Theistic Satanism

Theistic Satanism, otherwise referred to as religious Satanism, spiritual Satanism, or traditional Satanism, is an umbrella term for religious groups that consider Satan, the Devil, or Lucifer to objectively exist as a deity, supernatural entity, or spiritual being worthy of worship or reverence, whom individuals may contact and convene with, in contrast to the atheistic archetype, metaphor, or symbol found in LaVeyan Satanism. Organizations who uphold theistic Satanist beliefs most often have few adherents, are loosely affiliated or constitute themselves as independent groups and cabals, which have largely self-marginalized. Another prominent characteristic of theistic Satanism is the use of various types of magic. Most theistic Satanist groups exist in relatively new models and ideologies, many of which are independent of the Abrahamic religions. Since the first half of the 1990s, the internet has increased the visibility, communication, and spread of different currents and beliefs among Satanists and has led to more conflicting and diverse groups, but Satanism has always been a heterogeneous, pluralistic, decentralized religious movement and "cultic milieu". Religion academics, scholars of new religious movements, and sociologists of religion focused on Satanism have sought to study it by categorizing its currents according to whether they are esoteric/theistic or rationalist/atheistic, and they referred to the practice of working with a literal Satan as theistic or "traditional" Satanism. It is generally a prerequisite to being considered a theistic Satanist that the believer accepts a theological and metaphysical canon which involves one or more gods that are either considered to be Satan in the strictest, Abrahamic sense (the Judeo-Christian-Islamic conception of the Devil), or a conception of Satan that incorporates "adversarial" gods from other religions (usually pre-Christian polytheistic religions), such as Ahriman or Enki.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (56)

Temple of Set

The Temple of Set is an occult initiatory order founded in 1975. A new religious movement and form of Western esotericism, the Temple espouses a religion known as Setianism, whose practitioners are called Setians. This is sometimes identified as a form of Satanism, although this term is not often embraced by Setians and is contested by some academics. The Temple was established in the United States in 1975 by Michael Angelo Aquino, an American political scientist, military officer, and a high-ranking member of Anton LaVey's Church of Satan.

Black Mass

A Black Mass is a ceremony typically said to be celebrated by various Satanic groups. It has allegedly existed for centuries in different forms and is directly based on, and is intentionally a sacrilegious and blasphemous mockery of, a Catholic Mass. In the 19th century the Black Mass became popularized in French literature, in books such as Satanism and Witchcraft, by Jules Michelet, and Là-bas, by Joris-Karl Huysmans. Modern revivals began with H. T. F.

Theistic Satanism