Peter Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan
A graduate student, Cimminnee Holt, from the Department of Religion at Concordia University, doing a study on the Church of Satan has concluded that the public suffers gross misconceptions about what the group stands for. According to Ms. Holt, the widespread misconception arises from a confusion of the Church of Satan with theistic Satanists who really do worship the Devil as deity.
According to her study, while the word Satan conjures up florid images of evil, gory offerings and babies bred for sacrifice to the prince of darkness, the Church of Satan really is an atheistic group with a philosophy based on its atheism. However, most members of the organization do not reveal their membership or affiliation with the organization for fear of stigmatization. According to Holt, "Individual members can decide for themselves whether or not to divulge their affiliation but most choose not to go pubic for a variety of reasons."
Brief History
The Church of Satan was founded in April 30, 1966, in San Fransisco, by Anton Szandor LaVey,who formed a group called the Order of the Trapezoid, but which later came to be known as the Church of Satan. The founding members of the group included the "The Baronness" Carin de Plessen, Dr. Cecil Nixon, Kenneth Anger, Russell Wolden, Donald Werby and Michael Harner.
The Church of Satan first came to public attention in the year of founding when Anton LaVey, who remained the Church's High Priest till his death in 1997, publicly conducted the marriage of Judith Case and journalist John Raymond and a public funeral of its member Edward Olson. The Church also received publicity from its involvement in a number of movie productions, such as Kenneth Anger's Invocation of my Demon Brother in which LaVey appeared. Anton LaVey was also involved in the production of the famous movie The Devil's Rain in which John Travolta appeared. The group was the subject of a flurry of books magazine and newspaper articles in the 60s and 70s.
According to its current High Priest, Peter H. Gilmore, "Satanism begins with atheism. We begin with the universe and say, 'It's indifferent. There is no God, there's no Devil. No one cares!'"
Beginning from 1975, the Church began going through a new phase in which Anton LaVey began withdrawing the group from the flamboyant public attention it had been receiving due to the novelty of its name and philosophy. The group's withdrawal to privacy led to rumors of LaVey's death and the Church's demise and also rumors of criminal activities within the organization. Top members of the church, including Peter Gilmore, Peggy Nadramia made media appearances to dispel these rumors and the FBI later cleared the organization of criminal conspiracy theories making the rounds.
After the death of Anton LaVey, in 1997, Blanche Barton became High Priestess of the Church, and in 2001, Peter Gilmore became High Priest and Peggy Nadramia, High Priestess and publishers of The Black Flame, the official magazine of the Church of Satan. The HQ of the organization was moved from San Fransisco to New York City's Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.
The Church of Satan does not publish membership information, thus, it is unknown how many belong to Church or who its members are, but the church claims that "interest in the Church of Satan and Satanism is growing all the time…"
What the Church of Satan Teaches
According to Peter Gilmore, High Priest of the Church of Satan, the primary thesis of the Church is atheistic and as such the church does not worship or promote belief in the Devil, Satan or any supernatural entity, including God. In Peter Gilmore's words "…anybody who believes in supernatural entities on some level is insane. Whether they believe in The Devil or God they are abdicating reason." According to Gilmore, "Satan is a model or a mode of behavior. Satan in Hebrew means 'adversary' or 'opposer,' one who questions."
The Church, in its atheistic philosophical stance, thus, describes itself as an organization dedicated to acceptance of the carnal self. The guidelines for conduct and living by Satanists is contained in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey. Most of the statements of guidelines appear to be in self-conscious response to the patterns of ethics and morality in Judeo-Christian culture. The guidelines, unlike Judeo-Christian moral and ethical codes, are not strictly binding on Satanists. Satanists do not need to strive consciously to fulfill the guidelines for they merely represent truisms and pithy sayings which reflect an attitude to life and existence.
Some of the beliefs of the Church of Satan are represented in Nine Satanic Statements which outline what the idea of "Satan" means to the Satanists and express the primary ethic of acceptance of the carnal self and its drives as opposed to the christian ethics of self-denial:
1. Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence
2. Satan represents existence instead of spiritual pipe dreams…
Satanic Statement number 8: Satan represents all the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification.
Satanic Statement number 9: Satan has been the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years. (It is not certain whether the word "church" in this statement refers to the Christian Church or the Church of Satan)
The Church of Satan lists Nine Satanic Sins which include, Stupidity, Pretentiousness, Solipsism, Self-Deceit, Herd Conformity…Forgetfulness of past orthodoxies and Lack of Aesthetics.
It lists Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth some of which are:
-Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.
-Don not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them
-When in another's liar, show them respect or else do not go there
-If a guest in your liar annoys you, treat them cruelly and without mercy
-Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal
-Do not harm little children
-When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they don't stop, destroy them.
Membership
The Church of Satan claims it does not solicit membership. The church has two types of members, Registered and Active Members. Any adult (as legally defined) may be inducted into the Church as a Registered Member for a one-time fee of $200, but to be an Active Member, a person must be personally involved in the Church. Active Membership has five degrees. Members of the Third through Fourth Degrees constitute the priesthood of the Church and may be addressed as "Reverend" while those of the Fifth Degree may be called "Doctor." The Priesthood are the official spokespersons of the Church. Members are evaluated on the basis of accomplishment in secular life and peer recognition within a profession and not by mastery of the occult which the church considers irrelevant trivia. Members are free to keep their affiliation with the group secret.
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