece and Turkey Satanism is confused with criminality by the society ==

Belief in whatever doesn't constitute one a criminal in most but not all countries.

We should write about it. Some non-criminals are oppressed. Having a "wrong" opinion isn't unethical, or if it is, we have to elaborate why.

::: make page: ] <!-- Template:Unsigned IP --><small class="autosigned">—&nbsp;Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 03:09, 17 March 2019 (UTC)</small> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->

==Edit request==

{{edit semi-protected|answered=yes}}
Please add a link to ]

add the hatnote:

{{redirect|satanist}}
<pre>
{{redirect|satanist}}
</pre>

-- ] (]) 11:04, 28 March 2019 (UTC)
:] '''Not done:'''<!-- Template:ESp --> ] is listed on the page ]. Doesn't seem like there would be a lot of confusion due to this redirect, since the ] only lists a couple of obscure novels, one album, and one song. – ] '']'' 12:29, 28 March 2019 (UTC)


== POV definition ==
==Adolescent Satanism==
:I've included references to adolescent pseudo-satanism to distinguish it from the more adult pursuit of rituals, symbolism and philosophies attendant on satanist religious practice.
] (]) 04:37, 14 October 2009 (UTC)User Calibanu
:Sounds reasonable, but it has been removed a couple of times due to lack of citations (I've reverted the removals and added citation notes). Do you have any sources you can cite? ] (]) 09:44, 1 January 2010 (UTC)


The current section states that "according to Ruben Van Luijk, the concept of Satanism is an invention of Christianity, for it relies upon the figure of Satan, a character deriving from Christian mythology".
== the new satanists and the new world order. ==


The author hasn't a WP article. The current article names his monography for two times, but it isn't a ]. Furthermore, it is the unique title named elsewhere in the Encyclopedia.
years ago i read a book called the new satanists, today a lot of people are talking about a new world order that is aimed at contoling the planet. they went by such names as werewolf order, temple of set, they have been described as an offshoot of the orignal church started by anton lavey in the 60's. secret societies like the illuminati,the freemasons, assassins, knights of the round table,knights templar, the order of the black snake ,skull and crossbones,cross of confusion, to cite only some of the secret organizations or lodges that refer to satan or lucifer. satan was a god, the chief god, and fell. hence lucifer was considered to take his place and in most of these aethiestic religious occults considered satan as a force in the universe responsible for the direction and affairs of mankind. satan considered as an evil diety in ancient times he was also called by several other names the accuser and the one who tempted jesus and throughout history people have used him as an evil agent who was capable of spreading evil and carrying out the plans and affairs of humankind. a lot of controversy has arisen on the existence of satanism now seen as a force completley responsible for the invention of evil and the doom of mankind. the crowned prince of evil like the devil belial or leviathan all are neccasary devices or vices responsible for the unspeakable widespread of evil we see all around us. it makes you wonder what this devil is really like and why so many people depend on him for their very existence. i was very intersted in this topic after hearing about cases of things such as satanic ritual abuse (the village idiot usually a fat and middle aged man with a harem of women he could choose from who were more than willing to curry his favour.)or the real cases where the belief in evil caused horrid descriptions about people being possesed and even murdered and mutilated all to satisfy or honour the appetites of those obssesed with their need for evil. kinda strange eh? don. <span style="font-size: smaller;" class="autosigned">—Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 20:27, 11 February 2010 (UTC)</span><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->


Is it so important for staying at the top of the page? It represents a personal opinion and point of view, which is not unequivocally demonstrated. The same section has to specify that for more religions Satanism includes sectarian groups whose members believe that Satan is a real and existing angel and worship him.
OMG, is this totally, freaking true? Christians, unite! ^_^ ] (]) 19:41, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


A 1998 survey of the Italian ] adopted a definition which categorized as Satanism gropus of people believing in a symbol as well as in a real and spiritual entity. It comes form the Italian sociologist ] (which has a WP article) and now I noted it is also available in English (). It is a ] and it can be hopefully integrated into the questioned ] section of the article. I am going to do so.] (]) 21:53, 20 February 2020 (UTC)
No, it's not true. This is Christian propaganda aimed at misdirecting your attention away from the people that are really trying to take over the world, Christians.] (]) 18:38, 16 March 2010 (UTC)
: the same sociologist is mentioned for more times in the current article. This another reason to add his definition of Satanism in the opening section.] (]) 21:56, 20 February 2020 (UTC)
:But that is not necessary! We've already taken over the world, twirling our moustaches and laughing MouahahahahahaAA! ] dixit. (]!) 14:16, 25 May 2010 (UTC)
:Yeah tell that to the Christian heads the Muslims have been collecting] (]) 18:45, 15 June 2010 (UTC)


==Satanism== == Neutrality ==
Please, I do ''not'' want to bother anyone, but when I was going through the talk pages of a couple of my fave shows: , it said that Satanism was part of them? Is, like, this really true? Please, respond! ] (]) 19:41, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


https://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Satanism&oldid=963593121
:The video of Winnie the Pooh worshipping Satan was a fake, I know plenty of people that could make similar videos. And one group accusing the show/comic W.I.T.C.H. of being Satanic doesn't prove anything. There are a lot of crazy people in the world that accuse all sorts of things of being Satanic (Lawry's seasoning salt, for example). Some people will believe anything just so they can believe that someone is in charge of the world, even if that happens to be Satan. These people are usually likely to lump together various things they know nothing about. I'd bet good money that the group that accused W.I.T.C.H. of being Satanic have never watched an episode of that show. ] (]) 23:03, 13 February 2010 (UTC)


; Neutrality:
Phew, Thank God that this isn't true. Now, I can have a smashing time watching the shows without nervousness, yeah! Yahoo! Have a fantastic day, ALL! ^_^ ] (]) 20:07, 16 February 2010 (UTC)
{{quote|A number reported feelings of anger at the hypocrisy of many practicing Christians and expressed the view that the monotheistic Gods of Christianity and other religions are unethical, citing issues such as the problem of evil.}}
; IS THIS NEUTRAL OR RESPECTFUL OF ALL READERS??
:Hope that the related first pending review would be approved.


;REASON: Abused and happy
== Archive ==
{{quote|For some practitioners, Satanism gave a sense of hope, including for those who had been physically and sexually abused.}} Even . Even ff it concerns some refereced material, WP can't host suh sentences which are in contrast with the reason and good sense of any reader.
moved 2009 to archive.] (]) 12:41, 23 March 2010 (UTC)


; A religion for very males
== Disambiguation and Starting Over ==
{{quote|Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen observed that from surveys of Satanists conducted in the early 21st century, it was clear that the Satanic milieu was "heavily dominated by young males".}}
:The first sentence shows Satanism as an exclusive religion for male. It may be true -as Freemasonry is- but it's a partial and misleading truth. How many of them are active or passive? We won't have no judgement nor preconception against anyone for his or her sexual orientation, but we can't present a movement/religion in terms that can be easily read as if it is something of masculine and destinated to a young community of strong men.


