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Demitre Gweh
Mrs. Doub
Religion
22 May 2014
Paper on LaVeyan Satanism
LaVeyan Satanism was founded on April 30, 1966 by Anton Szandor LaVey. LaVey
possessed a deep interest in the occult from a young age, and explored it and the arts from high
school throughout his entire life. He dropped out of high school to become part of a circus, and
went from there to a carnival, becoming a magician's apprentice and deepening his interest in the
occult. His time at the carnival influenced him, as he began to witness the workings of humanity
on what he saw as a deeper level. The carnival was filled with men with lust in their hearts,
intently watching the scantily clad young women dancing. He noticed that the same men would
be in the church where he played the organ, "asking God to forgive them and purge them of
carnal desires." After this experience, he became disillusioned with the Christian church,
claiming that he "knew then that the Christian church thrives on hypocrisy, and that man's carnal
nature will out no matter how much it is purged or scourged by any white-light religion." This
disillusionment became the basis of the religion that is now known as the Church of Satan.
LaVey felt that the world needed a religion that would celebrate the carnality of mankind and
glory in its intellect, self-interest, and ego.
The Nine Satanic Statements are the articles of the Church of Satan. The first eight of the
Statements condemn the love and self-sacrifice of some religions, saying that "Satan represents
all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental or emotional gratification" (LaVey

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13). The ninth claims that the Devil is central to the success of "the church, as he has kept it in
business all these years" (LaVey 13). The Satanic Bible glorifies the seven deadly sins, and
advocates their practice, explaining that everyone is guilty of all of them. As it points out, people
wear clothes they dont have to wear for the purpose of survival, which is pride. Envy and greed
are the impetus of ambition, and pride keeps gluttony in check. Everyone has those days when
they dont want to wake up in the morning, and that is considered sloth, and lust is defined as
"the faintest stirring of sexual desire" (LaVey 24). Most important of all is anger, which is "our
instinct for self-preservation that is aroused when someone harms us, when we become angry
enough to protect ourselves from further attack" (LaVey 24).
According to The Satanic Bible, "The Satanist 'God' - by whatever name he is called, or
by no name at all - is seen as the balancing factor in nature, and not as being concerned with
suffering. This powerful force which permeates and balances the universe is far too impersonal
to care about the happiness or misery of flesh-and-blood creatures on this ball of dirt upon which
we live" (LaVey 21). Satanists believe that man has created his own perception of a higher power
throughout history to convince himself that someone cares, and will help them with their
problems. However, LaVey claims in The Satanic Bible that these perceptions are empty lies- the
religious, in his view, have been "falling back on their bibles and rulebooks to prove or disprove,
justify, condemn, or interpret" (LaVey 21) the violence committed against billions of people over
the years. He argues that making up a god is simply a way for man to worship himself- the man
who created the god- without embodying the pride of the devil. When he discovers this truth, he
either seeks another, more ascetic path, or becomes a Satanist, accepting the carnality of his
existence.

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Satanists believe that fulfillment of the ego should drive one's life. Their doctrine on the
purpose of life is that one should indulge in anything they choose, at any expense to other
people, claiming that traditional religious tenets, especially those of ascetic religions, supress
man's natural vitality. Anyone who stands in the way of a Satanist's happiness, pleasure, or
success is "made to be trampled under foot" (LaVey 49), including those who suffer from mental
illness. They see life as "the one great indulgence" (LaVey 50). Because they see man as an
animal, similar to other beasts (LaVey 13), they claim that man should fight for his life in every
circumstance, and argue that religion has conditioned man to "take the easy way out" (LaVey
50), condoning suicide and making it lesser than other sins. The Satanic religion condemns
suicide, except "as an indulgence because of extreme circumstances which make the termination
of life a welcome relief from the unendurable earthly existence" (LaVey 52). Satanists celebrate
the mentality of children, who "take great delight in doing something they know they are not
supposed to do" (LaVey 28). Children, they claim, have not yet repressed their natural desires,
and can therefore "perceive things that the average adult human can never hope to" (LaVey 39).
According to the Satanic Bible, "It is this child-like vitality that will allow the Satanist to peek
through the curtain of darkness and death and remain earthbound" (LaVey 52).
Satanism condemns religions who believe in reincarnation as a way to pacify
impoverished masses. According to Satanic doctrine, they tell people that they were meant to
separate themselves from material things, so that they do not concern themselves with the
squalor in which they live. To the Satanist, this choice of self-denial seems absurd. The Satanic
Bible states, "If a person has been vital throughout his life and has fought to the end for his
earthly existence, it is this ego which will refuse to die, even after the expiration of the flesh
which housed it" (LaVey 52). In this way, a type of afterlife is achieved.

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The Church of Satan essentially bears no similarities to the Catholic Church. Their
doctrines and fundamental principles are directly contradictory to each other. For this reason,
there is most likely no real opportunity for the leaders of the Catholic Church to dialogue with
those of the Church of Satan, as the Church of Satan seems to hold all Christian religions in
contempt. In the introduction to the Satanic Bible, Burton H. Wolfe claims that "Pope Paul
[VI] had LaVey in mind when he issued his worldwide proclamationthat the Devil is 'alive'
and 'a person' (Wolfe 6). To this, LaVey responded that "Without the Church of Satan, they
wouldnt have anybody to rage at and to take the blame for all the rotten things happening in the
world" (Wolfe 6). He continued to say that "they are the charlatans, and they're really glad to
have us around so they can exploit usWe have proved many times over the Ninth Satanic
Statement that says the church - and countless individuals - cannot exist without the Devil"
(Wolfe 6).

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Works Cited
Wolfe, Burton H. "Introduction." Introduction. By Anton S. LaVey. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 4-10. Print.
LaVey, Anton S. The Satanic Bible. New York: Avon, 1969. PDF.
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