From J. Gordon Melton's "Encyclopedic Handbood of Cults in America"
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_1. SATANISM_

...

Traditionally Satanism has been associated with a variety of practices
which parody Roman Catholic Christianity. The major ritual is the
black mass, the essence of which is the profaning of the central acts
of worship, and might including the repeating of the Lord's Prayer
backwards, the use of a host which has been dyed black, the slaughter
of an animal (usually a cat or dog) to pardoy the crucifixion, or the
rape of a woman upon the altar. The climax of the worship is the
invocation of Satan for the working of malevolent magic.

This form of Satanism, as a parody of Catholicism, appeared in the
fifteenth century as the construct of the Inquisition in preparation
for its move against "witchcraft," which was redefined as Satanism.... 
No well-documented case of a devil-worshipping group appears until
the famous incident of the group which developed among the courtiers
around Louis XIV who used black magic in an attempt to remain in
favor with the king....

Prior to the 1960s actual Satanist groups are quite rare; however,
Satanism has provided a steady stream of imaginative material for
novels and, more recently, horror movies. Such books and movies
have done far more to create the popular understanding of Satanism
than reference to any actual Satanic groups and practitioners. For
example, British novelist Denis Wheatley wrote a series of best-
selling novels which developed the theme of an ancient worldwide
secret and powerful Satanic society which regularly gathered its
conspiratorial forces to attack the structures of order and goodness.
While novels such as these make entertaining stories, there is no
evidence that such novels even remotely reflect an existing social
phenomenon. An examination of all the evidence shows no large
organized Satanic movement or group.

Satanism emerges as a most unusual cult. Prior to the 1970s, it
produced almost no literature. Its several groups have organized
and disbanded without connecting with any previously existing group
or leaving any progeny. The maintenance of the tradition fell to
non-Satanists, primarily conservative Christians, who authored
many books thoroughly denouncing Satanism. Though none had ever
seen a Satanist ritual or met a real Satanist, these Christian
writers described their practices in great detail. That is to say,
the Satanist tradition was created and sustained by generation
after generation of anti-Satanist writers. Over the last two
centuries, groups and individuals have tried to reproduce groups
which conform to the Satanism portrayed in the Christian literature.

Such Satanic activity showed a rise in the early 1970s with police
reports showing an increase in the number of ritual remains found
in graveyards, church break-ins and vandalism, and mutilated bodies
of animals. A steady stream of similar reports continued through
the 1980s, but during the decade the emphasis shifted radically to
the New Satanism and the emergence of the claims by several hundred
women of being survivors of Satanic ritual abuse.

As the 1990s begin, several distinct forms of Satanism can be said
to exist: a traditional Satanism primarily consisting of ephemeral
groups of teenagers and young adults; a new form of Satanism
initiated by Anton LaVey and developed in various directions by the
several groups which split off from his Church of Satan; and the
New Satanism as defined by those who claim to be its survivors.


_Traditional Satanism_

Through the 1970s and 1980s a handful of cases of small groups
which practiced a form of traditional Satanism were reported in
the press. Overwhelmingly, these were teenage groups and most
were also into heavy drug use.... The Satanism thus emerges as
an expression of (rather than the cause of) the youth's social
alienation.

...

The kinds of social and psychological forces which lead to these
ephemeral traditionalist Satanist groups also underlie the widespread
use of Satanist symbolism by many teenagers, most devotees of hard
rock music. Several rock artists such as Ozzy Osborne and the group
Judas Priest have used Satanic symbolism and content in their music
and stage performances. One rock group, Slayer, seems to move beyond
the imagery of social alienation and rebellion of Osborne into
advocating Satanism as a viable way of life. As a whole, however,
the use of Satanic imagery by teenagers has rarely grown into the
practice of full-scale devil-worship.

...


_The Church of Satan_

Although drawing upon the reputation and images of more traditional
Satanism, the Church of Satan has attempted to take modern occult
and magical teachings and reorganize them around a Satanic motif.
Within the Church, a philosophy of individual pragmatism and
hedonism seems to be more important than the worship of Satan.
Having devised a new form of Satanism, founder Anton LaVey
institutionalized his ideas and gave the resultant movement all of
the formal trappings of an organized religion.

...

