Top 5 Facts About Satanism

Confucianism was founded by Confucius, Buddhism was founded by Buddha, and Satanism was founded by…Nope, not Satan, but by Anton Szandor LaVey. Details of his biography are often disputed or disproved, but supposedly he joined the Clyde Beatty Circus as a teenager, and soon became a lion tamer. His musical ability earned him a position playing the calliope, and the organ for notable circus greats as he traveled along the Pacific Coast. After leaving the circus, he developed an interest for occult and magic. He became a bit of a local celebrity in San Francisco for his occult lectures and rituals. Ultimately in 1966, he founded the first official Church of Satan and was its leader until his death in 1997.

You’re probably scratching your head with this one. According to The Satanic Bible, written by LaVey, the Church of Satan is atheistic. To a true Satanist, the idea of a God or a Devil, is pure fiction. Satan is used as a metaphor, a symbolic paragon of enlightenment, hedonism, wisdom, individualism, and liberty. LaVey discouraged the worship of Satan as a deity, though Satan is an appropriate symbol for the church as he represents non-conformity and rebellion, especially against the Abrahamic religions, which LaVey saw as irrational. The church sees no real connection between Satan and the number 666, though they enjoy using it to mock superstitious Christians. And to those looking to sell their soul to the devil, the church says "if you want something out of life, get off your lazy butt and work for it."

Our society still gets all shaken up when talking about sexuality in the military, churches, government and other institutions. But not at the Church of Satan. Satanism doesn’t discriminate against any sexual orientation or acts, as long as it’s consensual between two adults… or however many adults are involved. The religion values gratification and pleasure very highly, and doesn’t believe in any absolute morality that might condemn one’s sexuality. LaVey himself encouraged sexual exploration and expression, and so if one is transgendered, gay, bisexual, lesbian, or even asexual, the Church of Satan welcomes you with open arms.

What do we do on our birthdays? We make ourselves the center of attention, eat a big fat cake, get bombarded with gifts, and spend the whole day restaurant hopping for free birthday meals Well, that’s a core tenet of Satanism: self-indulgence. Although Halloween is also important to Satanists, one’s birthday is the most important day since Satanism is a self-centered religion. The holiday doesn’t require anything spectacular as long as it’s celebrated however the Satanist wants. If you find this revelation repulsive, just look back on your past birthdays and see how well you behaved…

Yes, there are Nine Satanic Sins, and being a moron is the biggest of them all– not ignorance, that can be cured with learning, but stupidity allows people to be manipulated, and to do only as they are told. The subsequent sins on the list are quite pragmatic. Satanism also forbids: pretentiousness, herd conformity, lack of perspective and aesthetics, and counterproductive pride. A lot of the Church’s principles are fairly aligned with the law and, to some degree, other religions. One major difference is they support the idea of lex talionis, or an eye for eye. So whoever strikes you on your right cheek, you go ahead and smack them on their left cheek. That’s the Satanist’s way.

So, what do you think about Satanism? Do you feel yourself drawn to its philosophies and don’t quite know how to feel about it, like I do? For more divine and sacred Top 5s, be sure to subscribe to Watchmojo.com.