Probably, the sourced study of Dyrendal, Lewis & Petersen 2016 is ana example of trash prepaid pseudoscince and has to be rejected at all (into its own proper right place). From how much time did those false sentences be hosted on a WP article?
I've noticed that the whole page has reverted into a gobbledy-gook of subversion ideologies and religious Satanism again. this primarily comes about because there is insufficient consensus about what should be on the page. if you look into the archives you will see the basis for the content of the page plainly extracted from our discussions and pointed out in academic journals. instead, religious interests are repeatedly and routinely inserting their preferences to the content here and making it unreadable and nonsense.


Contributors hope in the reasonability of people who administer the website, even if they won't to get any form of sponsorship from the website, unless improving in the better possible way.
I have noticed no will to cooperate and am not interested in attempted reversions to what i have favoured in the past. I will merely occasionally place my objection here and am willing to continue discussing the subject. you should be paying attention to Wiki standards of notability and citation, not waxing long about your theology, demonology, or sociology without basis. thanks. ] (]) 12:54, 23 March 2010 (UTC)


Hope this will help.
:Happens now and then in religious articles. I call it ''street preacher pamphleting'' and I've also seen it in ]. I'm considering erecting a task force for dealing with such POV-spamming of Misplaced Pages. I'll take a personal note for now. Thanks for your notice! ] dixit. (]!) 14:22, 25 May 2010 (UTC)


== Religious Satanism Article ==
::my pleasure. it's good to know there are others out there with an agenda beyond something personal! ;) is a link to relevant sources mentioned within the archives to date ] (]) 04:32, 30 July 2010 (UTC)


The "see also" link in the "Religious Satanism" section is to the article about one particular book about contemporary religious satanism, not to an article about the movement or movements themselves. I don't think that this is really relevant to the section, and probably the link should be removed. What do other people think?
::so far we have not yet agreed as to or on the emergence of organized Satanism in the 1960s as the departure for religious interests. I would like to begin drawing on our identified sources to substantiate a realistic address to at least this latter emergence and its DECENTRALIZED character:
] (]) 21:23, 11 September 2020 (UTC)
<BLOCKQUOTE>
:"Beginning in the late 1960s, organized Satanism emerged out of the occult subculture with the formation of the Church of Satan. It was not long, however, before Satanism had expanded well beyond the Church of Satan. The decentralization of the Satanist movement was considerably accelerated when LaVey disbanded the grotto system in the mid-Seventies. At present, religious Satanism exists primarily a decentralized subculture, not unlike the Neopagan subculture." -- Lewis, James R. 'Who Serves Satan? A Demographic and Ideological Profile', in <I>Marburg Journal of Religion</I>: Volume 6, No. 2; June 2001. Web. http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/ivk/mjr/pdfs/2001/articles/lewis2001.pdf (accessed 8/2/10).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
::we should be able to discern between religious Satanism (a quantifiable category identified by academia) and Christian folklore, adequately evaluated as fused into moral panics within Christian society, and in fact within the same documented source, Lewis provides some help with this, distinguishing what he calls "ritual abuse scare" data from what he has already referred to as data on "religious Satanism".
<BLOCKQUOTE>
:"Perhaps surprisingly, no serious academic books have been written on this movement. What exists are a number of good scholarly volumes on the ritual abuse scare, such as Jeffrey Victor's Satanic Panic and James T. Richardson et al.'s The Satanism Scare. Beyond a couple of older articles on the Church of Satan (e.g., Alfred 1976) and a relatively recent paper on Satanism in the UK (Harvey 1995), the only extended, academic treatment of organized Satanism is William Bainbridge's now-dated Satan's Power (1978). However, even this book focuses on a single group, the Process Church, which has long since distanced itself from Satanism." -- Lewis, James R. 'Who Serves Satan? A Demographic and Ideological Profile', in <I>Marburg Journal of Religion</I>: Volume 6, No. 2; June 2001. Web. http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/ivk/mjr/pdfs/2001/articles/lewis2001.pdf (accessed 8/2/10).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
::these kinds of sources should inform the primary DISAMBIGUATION rather than the variable alternatives (e.g. 'types' of (religious) Satanism) we have previously featured on that page. at some point in the near future, if nobody cogently refutes my cited data in this thread, i will revise that disambiguation page to reflect this, relegating all 'types of Satanism' to be listed on the (religious) Satanism page itself (which we will subsequently construct). thank you for your cooperation.] (]) 21:24, 2 August 2010 (UTC)


== Semi-protected edit request on 23 July 2021 ==
:::without objection, I will begin a discussion on the Disambiguation page referring to this and perhaps copy this there if there are no other substantive conversations as to its content. issues of NOTABILITY are hamstringing the construction of this page and few are discussing them here.] (]) 15:57, 30 January 2011 (UTC)


{{edit semi-protected|Satanism|answered=yes}}
== Satanism: '''Atheistic'''/Deistic_Satanism ==
Change the paragraph stating that it is an american phenomenon. There are many british and european sects developed before America was even a country. The citation cited is an opinion piece. ] (]) 19:05, 23 July 2021 (UTC)
:] '''Not done:''' it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a ] if appropriate.<!-- Template:ESp --> ] (]) 22:15, 23 July 2021 (UTC)


==WikiProject Proposal==
* ]: Shouldn't it be more appropriate to call this section “'''Non-theism'''”/Deism Satanism.
I want to being everyones attention to ]'s WikiProject proposal. ]. It seems that this article is one of many articles that would benefit from it's creation.] (]) 01:19, 18 December 2022 (UTC)
*Shouldn't it also be more appropriate to change the word “'''atheistm'''” here to “non-theism”: “<small>''Unlike Theistic Satanists, LaVeyan Satanists are </small>'''atheists'''<small> and agnostics who regard Satan as a symbol of man's inherent nature.''</small>”. --] (]) 15:42, 15 April 2010 (UTC)


== Marilyn Manson ==
*How would that even make sense? Atheism just means you don't believe in a god, such as in the case of Levayan Satanism. Changing it to non-theism wouldn't do anything but confuse, not to mention it isn't a word I recognise.] (]) 02:58, 19 May 2010 (UTC)


Marilyn Manson is described off-handedly as conservative and I can see no reason for this. Please add a link to where this idea is coming from. Manson's politics are his own but seldom would they be described in this manner. Going down the rabbit hole led me...nowhere. It would see this assessment is strange at best and original to the poster at worst. Please at least make his name a wikilink if the sentence is going to remain. ] (]) 04:38, 21 February 2023 (UTC)
::let the LaVeyan Satanists self-describe in <I>conventional</I> language as either atheists or whatever, along with their explanation with what they mean by this. cite their documents. they are widely known. describing them in unusual or uncommon verbiage, especially as it conflicts with or doesn't conform to their own self-description is probably a waste of time. explain that <b>THEISTIC</B> Satanism is what has grown up contrasting itself to LaVeyans and those like them, interested in Satan as a god. ] (]) 04:41, 30 July 2010 (UTC)


:It's a drive-by suggestion, but appears to be a valid one. The cited book only mentions a passing sentence that only says "certain public satanists such as Marilyn Manson have expressed conservative political views" </nowiki>] and does not provide further context. Additional searches for related use of the description has not led me to any reliable sources that suggest the artist is politically conservative. I will be ] and edit this statement. If anyone sees a need to revert, please reply on the talk page once you have, so we can discuss! ] (]) 17:47, 21 February 2023 (UTC)
== Problems in the chapter "Symbolic satanism" ==


