Atheistic satanism

Atheistic satanism is an umbrella term for a group of quasi-religious atheistic movements whose adherents identify themselves as "Satanists." The two largest organizations for atheistic satanism are the Church of Satan (CoS) and The Satanic Temple (TST), which have a rivalry with each other.

Types

There are two major types of atheistic satanism, as well as several smaller movements and a minority of independent atheistic satanists.

LaVeyanism (Church of Satan)

The Church of Satan, the first atheistic organization to identify itself as "Satanist," was founded in 1966 by a man named Anton LaVey. Thus, the adherents of its ideology are usually called LaVeyans by others. LaVeyans themselves often identify only as "Satanists," since they believe their movement is the only one with a right to the word "Satanism."

Beliefs

Atheistic satanists do not believe in the existence of Satanael or any other spirits.

They share some of the major Satanic values with theistic Satanists, such as striving for self-love, knowledge, pride, pleasure, and freedom.

Views on theistic Satanism

Many atheistic satanists assert that theistic Satanists are not real Satanists.

Practices

Practices of atheistic satanists may vary. Some do not have any practices related to the ideology, only subscribing to it as a worldview.

"Rituals"

Some atheistic satanists, especially LaVeyans, perform rituals, although these rituals are not believed to have any spiritual effects.

Legitimacy

The Grigorist Temple of Satanael does not affirm that atheistic satanism belongs to a shared religious category with theistic Satanism and generally refers to theistic Satanism as simply "Satanism." Satano-Grigorists often write "atheistic satanism" with a lowercase 's' to indicate

See also

• Theistic Satanism
• Atheism