As televangelists prayed for deliverance from Satan’s scourge, talk show “experts” claimed that every imaginable form of abuse was happening on a massive scale in America and that networks of Satanists had infiltrated schools, the police, and local government.

, which explored the “satanic ritual abuse panic,” reported in January 2014 that it all began with allegations of bizarre rites and molestation at a California preschool – a story that took on a life of its own with the advent of the 24-hour news cycle:

In the 1980s and 1990s, American talk shows and news programs linked reports of animal sacrifice and ritualistic killing to satanic worship. There was a “satanic panic” in the 1980s and ’90s It finally found a venue, but it had to keep the location secret – even from those attending – until the night of the event, because of security concerns. The temple had difficulty finding a temporary location for the unveiling of its massive Baphomet statue in Detroit this summer: Threats and protests caused the owners of several locations to back out.

The Satanic Temple has chapters in at least a dozen locations in the United States, as well as Finland and Italy, but it also does not have permanent physical temples. “When we have events, they are private and at times discussed later, such as the conclave in Washington, D.C., that marked the beginning of celebrations for our 50th year of existence,” Gilmore explains. The Church of Satan once had “grottos,” or local chapters, but it disbanded those after deeming them “unnecessary.” Now, the church is based in New York, and its headquarters is not open to visitors. For a short time, its founder Anton LaVey used his San Francisco home as the church’s headquarters, where he performed rituals. The Church of Satan doesn’t have actual church buildings, because “that would be against our individualist approach to living,” its website says. You won’t find a satanic church in your community “I feel like everyone should have the right to celebrate their religion,” Mars said, “but every voice has to be heard.” He, like other members of the Satanic Temple, has no problem with other religions’ holidays. “I personally just view it as more of a time to be with my family,” he told CNN’s Lisa Ling. Michael Mars, a Detroit artist and member of the Satanic Temple, says he celebrates Christmas, but not as a day to commemorate Jesus’ birth. “So for the Yule holiday season we enjoy the richness of life and the company of people whom we cherish, as we will often be the only ones who know where the traditions really came from!” Why would satanists be OK with celebrating the birth of Jesus? Because, the Church of Satan claims, “Christians stole this holiday from the pagans – Santa Claus has come to signify indulgence, and he is a combination of Dionysos and Silenus from Roman and Greek myths.” To embrace the name Satan is to embrace rational inquiry removed from supernaturalism and archaic tradition-based superstitions.” The Satanic Temple, which formed in recent years to fight a perceived intrusion of Christian values on American politics, says, “we do not promote a belief in a personal Satan. The Church of Satan puts the individual at the center of the universe, what high priest Peter Gilmore describes as going from an “a-theist” to an “I-theist.” We do not believe in Satan as a being or person.” The Church of Satan, founded in the mid-1960s, explains it this way on its website: “Satan to us is a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism, and it serves as an external metaphorical projection of our highest personal potential. Surprisingly, most card-carrying satanists do not worship Satan or any other form of the devil – they are actually atheists. Here are a few things you might not know about satanism: When you think satanism, images of pierced, black-clad youths gathering at night, listening to hardcore death metal music and sacrificing animals may come to mind.īut you might be surprised to learn that many satanists are a lot more interested in community activism and individual freedoms than heavy metal or performing bizarre rites.

Satanic black light poster