== A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion ==
The problem is in the symbolic satanism part and the endnotes 11, 12 and 13. None of the sources substantiate two claims made in the section, namely that:
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:
* ]<!-- COMMONSBOT: discussion | 2023-02-26T23:23:20.736913 | The official logo of The Satanic Temple.png -->
Participate in the deletion discussion at the ]. —] (]) 23:23, 26 February 2023 (UTC)


== Varg Vikernes ==


Why is Varg Vikernes mentioned as part of satanism when he never claimed to be one nor was the criminal activity in black metal scene always related to ideology? ] (]) 10:18, 1 March 2023 (UTC)
a) "modern satanism" and "symbolic satanism" are indeed "sometimes" used interchangeably


:I’ve got no clue why they put that there ] (]) 23:25, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
- of course, cats are "sometimes" called dogs, but there is no indication in the sources cited that this is a practise that is even relatively common)


== Atheistic ==
or


{{re|Anders Wiedow}} Church of Satan is atheistic, do you have a source which denies that? La Vey proclaimed that there are no supernatural gods, and the Devil isn't real, either. ] (]) 15:03, 7 March 2023 (UTC)
b) symbolic satanism involves observance of satanic religious beliefs


:I’m sorry but you can’t put that sort of opinionated piece in a site for all people including Christians ] (]) 23:25, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
- Nothing that the sources 11-13 say would point to the direction that the beliefs symbolic satanists may have are of religious nature, at least not in the sense that religious belief is defined in the wikiarticle ]
::Satanism being atheistic for most Satanists is just fact not opinion - also why mention Christians? Satanism isn't for them? ] (]) 23:37, 28 September 2024 (UTC)


== This is not satanism ==
I removed these claims.


This article is not describing Satanism. It is describing Occultism, the worship of the Devil. Satanism is something different. ] (]) 02:23, 2 June 2023 (UTC)
] (]) 11:08, 4 May 2010 (UTC)npyrhone


:Agreed - the article currently defines Satanism as worship of an actual Satan which is not accurate for the majority of Satanists as far as I know. Editting is locked I don't know who could update the article? ] (]) 02:29, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
::the categories are always going to change based on the interests of the religious. cite some sociologist for your categorization please! there are enough now to select from, including James R. Lewis or Jesper Petersen. the descriptions by Satanists themselves are often not too helpful to getting to more than their doctrines and how they seek to portray themselves and their competitors. if i have some time i'll add to this section with something from the "Contemporary Religious Satanism" text edited by Petersen which outlines some excellent options.] (]) 04:51, 30 July 2010 (UTC)
:No Everything related to Satanism even the one you refer to is big big bullshit made up to make money out of the deal minded. If you cant USD Your own mind but have to Say this is not real satanism Then you really need a lesson in critical thinking because you have been so extremely fooled by the people WHO makes money out of this. How much did you Loose following this bullshit with out using you own mind ? 200 000 USD and got royalty screwed. ] (]) 23:31, 28 September 2024 (UTC)
::I'm sorry but what 😭😭 ] (]) 23:35, 28 September 2024 (UTC)


== Doesn't seem biased at all... /s ==
::what's more important about this categorical distinguisher is that it does not accept Satan as a literal entity, of any kind, but regards Satan as a symbol. this is asserted regarding the character of Satan in the Satanic Bible ("SB"). Lewis characterizes the SB as important in the development of early Satanism (at least 20th c.):
<BLOCKQUOTE>
:" appears that the SB is a doctrinal touchstone for many--though certainly not all-- participants in this movement, despite the fact that the great majority of contemporary Satanists are not formal members of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan. (One respondent, noting that he was not a member of any organization, wrote, " just me and my Satanic Bible.") And whatever LaVey had in mind when he (or his publisher) entitled this publication, in certain ways the SB plays the role of a "bible" for many members of this decentralized, anti-authoritarian subculture.


"In their study of Satanism, the religious studies scholars Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, and Jesper Aa. Petersen stated that the term '''Satanism "has a history of being a designation made by people against those whom they dislike; it is a term used for 'othering'"'''. The concept of Satanism is an invention of Christianity, for it relies upon the figure of Satan, a character deriving from '''Christian mythology.'''"
:"This is not to say, however, that Satanists regard the SB in the same way Christians regard the Christian Bible. Many are aware, for example, that LaVey drew heavily on the thinking of others when he composed his "bible." Many have also become aware in recent years that LaVey fabricated a semi-legendary biography for himself (Wright, 1991). However, neither of these facts undercut the legitimacy of the SB because the Satan Bible is not a "sacred text." Rather, the SB is significant because of the philosophy of life it advocates, not because of any divine--or diabolical--authority." -- Lewis, James R. 'Who Serves Satan? A Demographic and Ideological Profile', in Marburg Journal of Religion: Volume 6, No. 2; June 2001. Web. http://www.uni-marburg.de/fb03/ivk/mjr/pdfs/2001/articles/lewis2001.pdf (accessed 8/2/10).
</BLOCKQUOTE>
::it's philosophical character is what lends assertions such as that (esp. LaVeyan) 'Satanists don't believe in a being called Satan.' in fact, most religious today probably don't believe in some literal Underworld ruled over by a Jailer anti-God called 'Satan'. Satanists are far less likely to believe in some literalist fantasy. the term 'modern' is unfounded, but 'symbolic' is helpfully descriptive. ] (]) 22:28, 2 August 2010 (UTC)


Yes... us Christian mythologists, just call people we don't like, ''Satanists''. Anyone being called a Satanist, is automatically barred from being one, since, of the billions of people here on earth there can be no Satanists - even though literal Satanist Churches exist in every western country. True atheists totally are the only ones going to those churches; atheists love "church."
::: Keep in mind there are reverse Christians like Tom BlackWood that are hard at work trying to turn Satanism into "Reverse Christianity". Of course I'm hard at work undermining his efforts. I feel that any Satanism that is not based on Christian mythology should simply be called Satanism. Any form of Satanism that is an off shoot or perversion of an existing religion should be regarded as a perversion of that religion and not a form of Satanism.] (]) 19:06, 16 August 2010 (UTC)


NO ONE worships Satan. Interesting... hard to believe, rather impossible, but nonetheless interesting, if not plausible deniability. The latter of which wikipedia uses for just about every article on their website. ] (]) 00:06, 19 July 2023 (UTC)
:::: if at all possible could you please quote and cite a relevant source for any of your assertions? that's the method by which lasting wiki pages will be constructed, and that's what i was attempting to do above. if you have other sources you like more, feel free to bring them forward and we can evaluate their source and content. thanks!!] (]) 03:02, 18 August 2010 (UTC)


