I saw a comment a while back which described being “raised Satanist.” At first I was interested to hear about Satanic parenting. But I was even more interested when they said their parents were Christian. And I’ve been thinking about it ever since.
Some excerpts from their comment:
I was raised in an evangelical Christian cult and my basic desires in life were taught to me as Satanism. Playing D&D with my friends was practicing Satanism. Having sexual desires was Satan’s influence over me. Questioning the church? Straight up Satanism. Wanting to improve the world for all people equally? That’s a Satanism. Taking any of Jesus’ advice? That’s embracing Satan.
Satanism was a derogatory classification meant to inspire fear and shame in me in order to stifle my righteous ethics and morals and steer me towards the work of the church.
Today I’m simply out of the closet. I was always accused of being a Satanist, and now I’m a fully admitted one.
This is one of the more interesting perspectives I’ve seen on embracing Satanism. I’m used to hearing stories of religious trauma leading people to seek out an escape from, or an alternative to, the abusive environment they grew up in. But that escape usually involves a rejection of the religious teachings, a casting off of the hatred, abuse, and manipulation, to be replaced with something where one can thrive.
I had never considered this “if you say so” approach. Evangelical Christians, as the commenter points out, love to label anything and everything that offends them as “Satanic.” This isn’t just true today, but throughout history – before anyone voluntarily adopted Satanist as a label, it was mostly used by Christians to demean other Christians who they thought weren’t Christianing correctly. Everything from early Gnostics in the 1st Century CE to modern Catholics in the 2020s have been referred to as Satanic by other supposed Christians.
But I didn’t have that early religious trauma, so while I can empathize with those who did, I lack a personal connection. This one, though? I have to admit, I’ve always found it immensely satisfying when a bad actor creates their own opposition. I think it’s the reason I’m a big fan of “malicious compliance” – the idea of following a stupid rule to the letter, just to prove the inevitable consequence. And I think that idea really speaks to the entire concept of modern Satanism, especially as practiced by The Satanic Temple.
When Christians want a religious display on public grounds, TST wants Baphomet there. When Christians want an indoctrination club at a public school, TST wants the After School Satan Club to offer critical thinking instead. When Christians declare a religious right to ban abortion, TST is there to claim a religious right to have one. It’s malicious compliance on the Constitutional level, and I am very much here for it.
The god of the bible, as the fables say, created Satan to be an adversary. So too do modern Christians create Satanists as their adversary. Some of them do it actively, like the parents of the anonymous commenter who very literally declared it into being. Others passively, by remaining silent and doing nothing while their compatriots work to implement the Christian version of Sharia Law, inspiring many to voluntarily take up the banner of the most obvious opposing force. (If any of you quiet ones are reading this, make no mistake – they’ll be calling you the Satanists next, just like they did in the past.)
It’s been said that if you can’t set a good example, you can at least serve as a horrible warning. The last time there was a Satanic Panic, Christians got to control the narrative and they ruined a lot of lives in the process. They’ve already given us our horrible warning. Time for the rest of us to be the good example.
Hail Satan. 🤘