LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Satanism: Contemporary Satanism
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Satanism is very eclectic in the sources from which it has derived. There are several major influences which have contributed to the structure of contemporary Satanism in its diverse forms. The first and most obvious of these is Christianity. Satanism arose against the backdrop of Christianity. It is its antithesis, and for the most part only exists as a parasite and perversion of Christian beliefs and practices. In addition to Christianity, Satanism has borrowed much from grimories, ceremonial magic, witchcraft, and other occultic writings.
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Contemporary Satanism has grown from such roots of rebellion and has put out many shoots. If you tell an adolescent child that the normal sexual urges of puberty are the inspiration of Satan, or indeed, that anything else you strongly disapprove of is "of the Devil," then you can hardly be surprised if normal adolescent hormonal rebellion takes a Satanic overtone. Anton LeVey of the Church of Satan and later Michael Aquino of the Temple of Set have basically capitalized on the idea that human nature will emerge and if this is defined as Evil then so be it. The '60s and '70s saw numerous Satanic splinter groups such as The Process Church emerge with a similar message.
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Summing up, from the Court of Louis XIV to contemporary California the pendulum has periodically swung between Satanism and anti-Satanism. Smaller satanic cults have existed from time to time and have produced -- since Satanism is, by definition, intolerable -- gross overreactions in the form of Satanism scares. The success of the anti-Satanist campaigns has been self-limited by their own exaggerations. The fact that each wave of anti-Satanism has been discredited has allowed new satanic cults to operate for a while, creating in turn a new overreaction, and so on.
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Anton LaVey (himself greatly influenced by Crowley and witchcraft), who wrote ‘The Satanic Bible’ and ‘The Satanic Rituals’, is a figure to be reckoned with in contemporary Satanism. His works are especially popular among the younger generation of practicing Satanists.
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It is not the purpose of this article to determine the validity or extent of actual ritual child abuse or contemporary Satanism. The interested reader is referred to the quoted 13-page paper by J. Gordon Melton, which covers these topics in depth.
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Contemporary Satanism