THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SATANIC CULT INVOLVEMENT: AN ...

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PART ONE
THE EMERGENCE OF DEMO IC MYTHS AND DIABOLICAL
ORGANISATIOi\S IN WESTERN HISTORY
Introduction to Part One
Satanism, as the organised worship \.~f the personified principle of evil, presupposes a
mythological figure whose attributes are the mirror inverse of those properties ascribed to
the Christian God. In order to understand Satanism, we are thus required to understand
how Satan, the mythological antithesis of God, emerged in Western history. Chapter One
will trace the mythical evolution of Satan from the prehistory of Christianity through to
the present day. Once evil is personi lied in the form of an adversarial deity, it becomes
possible to identify groups of people who ally themselves with Satan's cause, and are
believed to constitute a threat to Christian society. Witches were historically perceived to
be Satan's servants, and witchcraft is consequently thl: historical precursor of Satanism.
Chapter two will thus cover the emergence of Western witchcraft and show how the
infamous witch hunts of Medieval Christendom constructed a vivid stereotype of a
demonic subculture. The belief in magic and satanic witchcraft declined with the
Renaissance, but gradual disillusionmL'nt \"ith Enlightenment rationalism and science led
to a resurgence of interest in magic and witchcraft. The second section of Chapter Two
will consider the role that 19th centur:- magic played in establishing a context for secret
magical societies. some members nj' which were implicated in using magic toward
destructive ends. By the end of the I\.)th Century. the historical and mythical conditions
for the emergence ofmodern Satanislll were in place.