The Church was an object of significant media attention in 1967....
{The Church had an initial membership fee which included a formal
lifetime membership, and it had generally stated the cumulative
lifetime memberships, and it had generally stated the cumulative
lifetime memberships when questioned about the number of adherents,
even though the great majority of those who at one time joined have
nothing to do with the Church presently.}

In 1969 LaVey authored the first of three books, "The Satanic Bible",
which became an occult best-seller and has remained in print through
the last two decades. It was followed by "The Compleat Witch" (1970)
[later named "The Satanic Witch" -- tn] and "The Satanic Rituals"
(1972)....

The perspective of the Church of Satan is summarized in the 
9 Satanic Statements found at the beginning of "The Satanic Bible":

	1. Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence!
	2. Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual
	  pipe dreams!
	3. Satan represents undefiled wisdom, instead of hypocritical
	  self-defense! [sic!]
	4. Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead
	  of love wasted on ingrates!
	5. Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek!
	6. Satan represents responsibility to the responsible, instead
	  of concern for psychic vampires!
	7. Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better,
	  more often worse than those that walk on all fours, who because
	  of his divine spiritual and intellectual development has become
	  the most vicious animal of all!
	8. Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they lead to
	  physical and mental gratification!
	9. Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as
	  he has kept it in business all these years.

The Church of Satan promotes the development of strong individuals who
seek gratification out of life and practice the selfish virtues as long
as they do not harm others undeservedly. An individual's birthday is
considered the most important date on the Church calendar.


_Current Status_

By the 1970s the Church of Satan had a national membership and groups
in many cities around the United States. It had been dubbed the largest
occult organization in America, but always counted its active membership
in the hundreds. LaVey edited a newsletter, *The Cloven Hoof*. There
were several schisms in the early 1970s. Group leaders in Michigan,
Ohio, and Florida left to form the Church of Satanic Brotherhood in
1973. The Church lasted only a few years, its death kneel [sic!] being
sounded in 1974 when one of the founders announced his conversion to
Christianity in a dramatic incident staged for the press in 
St. Petersburg. Church of Satan members in Kentucky and Indiana left
to form the Ordo Templi Satanis, also short lived.

In the wake of the several schisms, LaVey disbanded the remaining
grottos (the name given local units of the Church of Satan) and
reorganized the Church as a fellowship of individuals related through
the Church headquarters. Though the Church refuses to diverge [sic!]
current membership statistics, there is no reason to believe that its
active membership has grown beyond the level reached in the 1970s.
Besides the organizations mentioned above, there are several presently
existing groups which ultimately derive from the Church of Satan. The
most important one is the Temple of Set, treated below, but also
includes the Church of Satanic Liberation founded in 1986 by Paul
Douglas Valentine and the Temple of Nepthys founded in the late 1980s.
Over the years other small Satanic groups have emerged only to soon
disappear, and it is assumed that such will continue to be the case.

*Note*: Important in distinguishing the Church of Satan and the
	several churches which ultimately derive from it, from
	the more informal traditional Satanic groups, are the
	prohibitions issued by LaVey against participation in
	any illegal activity, the consequences being expulsion
	from the Church. Specifically singled out for
	consideration was the practice of animal sacrifices, a
	practice antithetical to the Church of Satan philosophy
	of life affirmation. To date no serious allegations
	linking the Church to any crimes, especially those related
	to traditional Satanist groups, have been put forth.


_The Temple of Set_

One of the major events in the development of the Church of Satan
was the departure of Michael A. Aquino, a Magister Templi with
the Church, and Liith Sinclair, head of the largest of the grottos,
in Spottswood, New Jersey. The pair established the Temple of Set
as a group dedicated to Set, the ancient Egyptian deity believed
to have become the model for the Christian Satan. At issue in the
split was the status of Satan as a real being, a fact Aquino affirmed
and LaVey denied....

The goal of the Temple is to awaken the divine power of the individual
through the deliberate exercise of will and intelligence. It is
believed that over the centuries Set has manipulated human evolution
in order to create a new species possessing an enhanced nonnatural
intelligence. The program of the Temple is geared to work with an
intellectual elite and includes a lengthy list of required readings.

Over the years the Temple grew to include approximately 500 members
in North America and some additional members in Europe. It is headed
by a Council of Nine which appoints a High Priest of Set and the
Executive Director. There are six degrees of magical attainment
recognized, and members have several internal specialized orders
through which they can work.
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"Encyclopedic Handbood of Cults in America", by J. Gordon Melton,
 1992 (revised and updated from 1986 Garland Publishing version);
 pp. 109-117.
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