I have heard from Satanists and non-Satanists alike that there must be some concern with the idea of Satanists who join the Church of Satan not being able to maintain their individuality. This is a fallacy on a number of levels that I would like to address. But first, let me acknowledge that yes, there are some “satanists” who primarily like a collectivist experience—Hell, I’ve met quite a few. We can discuss whether they are Satanists or pseudo-satanic wannabe’s in a different post.
The Church of Satan was formed in 1966 as the organization to define and defend the religion of Satanism, and then it carried out that mission. The Satanic Bible was released in 1969, setting forth the philosophy and introducing its principles to the world. This included revolutionary concepts like celebrating who and what we are as complex, individual, carnal animals, exploring our realities as our own gods through Lesser and Greater Magic, and also challenging culturally accepted beliefs like unconditional love, forced inclusion, unearned tolerance and faith.
The simple fact that the organization existed was not a clarion call for Satanists to join. The Church of Satan, outside of some tongue and cheek posters, never ran an official campaign for membership. It still does not regularly hold group gatherings, and when there are rare events, they are not a call to action for socio-political agendas, rather they are to celebrate the organization that created, defined and continually defends Satanism. The Church of Satan as an organization is so very Satanic in that it actually celebrates itself as an individual organization, just as its members celebrate themselves!
Now let’s consider the Satanists who decide to join the organization. Are they running into a group that tells them what to think, how to vote, who to follow, how to dress or act? No. These are Satanists who, for whatever reason, wanted to identify with the founding organization of their own religion—a religion that insists on individual, real life accomplishment, and NOT herd thinking. Magus Gilmore refers to the Church of Satan as a great meta-tribe. The tribe is Satanism, but the individuals associated with it are each very different, engaging in contrasting actions, thoughts and each moving in completely different directions based on their own individual desires and goals. In fact, any essay, article, social media post or book that exists to further define or apply the Satanic philosophy is information that individual Satanists might accept and use as desired, particularly if such materials might be outside of the core principles outlined in The Satanic Bible. Our members often explore and express personal interests and share their own unique perspectives, the experiences they’ve had as they employ Satanism in their lives. Satanists each have their own hierarchy of values and thus apply whatever “tools” exist in the literature to enhance their own personal pursuit of self-fulfillment.
There is nothing that saps individuality from the Satanist simply by joining the Church of Satan. It is a coming together of diverse people who share the common principles that define Satanism but then use these in ways that benefit themselves and those they value. There ARE those so-called “satanists” who prefer not to be individuals, only finding fulfillment when sharing in a collective experience in social media or gatherings, wherein someone else is supplying the direction. Those types are usually weeded-out or otherwise discovered over time. How that occurs is a discussion for another day.
I would like to close with this final call to action:
Do not overly concern yourself with what anyone, Satanist or not, thinks of you as an individual, or what you do in your life. We each judge ourselves by our own standards. We each have our own reasons for our actions, arising from the circumstances and demands of our lives. Our philosophy states that you do not have to justify yourself to anyone, ever. If you don’t want to join the Church of Satan, don’t! We don’t recruit. If it would be pleasing to join, then do it! Satanism challenges you to stop wasting time analyzing the actions of others and turn the focus on yourself for your own vital existence. THAT is the point.
Hail Satan!