Satanism

Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological and/or philosophical beliefs based on Satan (also called Lucifer) – particularly the worship or veneration of him. Satan is a figure of the devil in Christian belief, a fallen angel and leader of the devils who tempts humans into sin. For many centuries the term was used by various Christian groups as an accusation against ideological opponents. Actually self-identified Satanism is recent, and is thought to have begun with the founding of the Church of Satan by Anton LaVey in the United States in 1966 – that "church" being an atheistic group that does not believe in a literal Satan. Sharing "historical connections and family resemblances" with Satanism, and sometimes overlapping with it, are paganism, ceremonial magic, and "other dark entities such as Set, Lilith, Hecate, and Chaos", from the occult and the 'Left Hand Path milieu.'

Accusations of groups engaged in "devil worship" have echoed throughout much of Christian history. During the Middle Ages, the Inquisition led by the Catholic Church alleged that various heretical Christian sects and groups, such as the Knights Templar and the Cathars, performed secret Satanic rituals. In the subsequent Early Modern period, belief in a widespread Satanic conspiracy of witches resulted in the trials and executions of tens of thousands of alleged witches across Europe and the North American colonies, peaking between 1560–1630 CE. The terms "Satanist" and "Satanism" emerged during the Reformation and Counter-Reformation (1517–1700 CE), as both Catholics and Protestants accused each other of intentionally being in league with Satan. Accusations of Satanism made during the 18th to 20th centuries include being the cause of the French Revolution of 1789, the evil force behind Freemasonry, and during the 1980s and 1990s in the United States and the United Kingdom, the regular sexual abuse and murder of large numbers of children in their diabolical rites. (No evidence was found for this.)

Since the 19th century, various small religious groups have emerged that identify as Satanist or use Satanic iconography. The Satanist groups that appeared after the 1960s differed greatly, but can be divided into theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism. Those venerating Satan as a supernatural deity view him not as omnipotent but as more of a patriarch. Atheistic Satanists regard Satan as a symbol of certain human traits but not ontologically real. Contemporary religious Satanism is predominantly an American phenomenon, though the rise of globalization and the Internet have seen its ideas spread in other parts of the world.