:Please read ]; additionally, we use ] that we can ], and summarize what they say. ] (]) 08:06, 19 July 2023 (UTC)
::::: Quote? I'll do much better than that, read his words for yourself voiceofsatanism.com also you'll see he repeatedly states "Satan is coming back" out of all the Christian mythology I've ever read I never read that Satan went anywhere. I think he has Jesus and Satan confused, again supporting my claims. What do you think?] (]) 17:53, 18 August 2010 (UTC)
::::: One more thing, a few months ago Diane Vera called me and asked me to stop retaliating against Blackwood's attacks against me and The Sinagogue of Satan of course I told her to go fuck herself.] (]) 18:18, 18 August 2010 (UTC) ::In addition your comments are not true. Nowhere does the article say that anyone Christians don't like is a Satanist or that no one worships Satan. --] (]) 15:54, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
:::And, to answer the charge, Satanists who believe that Satan really exists are a minority among Satanists. They do exist, but aren't by and large the majority of Satanists. ] (]) 03:55, 2 January 2024 (UTC)
::::: http://sosatan.yuku.com/topic/1356?page=-1 http://sosatan.yuku.com/topic/1349 http://sosatan.yuku.com/topic/1354 ] (]) 18:22, 18 August 2010 (UTC)


== Semi-protected edit request on 24 February 2024 ==
:::::: I'm sorry if i was unclear. by "relevant source" i am speaking about a third party such a sociologist or a news article or encyclopedic source covering the subject of Satanism, rather than anything else. if you would take the time to examine pages such as ] and ], you will see that what passes in the main for 'good' sourcing at Misplaced Pages isn't web pages or direct quotes from the people about whom you may be making contentions, but instead some reliable coverage of the data in question. most simply will not be able to be substantiated and will be effaced from this project unless we bolster it with citations from sources like ]. if you can get my meaning, please contact me through any number of channels we have available. I know we intersect in several zones and i would be happy to discuss this further as we appear to be the only two individuals consistently interested in the contents of this and the Disambiguation page. thanks! ] (]) 16:13, 30 January 2011 (UTC)


{{edit semi-protected|Satanism|answered=y}}
== This sentence I feel is incorect ==
change


let along is trying to destroy humanity.
"as they believe in the same theology presented in the Hebrew Bible."


to
I frankly don't belive for a second anyone actualy belives the Judeo-Christian cosmology and chooses to side with the Villian.


let alone is trying to destroy humanity. ] (]) 18:01, 24 February 2024 (UTC)
Satanists jsut identify who they do worship with The Devil to be seme rebelkous and to atagonize Christians.
:{{done}}<!-- Template:ESp --> Sincerely, ] (she/they) (]) 18:19, 24 February 2024 (UTC)


== Semi-protected edit request on 24 February 2024 (2) ==
<small><span class="autosigned">—Preceding ] comment added by ] (] • ]) </span></small><!-- Template:Unsigned -->


{{Edit semi-protected|Satanism|answered=yes}}
:Do you have ] to ] for that? I've got several books on my harddrive from different books that, while they may contain some originalities, does depict Satan either as the Miltonian falen angel, or (perhaps more in line with historical beliefs about rebellious angels) identifying him with ] from the Book of Enoch. ] (]) 13:52, 9 October 2010 (UTC)
change


converted to Catholicism and the published several works
==Satanism vs Demonism==
:I would like to point out that this article primarily deals with demonism (interchangeably with devil worship) as it currently stands. The actual website for the church of satan would probably be the best place to review information on satanism as a religion. While many people make demonism and satanism a paralell since the actual church of satan has no link to this I believe it would be unfair to continue to keep the current format as it unfairly paints them as demon worshipers when in fact they don't even believe they exist.
:A better option for this page may be to include a link for demonism under the title in case people are attempting to locate demon worship information vs satanism religion. This would allow the link to actual give people current in depth official information on the actual religion without them having to dig through 90% of the article to see 3 paragraphs on the religion. <span style="font-size: smaller;" class="autosigned">—Preceding ] comment added by ] (]) 08:50, 9 November 2010 (UTC)</span><!-- Template:UnsignedIP --> <!--Autosigned by SineBot-->


to
::New stuff goes at the bottom. The demonists, as ], often refer to themselves as Satanists as well. The Church of Satan website covers a type of Satanism, it isn't Misplaced Pages's job to make the sectarian decision which brand of Satanism is the most "real" Satanism, just as it doesn't decide whether Catholics or Mormons are the "real" Christians, Sunni or Shia are the "real" Muslims, and so forth. ] (]) 14:44, 9 November 2010 (UTC)


converted to Catholicism and then published several works ] (]) 19:18, 24 February 2024 (UTC)
:: This is merely another poor attempt by Christians to gain control of the definition of Satanism so they can exploit Satanism in an effort to support and validate their own mythology. Good job at nipping this one in the bud Ian.] (]) 19:56, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
:::More like paranoia and ignorance of this site's guidelines on your part. See ], ], and ]. ] (]) 20:03, 9 November 2010 (UTC) :{{done}}<!-- Template:ESp --> ] (]) 20:57, 24 February 2024 (UTC)


== Semi-protected edit request on 18 April 2024 ==
::::My apologies on the post location I am new to this. I wasn't attempting to say either is more "real" since my own religion has nothing to do with christianity. I managed to find the reference for LaVeyan satanism through the disambiguouty reference at the top of the article.
<br />


{{edit semi-protected|Satanism|answered=y}}
In the first sentence of the etymology section, it should say “tempts” not “temps” ] (]) 06:42, 18 April 2024 (UTC)
:{{done}} ] (]) 07:27, 18 April 2024 (UTC)


== Promotion of LaVey sect? ==


The following sentence is not very encyclopedic, hard to read, and give the impression of promoting this particular sect:
{{quoteblock|Religious scholars have called the Church not only the oldest, continuous satanic organization (Joseph Laycock), (James R. Lewis), (Asprem, Granholm), (Faxneld and Petersen), but the most influential, with "numerous imitator and breakaway groups" (Laycock), (R. Van Luijk).}}
This reads like an advertisement for that sect (which is odd, considering that the sect is nearly defunct ... according to its WP page). Designating one sect as the "oldest." is not very encyclopedic. Just say what year it was founded. If it is influential: that fact will be apparently from the following body text. Is there some way to reword that to be more neutral and less ad-like? ] (]) 18:40, 2 May 2024 (UTC)


== Sentence about violence ==
== '''References for the OTO and Typhonian Order?!''' ==
<br />


It's not an accusation against this article, but a curiosity: why is the sentence "Some believers in Christian nationalist ideas are more likely to support political violence and other anti-democratic ideas." on the ] page, while this page, which refers to Satanism, doesn't mention the violence practised by those who venerate Satan? It's a curiosity, not an accusation. ] (]) 09:10, 18 October 2024 (UTC)
In pop culture there is no reference to the Thelemic groups Ordo Templi Orientis and the Typhonian Order has being "satanist". If so can we have a properly sourced refrence for both? If not we need to assume some sort of "dirty tricks" at play and have the Typhonian Order section removed.--] (]) 22:50, 27 November 2010 (UTC)
:Seems like ] to me. Are there reliable sources that discuss a tendency toward violence among Satanists? The majority of the time Satanists aren't particularly violent (with the exception of groups like the Order of Nine Angles, which is mentioned in the article) outside of ]. — ''']''' <sup>''(])''</sup> 09:21, 18 October 2024 (UTC)


