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Satanism: Religions
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Satanism is the largest and most powerful religion in the world, with more than fifty billion followers worldwide. The only reason you aren't a member is because you suck. Its most important belief is that Satan is awesome. It ... states that Satan created the world 46 years ago, via evolution, gay marriage, guns, Harry Potter, the Democrats and Dungeons and Dragons. Oh, and Rock and Roll too. The main principles of satanism are as follows:
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Satanism is a religion involving either the worship of Satan, or some other supreme evil being, or the directing of one's life based on inspirations gained from study of Satan. The earliest recorded instance of the word is in "A confutation of a booke (by Bp. Jewel) intituled An apologie of the Church of England", by Thomas harding (1565):
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[A] good portion of the misinformation on Satanism - which Melton says is really a "parody of religion" - comes out of evangelical Christian publishing houses. With that bias, "it's easy to see how misinformation breeds," he says.
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Myths and misconceptions: Myths, fears, and outright paranoias abound in regards to Satanism. A form of hysteria known most commonly as "Satanic panic" blossomed in the eighties with allegations of a sweeping, organized, and pervasive Satanic cult responsible for everything from the disappearance of children to the popularity of soy foods.* After several sweeping arrests of supposedly Satanic child care workers accused of sexually abusing children en masse, reports of adult victims 'recovering' memories, the panic eventually trailed off. In depth studies on 'recovered' memories discovered that they were largely a result of dubious therapeutic techniques, and an official FBI report on Satanic Ritual abuse concluded that not only did the widespread Satanic conspiracy not exist, but that religious abuse of children was most likely to be committed by Christians. Of course, the occasional report of the mentally deranged committing murder in the name of Satan do still occasionally make the news, but these are largely eclipsed by reports of abuse and murder committed by members of more mainstream religions.
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