Saturday, May 28, 2005 . 5/28/2005

Ha, they said they have pictures...

Satanism
Religious Satanism:
This religion recognizes Satan, generally as a life
principle. Followers are usually serious
adults, although a few are mature teenagers. Of
the many main traditions which exist, the
Church of Satan is by far the largest. Other
Satanic groups currently exist and have existed
in the recent past. Many are short-lived; their
web sites often come and go within a few
months. According to Statistic Canada, the 1991
census found only 335 Canadians who identified
themselves as Satanists. This would imply that
there may be on the order of 3,500 Satanists in
the U.S. The actual number is probably
significantly larger. A US Department of the
Army pamphlet #165-13 estimated that there were
10 to 20 thousand members of the Church of
Satan in the US during the late 1970's. 1,2
Accurate data for this movement is impossible
to estimate, since the largest group (the
Church of Satan) does not release its
membership totals.
It is important to realize that the Satan that they
recognize has few if any points of similarity
with the historical Muslim or Christian concept
of Satan. The Satanists' concept of Satan is
pre-Christian, and derived from the Pagan image
of power, virility, sexuality and sensuality.
To almost religious Satanists, Satan is a force
of nature, not a living quasi-deity. Their
Satan has nothing to do with Hell, demons,
pitchforks, sadistic torture, buying people's
souls, demonic possession, performing miracles,
human sacrifices, cannibalism, and profoundly
evil deeds.

In the past, Satanists occasionally engaged in the
portrayal of a Black Mass in Latin for
publicity purposes. They have ridiculed the
Roman Catholic Mass. But, otherwise, their
rituals have no connection to those of
Christianity.

Starting in 1980, there was a growing and
widespread belief that Satanists were involved
in Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) and killing of
innocent infants, children and adults. In the
late 1980s, believers in SRA expanded their
accusations to include a wide variety of other
small religious groups as perpetrators. Belief
in SRA faded during the 1990s due to a complete
lack of hard evidence. It is accepted by most
investigators to be a Christian urban legend,
based on fear, misinformation, and false
memories created during recovered memory
therapy.


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