::{{Ping|Czello}} "The majority of the time Satanists aren't particularly violent (with the exception of groups like the Order of Nine Angles, which is mentioned in the article) outside of ]." Neutral and reliable sources to support this sentence? ] (]) 02:15, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
I concur, if a souce can not be provided in a timely manner that section should be removed. ] (]) 14:57, 4 December 2010 (UTC)
:::Actually, we'd need reliable sources to say that there ''is'' {{tq| violence practised by those who venerate Satan}} — ''']''' <sup>''(])''</sup> 07:00, 3 December 2024 (UTC)
:Been done a while ago. ] (]) 16:44, 4 December 2010 (UTC)
::::{{Ping|Czello}} example: . ] (]) 21:31, 4 December 2024 (UTC)
:::::This appears to talk about a specific incident in Africa, not Satanists generally. — ''']''' <sup>''(])''</sup> 07:28, 5 December 2024 (UTC)


::In addition, what do you think of ] and ? To avoid possible misunderstandings: vague answer, not false. ] (]) 02:18, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
:: "O Satan sun Hadit" Liber Samekh Section B] (]) 19:59, 30 December 2010 (UTC)
:::I think any question or discussion about the thread and the answer given have no bearing on this article or talk page, and should instead be brought up on the talk page(s) they appear on. Why would they matter here? ] (]) 16:02, 3 December 2024 (UTC)

Latest revision as of 07:28, 5 December 2024

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Satanism article.
This is not a forum for general discussion of the article's subject.
Article policies
Find sources: Google (books · news · scholar · free images · WP refs· FENS · JSTOR · TWL
Archives: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
This page is not a forum for general discussion about Satanism. Any such comments may be removed or refactored. Please limit discussion to improvement of this article. You may wish to ask factual questions about Satanism at the Reference desk.
The subject of this article is controversial and content may be in dispute. When updating the article, be bold, but not reckless. Feel free to try to improve the article, but don't take it personally if your changes are reversed; instead, come here to the talk page to discuss them. Content must be written from a neutral point of view. Include citations when adding content and consider tagging or removing unsourced information.
This  level-4 vital article is rated B-class on Misplaced Pages's content assessment scale.
It is of interest to the following WikiProjects:
WikiProject iconReligion: Left Hand Path / New religious movements Top‑importance
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Religion, a project to improve Misplaced Pages's articles on Religion-related subjects. Please participate by editing the article, and help us assess and improve articles to good and 1.0 standards, or visit the wikiproject page for more details.ReligionWikipedia:WikiProject ReligionTemplate:WikiProject ReligionReligion
TopThis article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.
Taskforce icon
This article is within the scope of Left Hand Path work group, a work group which is currently considered to be inactive.
Taskforce icon
This article is supported by New religious movements work group (assessed as Top-importance).
WikiProject iconOccult High‑importance
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Occult, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of articles related to the occult on Misplaced Pages. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.OccultWikipedia:WikiProject OccultTemplate:WikiProject OccultOccult
HighThis article has been rated as High-importance on the project's importance scale.
WikiProject iconHorror Top‑importance
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Horror, an attempt to build a comprehensive and detailed guide to fictional horror in film, literature and other media on Misplaced Pages. If you would like to participate, you can edit one of the articles mentioned below, or visit the project page, where you can join the project and contribute to the general Project discussion to talk over new ideas and suggestions.HorrorWikipedia:WikiProject HorrorTemplate:WikiProject Horrorhorror
TopThis article has been rated as Top-importance on the project's importance scale.
WikiProject iconSpirituality Mid‑importance
WikiProject iconThis article is within the scope of WikiProject Spirituality, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of spirituality-related subjects on Misplaced Pages. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.SpiritualityWikipedia:WikiProject SpiritualityTemplate:WikiProject SpiritualitySpirituality
MidThis article has been rated as Mid-importance on the project's importance scale.
Archiving icon
Archives
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Proposed Fix to 2021 Canadian Census Section

In the 2021 Canadian Census Section (https://en.wikipedia.org/Satanism#2021_Canadian_census), the statement "although the Japanese are an exception (with the Japanese comprising 0.3% of both Satanists and the population as a whole)" is incorrect. The Japanese are not an exception because they are the lowest percentage out of all the minority groups. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Esterleth (talkcontribs) 05:16, 9 June 2023 (UTC)

Temple of Set

The Temple of Set does not consider themselves to be Satanists, rather Setians. Since they formed from ex-members of the Church of Satan there's a value to including them but listing them as a Satanic group is misleading and confusing, perhaps there's a more accurate way to mention them? Seanbonner (talk) 12:53, 23 November 2017 (UTC)

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Satanism. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

  • If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
  • If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 05:42, 2 December 2017 (UTC)

1948 Devil worshiper Ernie Yost

Mainstream media newspapers from 1948 have articles about devil worshiper, Ernie Lee Russell Yost. I have tried to add information about him from the articles on the Satanism Wiki page, but the addition was erased by someone claiming that only Academic Sources can be used. However, according to Misplaced Pages guidelines, (https://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Identifying_reliable_sources ) articles in reliable newspapers can be used. These references are reliable; they were the main newspapers of West Virginia at the time: The West Virginian and The Fairmont Times. Could others please clarify on this subject. I think the Satanism page should be complete. I am unsure why anyone would want information to be suppressed. Thank you. — Preceding unsigned comment added by HumanRogers (talkcontribs) 16:23, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

When it comes to highly controversial issues such as Satanism, press accounts are often sensationalistic and ill-informed — think of all the nonsense that was published in the press during the Satanic ritual abuse hysteria of the 1980s and 1990s, or the way in which the press have appended the terms "Satanist" or "devil-worship" to practitioners of Wicca, Haitian Voodoo, and Santeria over the years. While press articles can be used as reliable sources at Misplaced Pages, we should be very careful about how and when we use them. This is an example of an article where we have more than enough academic sources available to us, so there should really be no need to resort to poorer-quality press material, particularly material published in the 1940s. In addition, I find it concerning that one of the sources that you used in citing your addition explicitly describes itself as a novel, albeit one based on true events. Midnightblueowl (talk) 17:22, 4 December 2017 (UTC)
HumanRogers Why don't you first try to create a well-referenced article about the Yost story, or the new book Devil in the Basement, and eventually, if/when more information and references turn up, you can try to link your information into the current article somehow.Jimhoward72 (talk) 22:49, 4 December 2017 (UTC)

Satanic rhetoric

@FreeKnowledgeCreator and Seanbonner: Instead of persistently reverting eachother, please discuss here. I was about to request temporary full protection but that may not yet be necessary and would prevent useful editing. Thanks, —PaleoNeonate16:59, 28 July 2018 (UTC)

