Description
Book SynopsisRecent years have seen a significant shift in the study of new religious movements. In Satanism studies, interest has moved to anthropological and historical work on groups and inviduals. Self-declared Satanism, especially as a religion with cultural production and consumption, history, and organization, has largely been neglected by academia. This volume, focused on modern Satanism as a practiced religion of life-style, attempts to reverse that trend with 12 cutting-edge essays from the emerging field of Satanism studies. Topics covered range from early literary Satanists like Blake and Shelley, to the Californian Church of Satan of the 1960s, to the radical developments that have taken place in the Satanic milieu in recent decades. The contributors analyze such phenomena as conversion to Satanism, connections between Satanism and political violence, 19th-century decadent Satanism, transgression, conspiracy theory, and the construction of Satanic scripture. A wide array of methods are
Trade ReviewThe contributors to The Devils Party have established a significant foundation from which other researchers can draw inspiration. * Susan Raine, Religion *
Table of ContentsContents ; Introduction: At the Devil's Crossroads ; Per Faxneld and Jesper Aa. Petersen ; The Question of History: Precursors and Currents ; 1. "It is better to believe in the Devil": Conceptions of Satanists and Sympathies for the Devil in Early Modern Sweden ; Mikael Hall ; 2. Sex, Science and Liberty: The Resurrection of Satan in 19th Century (Counter) Culture ; Ruben van Luijk ; 3. Witches, Anarchism and Evolutionism: Stanislaw Przybyszewski's fin-de-siecle Satanism and the Demonic Feminine ; Per Faxneld ; The Black Pope and the Church of Satan ; 4. Categorizing Modern Satanism: An Analysis of Anton LaVey's Early Writings ; Amina O. Lap ; 5. Sources, Sects, and Scripture: The Book of Satan in The Satanic Bible ; Eugene V. Gallagher ; 6. Hidden Persuaders and Invisible Wars: Anton LaVey and Conspiracy Culture ; Asbjorn Dyrendal ; The Legacy of Dr. LaVey: The Satanic Milieu Today ; 7. Conversion to Satanism: Constructing Diabolical Identities ; James R. Lewis ; 8. The Carnival of Dr. LaVey: Articulations of Transgression in Modern Satanism ; Jesper Aa. Petersen ; 9. The Making of Satanic Collective Identities in Poland: From Mechanic to Organic Solidarity ; Rafal Smoczynski ; Post-Satanism, Left-Hand Paths and Beyond: Visiting the Margins ; 10. The Left-Hand Path and Post-Satanism: The Temple of Set and the Evolution of Satanism ; Kennet Granholm ; 11. Luciferian Witchcraft: At the Crossroads between Paganism and Satanism ; Fredrik Gregorius ; 12. Secret Identities in The Sinister Tradition: Political Esotericism and the Convergence of Radical Islam, Satanism and National Socialism in the Order of Nine Angles ; Jacob C. Senholt
