Church of Satan (Anton LaVey)
Symbolic-atheist organisation founded by Anton LaVey (1966) in San Francisco. Largely individualistic philosophy of self-empowerment using Satanic imagery; not theistic. Mostly low-control; included as Pagan/Wiccan-spectrum reference point.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — symbolic-atheist organisation; mostly low-control with some moderate hierarchical patterns.
Profile facts
In context
The Church of Satan teaches a symbolic-atheist self-empowerment philosophy using Satanic imagery and ritual aesthetic. LaVey's 'The Satanic Bible' (1969) is the foundational text. Members are mostly individualistic; the organisation has no congregational meetings in most contexts. Distinct from theistic-Satanic groups (Temple of Set, Order of Nine Angles).
Key control doctrines
- LaVey's symbolic-atheist Satanism
- Nine Satanic Statements
- Individual self-empowerment
Recovery resources
- ICSA (International Cultic Studies Association) — General referral and cult-aware therapist directory.
- Freedom of Mind Resource Center — Steven Hassan's organisation; BITE-model resources and family-side exit guidance.
- Reclamation Collective — Religious-trauma-aware therapist network; relevant for post-exit identity-rebuilding.
- Religious Trauma Institute — Religious-trauma clinical research and clinician directory (Marlene Winell tradition).
- INFORM (Information Network on Religious Movements) — LSE-founded UK research-based information service covering new religious movements.
See the full curated list at /resources.
Evidence by BITE axis
- Voluntary individual practice
- No congregational meetings in most contexts
- LaVey's Satanic Bible authoritative
- Symbolic-atheist Satanism framework
- Mostly individualistic; low emotional control
Timeline
- 1966LaVey founds Church of Satan in San Francisco
- 1969'The Satanic Bible' published
- 1997LaVey dies; Peter Gilmore succeeds
Sources
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Where a source includes its own URL, the open ↗ link opens it directly; otherwise search ↗ runs a Google Scholar query for the cited title — useful for verifying academic sources. For news outlets, search the outlet's own archive.
Change history
Substantive edits logged per the score-updates policy.
- 2026-05-29Phase 1 Batch J: per-group recovery resources applied via programmatic palette (closest-fit by category + subCategory + score). Palette: Universal fallback.
- 2026-05-20Source-density flags derived from existing free-text sources[]: academic sources. Heuristic auto-flag; subsequent editorial pass will populate structuredSources[] with reliability tiers.
- 2026-05-20Score band scheme migrated from 4 bands to 5 (Minimal 0–5 / Low 6–12 / Moderate 13–20 / High 21–30 / Extreme 31–40). No CLCI value changed; the new Minimal band was carved out of the bottom of the previous Low band.
Relevant hubs
Curated entry points on CLCI Hub for situations connected to this group.
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