Editing Satanism (section)

====Church of Satan and Anton LaVey====
{{Main|LaVeyan Satanism|Church of Satan}}
[[File:Baphosimb.svg|thumb|right|The [[sigil of Baphomet]], official insignia of the Church of Satan and LaVeyan Satanism]]
Satanism as "a self-declared religion" began in 1966 with the founding of the Church of Satan (CoS) by [[Anton LaVey|Anton Szandor LaVey]]. Religious scholars have called the Church not only the oldest, continuous satanic organization<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4/>{{sfn|Lewis|2001|p=5}}{{sfn|Asprem|Granholm|2014|p=75}}{{sfn|Faxneld|Petersen|2013|p=81}} but the most influential, with "numerous imitator and breakaway groups".<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4/><ref name=Footnote9>R. van Luijk, Children of Lucifer: The Origins of Modern Religious Satanism (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016), p. 305.</ref>

The church was founded in San Francisco, California, in an era when there was much public interest in the [[occult]], [[witchcraft]], and Satanism. A "gigantic media circus"<ref name="Andrade-Girardian-2020">{{cite journal |last1=Andrade |first1=Gabriel |title=A Girardian Approach to LaVeyan Satanism: Theological Perspectives |journal=Irish Theological Quarterly |date=23 December 2020 |volume=86 |issue=1  |pages=50–62 |doi=10.1177/0021140020977656 |s2cid=232040703 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021140020977656 |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> developed around Anton LaVey, "the Father of Satanism" and his Satanic aesthetics. LaVey shaved his head, wore a goatee, performed [[Black Mass]]es with nude women serving as altars.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4-Magic>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: section 4. The Church of Satan. From the Magic Circle to the Church of Satan</ref> He was invited on national talk shows and mingled with celebrities attending his satanic parties.<ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's">[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: section 4 The Church of Satan. LaVey's Satanism</ref>{{sfn|Petersen|2009|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=1ovVPyL6AmwC&pg=PA91 91]}} As an entrepreneur, he saw an opening for a new religion in the spiritual void of a secularizing post-Christian West.<ref name="Andrade-Girardian -2020">{{cite journal |last1=Andrade |first1=Gabriel |title=A Girardian Approach to LaVeyan Satanism: Theological Perspectives. Satan according to LaVey |journal=Irish Theological Quarterly |date=23 December 2020 |volume=86 |issue=1 |doi=10.1177/0021140020977656 |s2cid=232040703 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021140020977656 |access-date=19 January 2024}}</ref>

But LaVey also promoted his ideas and his 1969 ''[[Satanic Bible]]'' as "the best-known and most influential statement of Satanic theology".{{sfn|Bromley|2005|pp=8127–8128}} It sold nearly a million copies.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4/> These had "very little" connection with "either Satan or the worship of Satan",<ref name="WELTON-Airship-2014">{{cite web |last1=WELTON |first1=BENJAMIN |title=Friedrich Nietzsche and Ayn Rand's Influence on Satanism |url=http://airshipdaily.com/blog/10152014-friedrich-nietzsche-ayn-rand-satanism |website=The Airship |access-date=20 January 2024 |date=15 October 2014 }}</ref> but were based on the [[Romanticism|Romantic]] literary concept of Satan, not as a symbol of evil, but as a rebel anti-hero, defying God’s tyranny with charisma and bravery.<ref name="Andrade-Girardian-LaVey-2020">{{cite journal |last1=Andrade |first1=Gabriel |title=A Girardian Approach to LaVeyan Satanism: Theological Perspectives. Satan according to LaVey  |journal=Irish Theological Quarterly |date=23 December 2020 |volume=86 |issue=1 |doi=10.1177/0021140020977656 |s2cid=232040703 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021140020977656 |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> Together with the romanticism, "humanism, hedonism, aspects of pop psychology and the human potential movement" were woven together by LaVey,<ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's"/> and publicized with "a lot of showmanship".<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 1981]]: section 4 The Church of Satan.</ref> Philosopher [[Ayn Rand]], who argued that [[The Virtue of Selfishness|"selfishness" is a virtue]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rand |first1=Ayn |title=The Virtue of Selfishness: A New Concept of Egoism |date=1964 |publisher=New American Library |location=New York}}</ref> in that "unfettered self-interest is good and altruism is destructive",<ref name="Cummins-Rand-PBS-2016">{{cite web |last1=Cummins |first1=Denise |title=Column: This is what happens when you take Ayn Rand seriously |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/column-this-is-what-happens-when-you-take-ayn-rand-seriously |website=PBS News Hour |access-date=18 January 2024 |date=16 February 2016}}</ref> was a major influence. According to both LaVey{{sfnm|1a1=Lewis|1y=2001a|1p=18 |2a1=Lewis|2y=2002|2p=9}} and sociologist of religion [[James R. Lewis (scholar)|James R. Lewis]],{{sfn|Lewis|2002|p=2}} [[Ayn Rand#Philosophy|Ayn Rand's thought]] was a cornerstone of his philosophy, along with "ceremony and ritual" or "ritual magic".

