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Satanism : A Reader

Faxneld, Per and Nilsson, Johan LU (2023)
Abstract
While never a numerically significant religion, the idea of Satanism is intimately intertwined with a number of broader issues relevant for the study of religion and culture. The notion of devil-worshipping cults has been a surprisingly stable element of conspiracy theories, historically as well as in the present, and accusations of being in league with demonic forces is a recurring motif in religious polemics and othering. The subject of this volume, the phenomenon of modern self-designed Satanism, shows how such stories and accusations can be appropriated in the service of religious innovation, political protest, or just plain hedonistic self-expression. This volume contains a selection of twenty source texts connected to Satanism. The... (More)
While never a numerically significant religion, the idea of Satanism is intimately intertwined with a number of broader issues relevant for the study of religion and culture. The notion of devil-worshipping cults has been a surprisingly stable element of conspiracy theories, historically as well as in the present, and accusations of being in league with demonic forces is a recurring motif in religious polemics and othering. The subject of this volume, the phenomenon of modern self-designed Satanism, shows how such stories and accusations can be appropriated in the service of religious innovation, political protest, or just plain hedonistic self-expression. This volume contains a selection of twenty source texts connected to Satanism. The selection ranges from romantic reinterpretations of Satan in esoteric and anti-clerical contexts of the mid-nineteenth century to counterculture of the 1960s and the political activism of the present day. Furthermore, the texts represent a number of literary genres and types, including poetry and polemical religious tracts as well as ritual instructions and internet FAQs. The source texts are given comprehensive introductions, written by specialists in the field, presenting the reader with a detailed overview of the varieties of Satanism, and the source texts they have given rise to. Chronologically structured, the book can also be read as a succinct historical overview of the development of Satanism, with the closeness to the phenomenon itself that only actual source texts can provide. (Less)
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editor
Faxneld, Per and LU
organization
publishing date
type
Book/Report
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Satanism, Romantic Satanism, devil worship, new religious movements, Anton LaVey, Aleister Crowley, the Satanic Temple
pages
360 pages
publisher
Oxford University Press
ISBN
9780197650394
9780197650400
9780199913558
9780199913534
DOI
10.1093/oso/9780199913534.001.0001
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
f5402dda-a2f6-4dbf-aca1-e562faa67388
date added to LUP
2023-11-22 12:37:54
date last changed
2023-11-23 16:43:33
@book{f5402dda-a2f6-4dbf-aca1-e562faa67388,
  abstract     = {{While never a numerically significant religion, the idea of Satanism is intimately intertwined with a number of broader issues relevant for the study of religion and culture. The notion of devil-worshipping cults has been a surprisingly stable element of conspiracy theories, historically as well as in the present, and accusations of being in league with demonic forces is a recurring motif in religious polemics and othering. The subject of this volume, the phenomenon of modern self-designed Satanism, shows how such stories and accusations can be appropriated in the service of religious innovation, political protest, or just plain hedonistic self-expression. This volume contains a selection of twenty source texts connected to Satanism. The selection ranges from romantic reinterpretations of Satan in esoteric and anti-clerical contexts of the mid-nineteenth century to counterculture of the 1960s and the political activism of the present day. Furthermore, the texts represent a number of literary genres and types, including poetry and polemical religious tracts as well as ritual instructions and internet FAQs. The source texts are given comprehensive introductions, written by specialists in the field, presenting the reader with a detailed overview of the varieties of Satanism, and the source texts they have given rise to. Chronologically structured, the book can also be read as a succinct historical overview of the development of Satanism, with the closeness to the phenomenon itself that only actual source texts can provide.}},
  editor       = {{Faxneld, Per and Nilsson, Johan}},
  isbn         = {{9780197650394}},
  keywords     = {{Satanism; Romantic Satanism; devil worship; new religious movements; Anton LaVey; Aleister Crowley; the Satanic Temple}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Book Editor}},
  publisher    = {{Oxford University Press}},
  title        = {{Satanism : A Reader}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780199913534.001.0001}},
  doi          = {{10.1093/oso/9780199913534.001.0001}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}