Seanbonner is trying to make a change to the article for which there is no consensus, and which is opposed by Midnightblueowl, as well as by me. That is enough reason for the user to stop trying to make that change at least for the moment. Seanbonner is free to try to establish consensus for his change, of course. FreeKnowledgeCreator (talk) 22:34, 28 July 2018 (UTC)
It's an unsourced and factually inaccurate claim, we don't need consensus as wikipedia policy already applies, it should be removed until a source to support it is provided. The article is about Satanism, this a section about a person who was not a Satanist, who died years before the bulk of the events described in the article, he was an occultist and used occult and religious imagery, calling it Satanic is an incorrect descriptor. Even if some of the image was later used by Satanists, it wasn't being used by Satanists when he used it and so calling any of it "Satanic" is misleading and inaccurate. This is like arguing that Darth Vader used First Order iconography, the timeline is backwards. You could factually argue that Satanists use imagery that was used by occultists previously, but claiming occultists used Satanic imagery makes no sense. Seanbonner (talk) 04:54, 29 July 2018 (UTC)
I tend to agree considering the various definitions of satanism. There were for instance the Catholic-parodying ones, the legendary ones of literature, the alleged satanists of the various moral panics, then today's mostly atheist "satanic" movements, none of which have to do with eachother. "Satanic imagery" was also borrowed from older tradition including Baphomet's inspiration from older horned/animal gods, etc. The Christian concept of Satan also gets lost in the Tanakh where there were mostly references to older Babylonian or Caanite deities which were later confused with the devil... So what does "satanic" really mean? It would be useful to attribute it to a notable author using a source, instead of stating it in Misplaced Pages's voice. —PaleoNeonate07:20, 29 July 2018 (UTC)
So given that it's uncited and inaccurate, can we please per wikipedia policy remove it? WP:PROVEIT and WP:SOFIXIT are pretty clear that this shouldn't remain in the article. I'm confused why there is any objection. Seanbonner (talk) 09:39, 5 August 2018 (UTC)
Seanbonner, I disagree with this edit. I do not think that you have a secure consensus for it, and you should seek Midnightblueowl's comments here before repeating it. You altered a caption of an image of Aleister Crowley to read, "Aleister Crowley was not a Satanist"; such a caption is singularly unhelpful and I do not consider it appropriate. You also altered a sentence that began, "He nevertheless used Satanic imagery, for instance by describing himself as "the Beast 666" and referring to the Whore of Babylon in his work" by removing the "He nevertheless used Satanic imagery" part. The removal of that portion of the sentence makes the rest of it irrelevant to the article, making it simply strange that it would be included at all. I appreciate that you are trying to improve the article, however, you need to reconsider your approach. FreeKnowledgeCreator (talk) 07:38, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
I looked up the cited source, Ronald Hutton's book The Triumph of the Moon. It states that "it is well known, and true, that Crowley identified himself with the Beast 666 of the Book of Revelation and the satanic idol, Baphomet, allegedly worshipped by the medieval Knights Templar". The statement that Crowley used satanic imagery is supported by the source cited. FreeKnowledgeCreator (talk) 08:25, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
Academic sources discussing Satanism tend to stress that although Crowley was not a Satanist in the modern religious sense of the word, he drew upon a great deal of older imagery which in Western society has been regarded as unambiguously satanic for a long time (Whore of Babylon, "the Beast 666" etc). The article should reflect this and, I believe, has done so until the recent alterations were made without any attempt to gain Talk Page consensus first. Midnightblueowl (talk) 09:33, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
Misplaced Pages policy is not to gain consensus before any edit, rather "when in doubt, delete" as I did. It was brought to the Talk page after that as others disagreed, however per policy the deletion should remain until a consensus is found, not that it should be reverted. The source does not support the claim, this is an editor making an assumption. Someone who repeatedly claimed not to be a Satanist, who was using imagery that was not associated with Satanism at the time, should not be accused of using "Satanic imagery" simply because decades later that that imagery was also used by Satanists. The Knights Templar also didn't consider themselves Satanists so claiming that Crowley was using their imagery so it's OK to say it was Satanic is not correct and is OR. Unless you can find a source that directly says Crowley used Satanic imagery that claim should not be on a wikipedia page. Seanbonner (talk) 23:17, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
You understanding of Misplaced Pages policy is not correct. There is nothing in our policies that says that a "deletion should remain until a consensus is found". I am not surprised that you do not refer to or quote an actual policy. Having examined the source, which states that Crowley identified himself with a "satanic" idol, for myself, it is clear to me that it does support the statement that Crowley used satanic imagery. Your comments above about this issue are simply confused. Your comment, "The Knights Templar also didn't consider themselves Satanists so claiming that Crowley was using their imagery so it's OK to say it was Satanic is not correct and is OR", is ungrammatical and I do not understand what it is intended to mean. I am not seeing a coherent argument anywhere in your comment. You begin by saying that Crowley repeatedly claimed not to be a Satanist; that's true but also irrelevant. FreeKnowledgeCreator (talk) 23:53, 22 August 2018 (UTC)
It's actually a quite clear argument. The article is about Satanism, this section is about Crowley who wasn't a Satanist. The imagery that Crowley used was not also used by Satanists at the time he used it, thus it was not Satanic imagery. If after Crowley's death Satanists began using the imagery that doesn't retroactively make it Satanic when Crowley used it. Saying that he both "claimed not to be a Satanist" but also "used Satanic imagery" is confusing to the reader and suggests that maybe he was a Satanist. You are the one who brought in the Knights Templar and my point is that your mentioning them is irrelevant as they were not Satanists either, unless you are trying to argue that Crowley used Templarian imagery, in which case you could make that argument and that claim would be valid, but again it would be pointless to include on an article about Satanism. Seanbonner (talk) 08:42, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
"The imagery that Crowley used was not also used by Satanists at the time he used it, thus it was not Satanic imagery." I find this argument problematic. As far as scholars of Satanism see it, Satanism did not appear only with the first self-described Satanists. It began with the Satanic imagery that emerged within Christendom in the early years of the Common Era. It was only centuries later that we find examples of people calling themselves "Satanists", but they post-date Satanism itself by quite a large margin. The argument that you are using is akin to that of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan; the claim that they are the "true" Satanists and have the right to define what is and what is not Satanic, calling things other than themselves "devil worship". They are of course free to believe such a thing, but scholars do not follow their example and neither should this article. Midnightblueowl (talk) 09:36, 27 August 2018 (UTC)
Luckily for everyone this article doesn't need to conform to what you personally consider problematic or not. The fact is that this imagery wasn't associated with Satanism, no matter how you want to define that, at the time Crowley used it. The article and all supporting citations supports that argument, and the previous version of the article was misleading. The current compromise version introduced by Paleo resolves the issue. Seanbonner (talk) 02:17, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
"The fact is that this imagery wasn't associated with Satanism, no matter how you want to define that, at the time Crowley used it." This simply isn't true, Sean. "666", the "Great Beast", the "Whore of Babylon", and the idea of inverting Christianity are all long established tropes associated with Satanism going back decades and in some cases centuries prior to Crowley's birth. You are of course fully entitled of your own, personal understanding of "Satanism" (which I suspect derives at least in part from LaVeyan uses of the term), but that is not how most scholars of the subject see it and it is not how this article should present it. Crowley was most certainly not a religious Satanist, but he did play with Satanic imagery. Midnightblueowl (talk) 08:42, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
You are mistaken, as those are examples of Christian imagery. Seanbonner (talk) 14:53, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
Where do you think that Satan and Satanism come from if not Christianity? Midnightblueowl (talk) 15:17, 28 August 2018 (UTC)
Perhaps you might want to read the article we're discussing, specifically . As this article details, Satanism as a pejorative (and a label applied to others) is a creation of Christianity, Satanism as a religion (and a self applied label) is based on the pre-Christian definition of the word satan. Someone referencing elements from the Bible is referencing Christian elements, referring to that as Satanic when they themselves didn't consider it Satanic is pejorative not descriptive.Seanbonner (talk) 23:16, 28 August 2018 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 2 February 2019

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Please add the following to your page. Thank you.

