Satanianism: The Ethical And Moral Codes Of Satanism

Henry Cordes

REL 110 ADO

Wetherholt

12/10/17

Satanism

Typically, when someone thinks of religion, they think about worship of a higher power, compassion for all living things, and a general love of the world. Satanism, while a religion, does not fit these conventions. The faith holds no belief in a higher power, is rather selfish in nature, and paints a bleak picture of the world and its workings. In addition, Satanism has controversy riddled history dating back to the seventeenth century. Due to the religion’s unconventional nature, it is often looked down upon and its principles and values are ridiculed. To better understand a faith like Satanism, it helps to look at it alongside a more familiar and commonly understood religion like Christianity.

A common and yet understandable misconception is Satanism revolves around worship of the Devil and a beckoning of evil. This notion stems from the rather extreme and violent symbols and practices associated with the practice historically, but ultimately is the result of ignorance of the subject. Although LaVey himself states “there is nothing inherently sacred about moral codes” Satanism possess its own set of clearly drawn out morals and ethics (LaVey, The Satanic Bible, 16). A base principle of Satanism is there is no afterlife, Heaven nor Hell, and believing anything else is dangerous and wasteful. In the eyes of adherents, if the supposed afterlife claimed by the Christian faith were to exist, then there would be no reason to accomplish anything for there is a better, more blissful, never-ending life waiting for you once you die. Rather than living by this standard, Satanists acknowledge the inevitability of death and use it as their motivation to make the most out of the limited life that they have. It is due to this that Satanism is admittedly selfish in nature, encouraging self-indulgence in all aspects of life; however, one should be wary of reckless short-term indulgence, for patience and withholding oneself can yield a more fruitful life in the long term. This mentality draws significant parallels to the concept of the Middle Way of Buddhism which emphasizes a balance

Prior to open practice of Satanism, the Roman Catholic church used Satanism as a label for individuals and groups who held views or ideologies that conflicted with those of the church. This was an attempt to delegitimize their opponents and to strengthen the Church’s following. While these accusations were initially harmless and limited to heretics, they became increasingly frequent and extreme. These wild accusations spread to rumors of violent rituals claimed to be performed by Satanists which built up to widespread fear and panic. Ultimately, this would result in events like the Salem Witch Trials where innocent people were put to death due to false suspicion of individuals performing witchcraft and becoming possessed by the Devil. Ironically, while the church merely intended to bolster both its image and following with these accusations, the widespread panic that resulted put Satanism on the map, and “several scholars identify fundamentalist Christianity as one of the major influences shaping and driving the” onset of the Satanist movement (Underwager and Wakefield, 281). This sheds light on the true relationship between the conflicting belief systems of Christianity and Satanism. Although the two are at odds on even the most basic levels, their relationship is largely codependent. Christianity uses the fear surrounding Satanism and the