Do Satanists now a days face excessive persecution? Yes. Why? Because the majority of people don't truly understand the beliefs of the Satanist.
Go up to the average person on the street and ask them what Satanism is. What kind of answer would you most likely get? You would probably hear something along the lines of Satan worshipping and evil people who take part in horrid rituals. You may even here about a virgin or baby sacrifice.
Is this just for those who follow this set of beliefs? No, its
not just. The U.S. Constitution says freedom of religion. But here in
the U.S. we are free to be Satanists but we are not free to call
ourselves this or to openly hold rituals. This may not be because of
laws but because anything dealing with Satan or the term Satanism is
automatically labelled as evil.
Why is Satanism so misunderstood in the U.S.? Is it because people don't want to understand it? The truth is people just don't want to know about it. People assume that the less they know about something the less likely it is going to affect them. People get a preconceived idea about something through some source and are unwilling to check to see if they have the facts.
The root question now is, where does this preconceived idea come from? For the most part these ideas come from one source. This source being perhaps one of the largest entities in the country. This source being the mass media. Perhaps one of the most powerful sources in the U.S. because of its ability to persuade the people by controlling what the people hear and see.
How does the media affect the Satanist or what people think about Satanism? It affects the Satanist because it affects how people view Satanism in general. If the media says something is evil then the majority of the people are going to start believing that that thing is evil. The media has a tendency to distort the truth in order to get people to watch their programs or to listen to their radio station.
Why does the media distort the truth? They distort the truth because by making the story more sensational they get ratings. People often times prefer to see the sensational story because it brings excitement to what would otherwise be a mundane existence. By using certain words and phrases the media hypes up a story, making it seem to be more important or urgent then something else. But then when they make a mistake it is very quietly corrected or ignored all together. Often times the media tries to portray itself as an all knowing entity that is spreading the word to the people. The truth is the media only knows what it is told and willing to research. Then the people learn only what the media is willing to tell of what they know.
Perhaps one of the favorite past times of the media is doing stories about the occult. These stories can range from an "in depth look at" to just a mentioning of someone being involved with a cult. Why does the media do this? They do it because the words occult, cult, and Satanism are three buzz words that get peoples attention. Once the attention of the people is gained the reporter can express his or her views on the subject freely. Often when they do these stories they take a look at the worst cases. They'll look at the troubled Satanist who killed its parents, or the teenager who killed some animal and just happened to be involved with a Satanic cult. All of these things happen. Look a little further and you'll see "perfect Catholics" who are killing their parents or attacking animals. These things just happen in society, its not isolated to just one particular group of people.
The Satanist is hammered hard by the media. This being because
of the two words "Satanic cult," which are instant attention getters.
When people hear these two words they immediately assume the worst and
the media usually tells them the worst. Why doesn't the media tell the
truth? They don't because the truth doesn't sell. After all who
wouldn't want to sit and watch an "in depth report" on the way most
Americans live? At some level or another everybody lives the Satanic
way of life. But people don't want to admit to this because they
believe that they are safely tucked away in their religion away from any
such behavior. Because the people don't want the truth and the media
doesn't give the people the truth.
What is the "American Dream"? Traditionally the "American Dream" is something along similar to owning your own home and car. Here in America we so often want to live in the dream of the perfect nation. People so badly want to live in this country where the streets are paved in gold. People as a whole have the tendency to want to live in the perfect environment in order to receive the self-fulfillment we all desire.
What is another way of describing this tendency of americans? There are so many different words you can use to describe this. Words such as self-centeredness, greed, individualism, etc. But there is one word that describes this behavior, this way of thinking, this way of life. What is that one word, which describes the behavior and rationale of americans? That one word, which we've all heard before, is Satanism.
We live in a country which is predominantly a christian nation. But despite what people claim about their religions and beliefs they still follow the Satanic way of life. What is the one thing that all americans strive for? All americans strive to better themselves, whether it be by gaining more knowledge or acquiring more material goods. Materialism is one of the traits of America that can never be removed. Materialism is a back bone to the american way of life. The economy here in America is based on this materialism. The want and need for more goods drives our national economy.
What is the basic essential teaching behind Satanism? The
entire belief system of Satanism revolves around this one simple idea.
The idea being that you are more important than anyone else and that you
personal advancement should be your ultimate goal in life.
