Random Things You Never Knew About Satanism (20 items)

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  (#20) Occultism and Satanism Are Not the Same Thing

  More often than not, the media and public imagination turn occultism and Satanism into the same thing. In fact, Satanism is just one of the countless things that fall under the banner of the occult. "Occultism" is something of a catch all, encompassing everything from the mysticism and magic of Aleister Crowley and his religion, Thelema, to Ouija boards, astrology, alchemy, and ancient peoples and beliefs such as Druids.

  By definition, occultism is nothing more than the study of the supernatural—basically anything that isn't science. 
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  (#8) Satanism Is Alive and Well in the American Heartland

  In 2003, Mike Grace, a normal guy from Michigan with a nine-to-five job, started the Reform Church of Satanism with the goal of creating a community of socially mindful Satanists. Happily married with three children, Mike says of Satanism, “It's self-responsibility, not just hedonism. You should enjoy yourself but never at the expense of others.”
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  (#19) Those Church Burnings in Norway Had Nothing to Do with Satan

  They were about Christianity. The Black Metal scene of the 1990s was about many things, including the desire to embrace indigenous Nordic beliefs and reject imposed, imperial ideas such as Christianity. Burning churches was a way for disaffected youth to violently reject a religion imposed upon their culture. Black metal bands are generally more interested in Nordic paganism than Satanism, and used Satanic imagery to reject Christianity. 
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  (#4) There Are Two Major Types of Satanism

  Satanism is kind of like Buddism – while some Buddhists believe Buddha is a god, others see him as a mortal man with great ideas. The same is true of Satanism. Theistic Satanists believe in Satan as a deity, and worship him. Atheistic Satanists see Satanism as a philosophical school of thought, and try to practice the moral and ethical teachings of that philosophy.  
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  (#18) The Satanic Panic Wasn't About Satan

  In the 1980s, the US was gripped by a mass hysteria known as the Satanic Panic. The media and public blamed Satanism for all manner of supposedly ritualistic crimes, including murder and sexual abuse, sometimes involving children. Much of the hysteria was tied to a popular book, Michelle Remembers, a supposedly true first hand account of a young girl who was ritualistically abused by Satanists.

  At one point in the book, Michelle is directly confronted by Satan, only to be saved by Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The book has been dismissed as preposterous, while the Satanic Panic, in which no evidence of actual Satanic ritual abuse or crimes was uncovered, is now seen as akin to the McCarthy Witch Hunts. 
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  (#10) The Catholic Church Invented Satanism

  In the 15th century, the Catholic Church presented a startling claim to the European public—underground groups throughout Christendom were worshiping Satan, attempting to undermine the Church and, even more ominous, the fabric of society. Such Satanists never actually existed.

  Despite this, and using a book on Satanists written by two priests as its guide, the Church began burning people as witches and devil worshipers. According to that book, entitled Malleus Maleficarum, Satanists were predominantly women, could stop cows from giving milk, rode through the air on broomsticks on their way to orgies in the forest, and ate infants.

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