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It is a wide spread bias throughout present day society that the term Satanism should be associated with evil, destruction and unspeakable crimes. This bad reputation stems from the media publicity received from numerous groups falsely claiming to be part of a Satanic organization. These groups range from innocent dabblers looking into satanic rituals out of curiosity, to serial murderers and child molesters hoping to justify their crimes in the name of the Prince of Darkness.
There have been numerous cases involving teenagers who engage in some from of Satanism. These Dabblers, usually youths interested in the black arts, play with the idea of Satanism as a form of rebellion. They blend elements from Religious Satanism, Gothic Satanism, ceremonial magick, and any other useful source of ritual that can be found. It has been estimated that this group numbers in the tens or hundreds of thousands at any one time in North America, but the group is without any type of central organization. Some crimes, such as vandalizing, graffiti and in some cases animal sacrifices, have been attributed to this group but they are virtually all instances of minor criminal activities.
Serial murderers and child molesters also fall into this category of popular culture Satanism. The majority of the perpetrators of these crimes are found to possess little if any knowledge of the religion. They claim to be a part of these organizations in order to justify their activities and in many cases as a method of intimidation. Some heavy metal rock bands use satanic symbols in order to gain more popularity. These measures are solely based on an attempt to appeal to modern youth and sell more records. There is no connection with and organized religion and rock and roll bands.
These groups are not true Satanists. They instead engage in the worship of Satan as a supernatural being and practice evil for evil's sake. Their Satan is equal and opposite of the Christian God. Groups such as this are known as Palladists.
A second form through which the general public receives information about Satanism in through mass media rumors. This is a trend that began back in the 1960's , the same time that cultic activities first became popular in North America. After the Jonestown incident, the mass suicide instigated by the People's Temple leader, Jim Jones, the term "cult" came to be known as a group led by a manipulative fanatic and having mindless followers who have been brainwashed into submission (Victor 9). The cult scare continued to grow when cattle mutilations were found in some of the western states and theorized to be the work of satanic cult members. Although evidence now supports that the cattle died of natural causes, the media and Satanism "experts" continue to claim that the deaths were part of a bizarre satanic ritual (Victor 13).
Rumors continued to circulate. In 1980, Proctor and Gamble suffered terribly after the Company logo was reported to contain the numbers "666", a supposed Satanic symbol. Later, the famous McMartin case hit the press, a trial against a group of people accused of being Satanists and sexually molesting children in day care centers (Victor 13-17). Although in both these examples there was little or no evidence found to merit these accusations, rumors about crimes committed in the name of Satanism became more and more popular. It is through media released scandals such as those already mentioned and numerous others, that society developed an inherent bias against any who claim ties to Satanism. It is important to understand that organized Satanic religions do not associate or share similar beliefs with the above groups.
SATANISM
This site was developed by a group that stress the need for cult awareness. It
provides accurate information on Satanism and other satanic-like groups.
http://web.conlink.com/ocrt/satanism.htm
SATANISM
This site provides information as to the basic beliefs of Satanists and four mostly
unrelated religions that have been confused with Satanism.
http://www.cris.com/~Amon1/satanism/satanism1.htm