Pagans and Satanism (beliefs, worship, Christians, Christ, paganism)

[zero9]

I think Unedited hit the nail on the head when it comes to Pagans buying into things. Take a look at Silver RavenWolf, she's spreading a very large amount of false information and now, every other Pagan I've come in contact with has read her books. I'd bet money that if RavenWolf wrote a book about Satanism, claiming it to be a Religion based around baked goods. We'd see alot of people mentioning the use of doughnuts in Satanic rituals.

With that said, I think it's true that a person can easily form his or her own crazy belief that Satanism is the worship of Satan in all his pointy tailed glory. But you can just as easily ask a person or visit the right website and get some actual information. If you've only read one book or visited one website and you call yourself a Pagan, then you've probably only gotten one opinion on Satanism and you're sitting here thinking, "Satanism isnt the worship of Satan?".

[Circle_One]

Originally Posted by zero9

I think Unedited hit the nail on the head when it comes to Pagans buying into things. Take a look at Silver RavenWolf, she's spreading a very large amount of false information and now, every other Pagan I've come in contact with has read her books. I'd bet money that if RavenWolf wrote a book about Satanism, claiming it to be a Religion based around baked goods. We'd see alot of people mentioning the use of doughnuts in Satanic rituals.

The allure of Ravenwolf for those that read her is that with her writing, she targets the young to mid-teen who has recently become interested in witchcraft by viewing such hollywood, media-ized movies like "The Craft". She allows her fluff-ness to flow in this respect and knows that her books, when aimed at this group of young people, will sell greatly which will make her much money.

[DianeVera]

Originally Posted by zero9

I think Unedited hit the nail on the head when it comes to Pagans buying into things. Take a look at Silver RavenWolf, she's spreading a very large amount of false information and now, every other Pagan I've come in contact with has read her books. I'd bet money that if RavenWolf wrote a book about Satanism, claiming it to be a Religion based around baked goods. We'd see alot of people mentioning the use of doughnuts in Satanic rituals.

With that said, I think it's true that a person can easily form his or her own crazy belief that Satanism is the worship of Satan in all his pointy tailed glory. But you can just as easily ask a person or visit the right website and get some actual information. If you've only read one book or visited one website and you call yourself a Pagan, then you've probably only gotten one opinion on Satanism and you're sitting here thinking, "Satanism isnt the worship of Satan?".

Pagan misinformation about Satanism didn't start with Silver Ravenwolf. See my article A Critique of Wiccan and Other Neo-Pagan Disclaimers About Satanism. Anyhow, there are many different kinds of Satanism.

[DianeVera]

Originally Posted by Unedited

Maybe it's going a little far to say that all Pagans hate to be misunderstood, but it's entirely true that a lot "buy into" things. I've seen a lot of people who tell me their Pagans who have absolutely no idea what Paganism really is, and just thought it'd be a nice title to go with all their black clothing. It could definitely be argued that these people aren't really Pagans, but that's going beyond the question.

What are some of the more common misconceptions about Paganism that you find amongst these apparently not very well educated people who identify as Pagan?

Anyhow, in my experience, Pagans vary quite a bit in their attitude toward Satanism. Some are quite willing to learn about it and to try to avoid misrepresenting it in their own "we're not Satanists" disclaimers, whereas other Pagans panic at the sight of the S word and become completely unwilling to listen to anything.

[Feathers in Hair]

Originally Posted by DianeVera

Anyhow, in my experience, Pagans vary quite a bit in their attitude toward Satanism.

Very true. We vary even more, as individuals, since the various traditions that refer to themselves as "Satanists" are so different.