"There are those who say that life is but an illusion"(Rocky Horror Picture Show). Now a days there are people who believe this. But what is the biggest illusion we can be sure of? Perhaps the largest illusion is the belief of freedom and equality for Satanists.
Equality and freedom is an illusion to the Satanist. Despite what the government says and the laws mandate, Satanists are not free to live as they please and are discriminated against.
Historically our country has preached equality for all races and religions. But the blacks suffered slavery; the Irish, Chinese, and Japanese all faced labor discrimination; Catholics faced their owns forms of discrimination; and witches were hunted down. Despite what our country says the history shows us something else.
Our country was founded on the idea of freedom of religion. The search for this freedom is what brought many of the early settlers. The idea of this equality was stated in the Declaration of Independence.
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"(Declaration of Independence).
The fore fathers of the United States believed that all people are equal. They also believed that we should be free to pursue our own goals without the fear of unjust punishment for what we do. This belief in freedom was sent out in the Declaration of Independence and later reaffirmed in the Constitution. Our nation has long held the belief that all people are equal and should be treated thusly.
Yes, it takes time to insure the freedom of all people. It took over a hundred years for the blacks to break free of slavery and receive their freedom. It took even longer for woman to just get the right to vote. The freedom that these two peoples have now took some hard fought battles to receive. It wasn't until the 60's, through the 70's, and into the 80's before the minorities got all of their rights. Now during the 90's these rights are being reaffirmed. The doing away with affirmative action is showing that even though the people are of a different race doesn't mean they are any different in the work place. By doing away with affirmative action you are taking away the use of skin color as a basis for anything, you are limiting judgement to purely the qualifications of the individual.
During the formation of our country the architects of the Constitution wanted to ensure the freedom of the people. They also wanted to be sure that the government would be strong enough to last but with enough power given to the people to ensure that the government wouldn't consume the nation. Thus they divided the government up into different branches and levels and gave the people the right to decide who takes part in the government.
Throughout all of this talk of equality and power the idea of religion took a bit of a back seat. The founding fathers believed that religion would be an intricate part of the lives of the people. Their idea that it would be so intricate was very close to being correct. The problem is they didn't spend enough time discussing this issue during the formation of the nation. The only mention really made was a small bit in the Bill of Rights. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof"(Bill of Rights, Amendment I).
Religious equality is something you probably don't hear too much about. At various times religious equality was a major subject throughout history. In the fourth century you had equality for Christians being brought up. In the fourteenth through the eighteenth centuries there was much debate over equality for different religions in Europe. More recently you had the Jews and Hitler in Germany.
It may seem like these things are all occurring in Europe or in the Past. The truth is religion is just as prevalent today as it was back then. How often do you hear someone poking fun as a Muslim or Jew? Though not accepted by some, these people are free to worship as they please with no fear of persecution. But there is one group which is not accepted by many people at all. They are frowned upon by society. They are bad mouthed by the press and politicians. Who are these people who face persecution around the world? Who are these people who are denied their Constitutional rights for what they believe? They are the Satanists.
Historically the Satanists have faced persecution from all fronts. From governments, society in general, individual people, other religions, the media, and so on. In some severe cases the Satanists have faced worse persecution then the early Catholic Church ever did. The Satanist faces persecution in the form of unacceptance by society and the threat of legal action.
Even though it is stated in the Bill of Rights that we in the United States shall have freedom of religion, laws are being made which limit the freedom of the Satanic movement. The Satanic movement has survived years of persecution and is now beginning to grow. As the realization that Satanism is not something evil grows the denial of being Satanist grows among the "good Christian" people. Truth does not necessarily mean acceptance. In fact, when talking about Satanism, it means a bigger denial. The preconceived notion of what Satanism is out weighs the truth for people. That is part of the reason why Satanists are persecuted so much.
What is needed to stop this persecution of Satanists? To stop
this persecution we need to start working for equality. Satanism is not
treated the same as any other religion. In our nation, which preaches
freedom of religion, Satanism is denied the freedom other religions are
given. How can our nation be so hypocritical as to call itself a free
nation where the people can worship as they please and still purposely
restrict the practice of the Satanist?
Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Satanism 101
Chapter 3: Lets Talk
Chapter 4: That Feels Good
Chapter 5: Who Knew?
Omega: The Closing