THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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Any critical investigator in the realm of Satanic phenomena needs to tread warily between
the sceptics and the s~aremongers. The paucity of forensic evidence, and the absence of
criminal convictions directly related to Satanic cult activity, suggests that the threat of a
growing Satanic social epidemic is unfounded, and that it needs to be studied as an
ideological phenomenon. Many, perhaps most, serious researchers find no evidence of a
large organised Satanic group or movement (Cadson & Lame, 1990; Melton, 1992)
On the other hand, detailed first-hand accounts of Satanic ritual activities from cult
survivors and erstwhile members cannot all be simply dismissed as the delusional fantasies
of disturbed minds. Whether or not all the activities ascribed to them occur on a regular
basis, Satanic cults do exist, and certain individuals are undoubtedly drawn to the ritual
antithesis of orthodox Christianity. The aim of this thesis is to explore the subjective
experience of Satanic cult involvement, and the meaning that this involvement has for the
participants. From the perspective of this researcher five questions related to the
psychology of Satanic cult involvement suggest themselves:
1. What psychological factors predispose certain individuals to voluntary participation in
satanic cult activity?
2. What is the psychological meanmg and function of satanic rituals, and what
psychological needs are served by their enactment?
3. What is the psychological status of demonic entities, and how may we understand the
phenomena ofdemonic invocation and possession?
4. How do participants in satanic cults experience their involvement?
5. What prompts individuals to leave the cult, and how do they experience this process?
At present, no coherent psychological model has emerged to answer these questions. The
Satanic cult phenomenon has only recently attracted the attention of psychologists, and
what little academically credible literature exists has addressed few ofthe above questions.
The psychology of satanic cult involvement is thus both undertheorised and empirically
underresearched.
By employing a qualitative methodology procedure to access the