Religious Satanists: The Church of Satan

The person who is almost single-handedly responsible for making Satanism a household word was Anton Szandor LaVey. The timing was just right during the cultural upheaval of the 1960s for someone to come along to challenge and lampoon many of Western society’s traditions and icons. In contrast to the ubiquitous Christianity in America, in symbols if not in values and morals, LaVey could find no better representative for what he wanted to start than Satan himself. For all the centuries of shouting down the Devil has received, he has never shouted back at his detractors. He has remained the gentleman at all times, while those he supports rant and rave. He has shown himself to be a model of deportment, but now he feels it is time to shout back. He has decided it is finally time to receive his due.³

As the official story goes — much of it has been debunked⁴  — Howard Stanton Levey, also known as Anton Szandor LaVey, on the last night of April, 1966 — Walpurgisnacht, the most important festival of the believers in witchcraft—…shaved his head in the tradition of ancient executioners and announced the formation of The Church of Satan.⁵

It turns out that even this much of the story is not true, according to LaVey’s daughter Zeena. The idea of a church arose as a business and publicity vehicle⁶ suggested by a professional publicist since he was convinced that LaVey would never make any money by lecturing on Friday nights for [the two-dollar] donations…that he charged…filling his living room with the curious and establishing a local reputation as an eccentric.⁷

However the institution came about, the Church of Satan certainly went on to attract quite a bit of attention. Much of this attention was aroused by the publication of its manual, The Satanic Bible, and the sequel, The Satanic Rituals. In The Satanic Bible, LaVey lays out his views, which can best be described as an atheistic religion of self-interested hedonism with a dash of occult philosophy.

Source : equip.org