What exactly is your definition of Satanism?
An excellent question! One that is quite difficult to answer, really. Satanism, in my eyes, is a category of religion and spirituality, centered around the figure of Lucifer/Satan/the Devil, or another, similar figure - be it another figure from Abrahamic tradition, such as Azazel or (somewhat controversially, due to Jewish claims of cultural appropriation), Lilith, or be it a figure from a polytheistic pantheon which has archetypal similarities to the Satanic archetype, such as Set, Loki, Prometheus, Pan or even Quetzalcoatl. Followers of such deities in the latter case are not necessarily Satanic, but they can be, and these deities can be approached and analyzed through a Satanic lens. Satanism comes in a myriad of varieties. To start things off, there is theistic Satanism, in which these Satanic entities (for theistic Satanists often venerate more than just the Devil, instead turning to other demons or deities as well) are seen as actual beings, able to be communed with. Often, they are seen as guides and mentors to be turned to for advise, and to be given respect, but not blind worship and adoration as one would do with a deity in most contexts, but this varies from case to case, with various practitioners holding different perspectives on this, and with it often varying from entity to entity as well. Theistic Satanists are often independent, individual practitioners, organizing with others from time to time to exchange ideas and perspectives, but otherwise not involved in an organized, religious structure. Their practice is typically deeply occult-oriented, with the practice of magic being a key component of their Satanism. Then, there is also atheistic Satanism. These individuals view Satan as an archetype and symbol, not as an actual entity. While they may practice magic and engage in occultism, this isn't always the case either. They are more likely to organize into official religious groups than theistic Satanists tend to be, and the two most famous Satanic organizations - namely, Anton LaVey's "Church of Satan", and Lucien Greaves "The Satanic Temple", fall into this category. While TST portrays itself as socially progressive, in contrast to CoS's more right-wing 'libertarian' leanings and claims of being apolitical, they in fact have plenty of skeletons in their closet, and fall into many of the same trappings that most if not all organized religions do. @queersatanic are the ideal people to turn to if you want to know more about the many messed up things TST has gotten up to over the years. Despite claims made by the Church of Satan to the contrary, there is no centralized, "official", Satanic doctrine. In my eyes, all these interpretations of the Satanic are valid in their own way, and I reject the idea of there being an official dogma within Satanism. It is, and ought to be, a "find your own path"- kind of faith. That said: There are also some "Satanic" groups that step beyond the acceptable. For example, "Joy of Satan" is a neo-nazi group, preaching antisemitism and white supremacy, and using the veneer of Satanism to draw in a new audience for their hatred. I would not consider them to be a genuine form of Satanism, due to the fact that I strongly suspect their "satanism" is in fact pure opportunism for the most part, instead of rooted in any actual convictions. In addition, in my eyes, Satanism as a faith is deeply rooted in the ideal of justified rebellion against unjustified authority. Given how fascism is the polar opposite of this, any Satanism which gives room to fascism is fundamentally at odds with my personal interpretation of the Satanic. I myself, personally, view Lucifer as the ur-anarchist, and by this point must confess to myself that I view him and other Satanic figures primarily as archetypes and symbols, not actual entities. ... And thus concludes my overly long ramble. I hope that answers the question?
This is a really good summary of the lay of the land, and the only real point of departure we'd have is whether those esoteric fascists and Nazi Satanists are genuine forms of Satanism.
We would say: yes, they are genuine forms of Satanism, the same way that the Christian Identity movement and Greek Orthodox fascists are genuine representations of Christianity.
It's just that they are bad because of all the fascism, white supremacy, etc. Unfortunately, whenever media covers stuff like violence or abuse done in the name of those groups, they don't tend to talk about NAZI satanists, they focus on nazi SATANISTS, as though that label somehow makes it worse rather than the actual belief system itself.
An excellent point there, really, in regards to that last part. I suppose that putting them aside as "not real Satanists", while not giving Christians, Muslims and other such groups the same privilege (Let's face it, Islam does the same thing quite regularly, with most Muslims I know of arguing that the likes of ISIS aren't "true Muslims" either...), isn't exactly fair. Reflecting further, I think it's simply a subconscious attempt to separate one's own "in-group" from a part of it that you most definitely do not want to associate with. A "I am x, but they call themselves x too, and I am not on the same team as them!", so to speak. Which, while understandable, still boils down to fallacious thinking on my part.
"No True Scotsman" is a hell of a drug.
On the other hand, we wrote that reply above... and then later the same day found out that the fucking FBI had been giving tens of thousands of dollars to the publisher behind Order of Nine Angles, basically using him to help radicalize people that he and other informants could identify, and the FBI could then arrest.
A rogue G.I.’s trial exposes the depths of a murderous far-right ideology — and the FBI’s complicity in spreading hate
That article doesn't make it explicit, but the same reporter talked about how another court filing indicated that $80,000 of the more than $140,000 provided to the neo-nazi book publisher came since 2018.
Let's not claim that this is all a federal government op. Clearly, there were people with these beliefs before, and the people who embrace it are often doing so genuinely.
But holy shit.