 Not done: please provide reliable sources that support the change you want to be made. DannyS712 (talk) 16:02, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

Satan's Curse

Satan's Curse is a description of the fact that the power structure within Satanism has taken a 'wrong turn'. Although the group of hypnotists is technically not part of the 'power structure', they are those who have maintained Satanism for centuries - and therefore completely unjustified. It was probably already at the beginning of the Jewish era that this 'power deformity' took place. After a few centuries of experimenting with the basic principles of satanism (hypnosis, hypnosis regression, emotion enhancement and 'knowledge'), it was the intention of the 2 'groups fighting for power' (and thus executing) the DOEN - of the satanic doctrine) to withdraw. However, it went 'wrong' with the group (tribe or clan) of the hypnotists. Also against them must be said that they can keep up with it but because they are always in the majority (including in a witch circle including the men) the 'Satan' continues to run. In short, the hypnotists make sure that 'satanism' continues to exist despite everyone's realization that the total is no longer worth it (so today only 'stuff' is made by order of 'the satanic king' x must make a number of sacrifices ..). All the "miracles" (that for which Satanism was "set up" at the time) have been executed, documented and well-known. At the moment there are even 'dragons' and 'turners' who are recording 'miracles' with their mobile phones to convince the hypnotists that 'satanism' no longer has any right to exist. THEY have known for a long time what the effects ('the miracles') are of what they 'can' do. Satansvloek (talk) 10:45, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

This is the talk page for discussing improvements to the Satanism WP-article. What change/addition do you suggest, and which WP:Reliable sources supports your change? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 11:19, 2 February 2019 (UTC)

In some poor countries like Armenia, Greece and Turkey Satanism is confused with criminality by the society

Belief in whatever doesn't constitute one a criminal in most but not all countries.

We should write about it. Some non-criminals are oppressed. Having a "wrong" opinion isn't unethical, or if it is, we have to elaborate why.

make page: Discrimination against Satanists — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:587:4112:6500:2C98:61E0:4652:6EF8 (talk) 03:09, 17 March 2019 (UTC)

Edit request

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Please add a link to Satanist (disambiguation)

add the hatnote:

"satanist" redirects here. For other uses, see satanist (disambiguation).
{{redirect|satanist}}

-- 70.51.201.106 (talk) 11:04, 28 March 2019 (UTC)

 Not done: Satanist (disambiguation) is listed on the page Satanism (disambiguation). Doesn't seem like there would be a lot of confusion due to this redirect, since the satanist (disambiguation) only lists a couple of obscure novels, one album, and one song. – Þjarkur (talk) 12:29, 28 March 2019 (UTC)

POV definition

The current section states that "according to Ruben Van Luijk, the concept of Satanism is an invention of Christianity, for it relies upon the figure of Satan, a character deriving from Christian mythology".

The author hasn't a WP article. The current article names his monography for two times, but it isn't a verifiable source. Furthermore, it is the unique title named elsewhere in the Encyclopedia.

Is it so important for staying at the top of the page? It represents a personal opinion and point of view, which is not unequivocally demonstrated. The same section has to specify that for more religions Satanism includes sectarian groups whose members believe that Satan is a real and existing angel and worship him.

A 1998 survey of the Italian Ministry of the Interior adopted a definition which categorized as Satanism gropus of people believing in a symbol as well as in a real and spiritual entity. It comes form the Italian sociologist Massimo Introvigne (which has a WP article) and now I noted it is also available in English (here). It is a WP:reliable source and it can be hopefully integrated into the questioned POV section of the article. I am going to do so.Micheledisaveriosp (talk) 21:53, 20 February 2020 (UTC)

the same sociologist is mentioned for more times in the current article. This another reason to add his definition of Satanism in the opening section.Micheledisaveriosp (talk) 21:56, 20 February 2020 (UTC)

Neutrality

https://en.wikipedia.org/search/?title=Satanism&oldid=963593121

Neutrality

A number reported feelings of anger at the hypocrisy of many practicing Christians and expressed the view that the monotheistic Gods of Christianity and other religions are unethical, citing issues such as the problem of evil.

IS THIS NEUTRAL OR RESPECTFUL OF ALL READERS??
Hope that the related first pending review would be approved.
REASON
Abused and happy

For some practitioners, Satanism gave a sense of hope, including for those who had been physically and sexually abused.

Even . Even ff it concerns some refereced material, WP can't host suh sentences which are in contrast with the reason and good sense of any reader.

A religion for very males

Dyrendal, Lewis, and Petersen observed that from surveys of Satanists conducted in the early 21st century, it was clear that the Satanic milieu was "heavily dominated by young males".

The first sentence shows Satanism as an exclusive religion for male. It may be true -as Freemasonry is- but it's a partial and misleading truth. How many of them are active or passive? We won't have no judgement nor preconception against anyone for his or her sexual orientation, but we can't present a movement/religion in terms that can be easily read as if it is something of masculine and destinated to a young community of strong men.

Probably, the sourced study of Dyrendal, Lewis & Petersen 2016 is ana example of trash prepaid pseudoscince and has to be rejected at all (into its own proper right place). From how much time did those false sentences be hosted on a WP article?

Contributors hope in the reasonability of people who administer the website, even if they won't to get any form of sponsorship from the website, unless improving in the better possible way.

Hope this will help.

Religious Satanism Article

The "see also" link in the "Religious Satanism" section is to the article about one particular book about contemporary religious satanism, not to an article about the movement or movements themselves. I don't think that this is really relevant to the section, and probably the link should be removed. What do other people think? Dijekjapen (talk) 21:23, 11 September 2020 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 23 July 2021

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Change the paragraph stating that it is an american phenomenon. There are many british and european sects developed before America was even a country. The citation cited is an opinion piece. 2603:9000:C604:6CE1:9156:CFE:84B6:FF3D (talk) 19:05, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

 Not done: it's not clear what changes you want to be made. Please mention the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. ScottishFinnishRadish (talk) 22:15, 23 July 2021 (UTC)

WikiProject Proposal

I want to being everyones attention to Jerm's WikiProject proposal. Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Council/Proposals/Satanism. It seems that this article is one of many articles that would benefit from it's creation.4theloveofallthings (talk) 01:19, 18 December 2022 (UTC)

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson is described off-handedly as conservative and I can see no reason for this. Please add a link to where this idea is coming from. Manson's politics are his own but seldom would they be described in this manner. Going down the rabbit hole led me...nowhere. It would see this assessment is strange at best and original to the poster at worst. Please at least make his name a wikilink if the sentence is going to remain. 2601:182:C80:3E10:2800:C736:B7A7:2D1A (talk) 04:38, 21 February 2023 (UTC)