Other influences were [[Friedrich Nietzsche]], who celebrated the [[Ubermensch]], proclaimed "God is dead", and preached against the 'slave's morality' of mercy, charity, and helping the weak;<ref name="WELTON-Airship-2014"/><ref name="Andrade-Girardian-2020-57">{{cite journal |last1=Andrade |first1=Gabriel |title=A Girardian Approach to LaVeyan Satanism: Theological Perspectives |journal=Irish Theological Quarterly |date=23 December 2020 |volume=86 |issue=1 |page=57 |doi=10.1177/0021140020977656 |s2cid=232040703 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021140020977656 |access-date=12 January 2024}}</ref> English occultist [[Aleister Crowley]], famous for the axiom "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the [moral] Law"; and [[Arthur Desmond]], who strongly associated with [[Social Darwinism]] and the expression "the [[survival of the fittest]]".<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4-Magic/>

LaVey used Christianity as a "negative mirror" for his new faith,{{sfn|Schipper|2010|p=109}} rejecting the basic principles, theology and values of Christian belief,{{sfn|La Fontaine|1999|p=96}} along with other major religions and philosophies such as humanitarianism and [[liberal democracy]]—which he saw as negative forces. Instead of idealism, humility, abstinence, self-denigration, obedience, herd behavior, spirituality, and irrationality;{{sfn|Faxneld|Petersen|2013|p=80}} he praised the [[seven deadly sins]] (i.e. [[Hubris|pride]], [[greed]], [[wrath]], [[envy]], [[lust]],  [[Gluttony#Christianity|gluttony]] and [[sloth (deadly sin)|sloth]]), as virtues not vices.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=2003|1p=288 |2a1=Schipper|2y=2010|2p=107}}<ref>LaVey, Anton |''Satanic Bible'',  
–BOOK OF LUCIFER–, chapter III, "Some Evidence of a New Satanic Age"</ref> LaVey went beyond discouraging sexual inhibitions and feelings of guilt and shame over fetishes,{{sfn|Lap|2013|p=91}}{{sfn|Faxneld|Petersen|2014|p=169}} calling for a celebration of, and indulgence in, humanity's animal nature and its desires, which Christianity sought to suppress.{{sfn|La Fontaine|1999|p=96}} Human beings should seek out the carnal rather than the spiritual;{{sfn|Lewis|2001b|p=50}} satisfying the ego's desires enhanced an individual's pride, self-respect, and self-realization.{{sfn|Lap|2013|p=92}}  Hate, and aggression were  necessary and advantageous for survival,{{sfn|Lap|2013|p=94}} victims should not "turn the other cheek"<ref>[[Gospel of Matthew]] [[Matthew 5|chapter 5]], the [[Sermon on the Mount]] in the [[New Testament]]</ref> but take an "eye for an eye".{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=289}}

Satanists should be individualistic, non-conformist, contemptuous of "colorless" mainstream society.{{sfn|Dyrendal|2013|p=129}} LaVey saw Satanism as something like a personality type as much as a belief, since Satanists "are outsiders by their nature",{{sfn|Dyrendal|2013|p=129}} and "born, not made".{{sfn|Petersen|2009a|p=9}} Since gods are actually a creation of man and not the other way around, LaVey asked, "'Why not really be honest and if you are going to create a god in your image, why not create that god as yourself'....  every man is a god if he chooses to recognize himself as one."<ref>''Satanic Bible'' by LaVey, p.96, quoted in ...</ref>{{sfn|Taub|Nelson|1993|p=525}} Not everyone would measure up to being a god however. Human social equality was a "myth", leading to "mediocrity" and support of the weak at the expense of the strong.{{sfnm|1a1=Gardell|1y=2003|1p=289 |2a1=van Luijk|2y=2016|2p=366}}{{sfnm|1a1=La Fontaine|1y=1999|1p=97 |2a1=Lap|2y=2013|2p=95 |3a1=van Luijk|3y=2016|3p=367}} "Social stratification" was part of LaVey and the Church's "Five Point Program".{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=366}}<ref name="Pentagonal Revisionism-1988">{{cite web |last1=LaVey |first1=Anton Szandor |title=Pentagonal Revisionism: A Five-Point Program by Anton Szandor LaVey |url=https://www.churchofsatan.com/pentagonal-revisionism/ |website=Church of Satan |access-date=22 January 2024 |date=1988}}</ref>

