In the 1980's and the 1990's there were multiple allegations of sexual abuse of children or non-consenting adults in the context of Satanic rituals that has come to be known as The Satanic Panic.  In the United States, the Kern County child abuse cases, McMartin preschool trial and the West Memphis 3 cases garnered worldwide media coverage.  One case took place in Jordan, Minnesota, when children made allegations of manufacturing child pornography, ritualistic animal sacrifice, coprophagia, urophagia and infanticide, at which point the Federal Bureau of Investigation was alerted.  Twenty-four adults were arrested and charged with acts of sexual abuse, child pornography and other crimes related to satanic ritual abuse; only three went to trial with two acquittals and one conviction.  Supreme Court Justice Scalia noted in a discussion of the case, "[t]here is no doubt that some sexual abuse took place in Jordan; but there is no reason to believe it was as widespread as charged," and cited the repeated, coercive techniques used by the investigators as damaging to the investigation.
One of the most visible Satanic organizations—though one that was never a suspect or charged in any of the Satanic Panic cases—is the Church of Satan, founded by Anton LaVey.  Members of the Church, such as Peter H. Gilmore, Peggy Nadramia, Boyd Rice, Adam Parfrey, Diabolos Rex, and musician King Diamond, were active in media appearances to refute allegations of criminal activity and the FBI would later issue an official report debunking the criminal conspiracy theories of this time.  
Gilmore feels Satanists are often misunderstood or misrepresented.  LaVey's teachings are based on individualism, self-indulgence, and "eye for an eye" morality, with influence from Friedrich Nietzsche and Ayn Rand; while its rituals and magic draw heavily from occultists such as Aleister Crowley. They do not worship—nor believe in—the Devil or a Christian notion of Satan.  The word "Satan" comes from the Hebrew word for "adversary" and originated from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally applied to an angel.  Church of Satan adherents see themselves as truth-seekers, adversaries and skeptics of the religious world around them.  
On a windy October day in Central Park, Wikinews reporter David Shankbone sat down with the High Priest of the Church, Peter H. Gilmore, who has led LaVey's congregation of Satanists since his passing in 1997 (he became the High Priest in 2001).  They discussed the beliefs of the Church, current events, LaVey's children and how Satanism applies to life and the world.

David Shankbone:  What is your relationship to Theistic Satanists?
DS:  There is one in New York who does a lot of websites.
DS:  She's also an editor on Wikipedia.  I contacted her, but I never received a response.
DS:  Have you had much interaction with the theistic Satanists?
DS:  Do you know what they think of you?
DS:  What do you think is their motivation to worship a Christian Satan?
David Shankbone:  How would you define the word Satan?
DS:  What is the Church of Satan?
DS:  Why do you think people are like that?
DS:  Why do you think there are those who need to have a God or supernatural parental figure?
DS:  In the history of a lot of religions, a doctrine was developed by people who were oppressed as a way to explain their lot, and that their oppressors were going to "get theirs in the end."  That’s where Karl Marx was saying religion is the opiate of the masses, because it creates complacency with oppression now because in some other ethereal dimension equality will be achieved. 
DS:  What would be their motivation for doing something for society and not for themselves?  Would there even be a motivation?
DS:  Like, I get value out of what I am doing for Wikimedia, even though it’s for free, there is still a value…
DS:  How would a Satanist define evil?
DS:  Some people have a compulsion to rape, and it harms them to not act upon it.  If it was harmful for somebody to not go out and rape somebody, how would a Satanist address that situation?
DS:  Capital punishment is not antithetical to Satanism.
DS:  “Slaughter them all!” [Laughs]
DS:  But should it be the government doing it?
DS:  Do you have a 10 Commandments?
DS:  Are there certain sites or places that are important to the Church of Satan?
DS:  No place with a natural significance?
DS:  If someone wanted to explore your beliefs, what should they read?
DS:  I’d like to give you some political situations and ask how a Satanist would handle them.
DS:  You can just speak for yourself, then.  If you were President—
DS:  —How would you handle the Israeli-Palestinian issue?
DS:  Where do they violate Satanic principles in that conflict?
DS:  What about Same-sex marriage?
DS:  Abortion?
DS:  Why do you not consider it just another operation?  Some people run or exercise not realizing their limitations and pull a muscle or need an operation for that.  
DS:  So is the fetus a sentient being?
DS:  When do you think life begins?
DS:  You mean just on a cellular level it is functioning?
DS:  A lot of people don't like contraception.
DS:  But then doesn't responsibility come down to defining it for yourself in Satanism?  Your statements seem to come down to a baseline level of what is responsibility?  What is innocence?  Whereas you were saying earlier that a lot of these things are self-referentially defined.
DS:  Who are you supporting for President?
DS:  If you had a choice between Giuliani and Clinton?
DS:  That’s talked about now more than it used to be.
DS:  It’s a question of how much it will penetrate the American consciousness that has mythologized him.
DS:  Could you explain your logo?
DS:  So much of the symbology references a lot of myths and superstitions, yet you’re antithetical to that.  How do you explain how those two notions comport?
DS:  It’s almost difficult to come up with a symbol that doesn't reference a superstition in some way.
DS:  Do you think our pursuing the War in Iraq is an example of killing innocent people?
DS:  Who are the innocents?
DS:  How has the war in Iraq affected your worldview?
DS:  That is what you consider the greatest threat to humanity?
DS:  How do you feel about Hell's Kitchen, where you live, being called Clinton?
DS:  When you see how New York is changing around you—I’ve lived here for close to seven years, and even when I moved here it was very different.  
DS:  But it is.
DS:  Where do you think the culture is going to go?  Is the sanitized version here to stay?
DS:  You see that in all the old Rust Belt cities.  Reading, Pennsylvania was one of the most dangerous cities I’ve ever walked around in, and I thought, “This is what 1982 New York must have felt like.”
DS:  A friend of mine once said if you took someone from 1982 New York and you transplanted them into 2007 New York, the first thing they would say is, “Where did all these people come from?!”  That the streets just used to be barren back then.
DS:  Marilyn Manson is a member?
DS:  It’s more of a character.
DS:  Is he an active member?
DS:  Does the Church of Satan have relationships with other churches?
DS:  It would seem there are pagans or humanist religions that follow your general philosophy.
DS:  What is the membership numbers for the Church of Satan?
DS:  Has the church thrived after LaVey’s passing?
DS:  What is your book about?
DS:  It’s not all Gene Loves Jezebel sounding.
DS:  Do Dr. LaVey’s children have anything to do with the church at all?
DS:  But not Zeena?
DS:  Based on the Egyptian god?
DS:  How did the legal wrangling surrounding his estate pan out?
DS:  Who received the copyright to The Satanic Bible?

Have an opinion on this story? Share it!

Share this: 






This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators.
Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections.
Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore