LaVeyan Satanism

LaVeyan Satanism
Family	Modern / Nontheistic Satanism
Origin region	United States
Founding period	20th century CE
Estimated adherents	Unknown; organized and independent practitioners exist internationally.

LaVeyan Satanism is a modern nontheistic religious and philosophical movement associated with Anton LaVey, individualism, ritual psychodrama, skepticism, and the symbolic use of Satan as a figure of pride and rebellion.

Overview

LaVeyan Satanism began with the Church of Satan in the 1960s. It generally does not worship a literal Satan; instead, Satan is treated as a symbol of individual liberty, carnality, self-interest, rational skepticism, and opposition to imposed religious guilt. Ritual is often understood as psychological drama rather than supernatural worship.

Key beliefs

• Satan as a symbolic figure rather than a deity in standard LaVeyan teaching
• Individualism, self-responsibility, and personal sovereignty
• Skepticism toward supernatural claims and conventional religious morality
• Ritual as psychodrama and emotional focus
• Affirmation of earthly life, desire, and personal excellence

Practices

• Reading and discussion of LaVeyan texts
• Rituals of compassion, destruction, and lust as symbolic or psychological acts
• Personal self-development and aesthetic identity
• Participation in Church of Satan or independent Satanist communities
• Use of symbols such as the Sigil of Baphomet

Places of worship

• No universal place of worship; practice may occur in homes, private ritual spaces, online communities, or organizational events

Sacred texts

• The Satanic Bible and other writings by Anton LaVey are central to LaVeyan Satanism

Holidays and observances

• Common observances include one’s birthday, Halloween, Walpurgisnacht, and solstices or equinoxes in some communities

Branches and related traditions

• New Religious Movements
• Thelema
• Discordianism
• Unaffiliated and Secular Worldviews

See also

• Religion
• Theology
• Philosophy of religion
• New Religious Movements
• Indigenous and Traditional Religions