A "true Satanic society" was described in Lavey's church's periodical ''The Black Flame'' and highlighted by anthropologist [[Jean La Fontaine]]; it would be one in which the population consists of "free-spirited, well-armed, fully-conscious, self-disciplined individuals, who will neither need nor tolerate any external entity 'protecting' them or telling them what they can and cannot do".{{sfn|La Fontaine|1999|p=97}} Another version of the Satanic society envisioned by LaVey was the breeding of an elite people "superior" in their creativity and nonconformity.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=376}} These would live apart from the rest of the human "herd"—who would be relegated into ghettoes, ideally "space ghettoes" located on other planets.{{sfn|van Luijk|2016|p=375}}

LaVey's ideas were also said to "seem contradictory".<ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's"/> According to CoS priest Gavin Baddeley, LaVey's church combined "a love of life garbed in the symbols of death and fear",<ref>G. Baddeley, ‘’Lucifer Rising’’ (London: Plexus, 1999),  p. 67</ref><ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's"/> and while LaVey himself pontificated on personal freedom, he "micromanaged the lives of his followers".<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Andrade |first=Gabriel |title=Anton Lavey's Satanic Philosophy: An Analysis |url=https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1076&context=imwjournal |journal=Intermountain West Journal of Religious Studies |publication-date=2018 |volume=9 |issue=1 |page=34}}</ref> Some doubted his atheist naturalism.<ref name="Greaves-CoS-v-TST">{{cite web |last1=Greaves |first1=Lucien |title=Church of Satan vs. Satanic Temple |url=https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/church-of-satan-vs-satanic-temple |website=The Satanic Temple |access-date=11 January 2024 |date=c. 2019}}</ref> LaVey insisted the church scoffed at the supernatural, but also told an interviewer he considered  "curses and hexes" against enemies a form of human sacrifice "by proxy".{{sfn|Taub|Nelson|1993|p=529}}

Contradictions in his thought have been explained by his wanting it to have as wide appeal as possible,<ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's"/> balancing, in his words, "nine parts" of "respectability" to "one part" of  "outrageousness".<ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's"/><ref>R. H. Alfred, "The Church of Satan." in J. R. Lewis and J. A. Petersen (eds.), The Encyclopedic Sourcebook of Satanism (Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2008), pp. 478–502 (p. 485).</ref> If Satanism was to be Satanic, it required some outrageous/anti-social elements, but if it was going to be a viable organization, these could not be allowed to frighten off potential congregants and attract unwanted attention.

One "outrageous" issue that LaVey was criticized for was his "ambivalent relationship" with far-right groups ([[United Klans of America]], [[National Renaissance Party (United States)|National Renaissance Party]], and the [[American Nazi Party]]) that he neither endorsed nor rejected.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4-Rise>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: section 4. The Church of Satan. The Rise and Fall of Anton LaVey</ref><ref name=Footnote-110>"Evil, Anyone?" ''Newsweek'' (16 August 1971), p. 56.</ref>

LaVey died in 1997, but the church maintains a purist approach to his thought,{{sfn|Lewis|2002|p=5}} insisting he and the church have "codified" Satanism as "a religion and philosophy",<ref name="CoS-TST-FS">{{cite web |last1=Ethan |first1=Joel |title=The Satanic Temple Fact Sheet |url=https://www.churchofsatan.com/the-satanic-temple-fact-sheet/ |website=Church of Satan |access-date=11 January 2024}}</ref> and dismisses other Satanist groups (atheistic or otherwise), as reverse-Christians, pseudo-Satanists or Devil worshipers.<ref name=Stop>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2014/11/07/the-church-of-satan-wants-you-to-stop-calling-these-devil-worshipping-alleged-murderers-satanists/|title=The Church of Satan wants you to stop calling these 'devil worshiping' alleged murderers Satanists |date=7 November 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post |last=Ohlheiser |first=Abby |access-date=2015-11-19}}</ref>