It's a drive-by suggestion, but appears to be a valid one. The cited book only mentions a passing sentence that only says "certain public satanists such as Marilyn Manson have expressed conservative political views" and does not provide further context. Additional searches for related use of the description has not led me to any reliable sources that suggest the artist is politically conservative. I will be bold and edit this statement. If anyone sees a need to revert, please reply on the talk page once you have, so we can discuss! King keudo (talk) 17:47, 21 February 2023 (UTC)

A Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:

Participate in the deletion discussion at the nomination page. —Community Tech bot (talk) 23:23, 26 February 2023 (UTC)

Varg Vikernes

Why is Varg Vikernes mentioned as part of satanism when he never claimed to be one nor was the criminal activity in black metal scene always related to ideology? 2001:14BA:23E8:800:7066:AF8F:54A6:CC1 (talk) 10:18, 1 March 2023 (UTC)

I’ve got no clue why they put that there Anders Wiedow (talk) 23:25, 8 March 2023 (UTC)

Atheistic

@Anders Wiedow: Church of Satan is atheistic, do you have a source which denies that? La Vey proclaimed that there are no supernatural gods, and the Devil isn't real, either. tgeorgescu (talk) 15:03, 7 March 2023 (UTC)

I’m sorry but you can’t put that sort of opinionated piece in a site for all people including Christians Anders Wiedow (talk) 23:25, 8 March 2023 (UTC)
Satanism being atheistic for most Satanists is just fact not opinion - also why mention Christians? Satanism isn't for them? Taylormrnsc (talk) 23:37, 28 September 2024 (UTC)

This is not satanism

This article is not describing Satanism. It is describing Occultism, the worship of the Devil. Satanism is something different. ThatsSoFandom (talk) 02:23, 2 June 2023 (UTC)

Agreed - the article currently defines Satanism as worship of an actual Satan which is not accurate for the majority of Satanists as far as I know. Editting is locked I don't know who could update the article? Taylormrnsc (talk) 02:29, 30 May 2024 (UTC)
No Everything related to Satanism even the one you refer to is big big bullshit made up to make money out of the deal minded. If you cant USD Your own mind but have to Say this is not real satanism Then you really need a lesson in critical thinking because you have been so extremely fooled by the people WHO makes money out of this. How much did you Loose following this bullshit with out using you own mind ? 200 000 USD and got royalty screwed. 213.89.228.75 (talk) 23:31, 28 September 2024 (UTC)
I'm sorry but what 😭😭 Taylormrnsc (talk) 23:35, 28 September 2024 (UTC)

Doesn't seem biased at all... /s

"In their study of Satanism, the religious studies scholars Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, and Jesper Aa. Petersen stated that the term Satanism "has a history of being a designation made by people against those whom they dislike; it is a term used for 'othering'". The concept of Satanism is an invention of Christianity, for it relies upon the figure of Satan, a character deriving from Christian mythology."

Yes... us Christian mythologists, just call people we don't like, Satanists. Anyone being called a Satanist, is automatically barred from being one, since, of the billions of people here on earth there can be no Satanists - even though literal Satanist Churches exist in every western country. True atheists totally are the only ones going to those churches; atheists love "church."

NO ONE worships Satan. Interesting... hard to believe, rather impossible, but nonetheless interesting, if not plausible deniability. The latter of which wikipedia uses for just about every article on their website. 2601:19B:4B80:D250:F03C:26A3:DAB8:3D5F (talk) 00:06, 19 July 2023 (UTC)

Please read WP:NOTAFORUM; additionally, we use reliable sources that we can verify, and summarize what they say. King keudo (talk) 08:06, 19 July 2023 (UTC)
In addition your comments are not true. Nowhere does the article say that anyone Christians don't like is a Satanist or that no one worships Satan. --Louis P. Boog (talk) 15:54, 1 January 2024 (UTC)
And, to answer the charge, Satanists who believe that Satan really exists are a minority among Satanists. They do exist, but aren't by and large the majority of Satanists. tgeorgescu (talk) 03:55, 2 January 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 February 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

change

let along is trying to destroy humanity.

to

let alone is trying to destroy humanity. Superknova (talk) 18:01, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

 Done Sincerely, Guessitsavis (she/they) (Talk) 18:19, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 24 February 2024 (2)

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

change

converted to Catholicism and the published several works

to

converted to Catholicism and then published several works Superknova (talk) 19:18, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

 Done Jamedeus (talk) 20:57, 24 February 2024 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 18 April 2024

This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

In the first sentence of the etymology section, it should say “tempts” not “temps” 2601:441:4B7F:B860:1014:9982:E218:12D4 (talk) 06:42, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

 Done Hyphenation Expert (talk) 07:27, 18 April 2024 (UTC)

Promotion of LaVey sect?

The following sentence is not very encyclopedic, hard to read, and give the impression of promoting this particular sect:

Religious scholars have called the Church not only the oldest, continuous satanic organization (Joseph Laycock), (James R. Lewis), (Asprem, Granholm), (Faxneld and Petersen), but the most influential, with "numerous imitator and breakaway groups" (Laycock), (R. Van Luijk).

This reads like an advertisement for that sect (which is odd, considering that the sect is nearly defunct ... according to its WP page). Designating one sect as the "oldest." is not very encyclopedic. Just say what year it was founded. If it is influential: that fact will be apparently from the following body text. Is there some way to reword that to be more neutral and less ad-like? Noleander (talk) 18:40, 2 May 2024 (UTC)

Sentence about violence

It's not an accusation against this article, but a curiosity: why is the sentence "Some believers in Christian nationalist ideas are more likely to support political violence and other anti-democratic ideas." on the Christian nationalism page, while this page, which refers to Satanism, doesn't mention the violence practised by those who venerate Satan? It's a curiosity, not an accusation. JacktheBrown (talk) 09:10, 18 October 2024 (UTC)

Seems like WP:FALSEBALANCE to me. Are there reliable sources that discuss a tendency toward violence among Satanists? The majority of the time Satanists aren't particularly violent (with the exception of groups like the Order of Nine Angles, which is mentioned in the article) outside of moral panics. — Czello 09:21, 18 October 2024 (UTC)
@Czello: "The majority of the time Satanists aren't particularly violent (with the exception of groups like the Order of Nine Angles, which is mentioned in the article) outside of moral panics." Neutral and reliable sources to support this sentence? JacktheBrown (talk) 02:15, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
Actually, we'd need reliable sources to say that there is violence practised by those who venerate SatanCzello 07:00, 3 December 2024 (UTC)
@Czello: example: . JacktheBrown (talk) 21:31, 4 December 2024 (UTC)
This appears to talk about a specific incident in Africa, not Satanists generally. — Czello 07:28, 5 December 2024 (UTC)
In addition, what do you think of this thread and the vague answer? To avoid possible misunderstandings: vague answer, not false. JacktheBrown (talk) 02:18, 2 December 2024 (UTC)
I think any question or discussion about the thread and the answer given have no bearing on this article or talk page, and should instead be brought up on the talk page(s) they appear on. Why would they matter here? King keudo (talk) 16:02, 3 December 2024 (UTC)
Categories: