Sosial anthropology (Satanism,Youth Gang Satanists ) Essay

Sosial anthropology (Satanism,Youth Gang Satanists ) - Essay Example Satanism is commonly defined simply as devil worship, the religion of worshiping and imitating Satan, the biblical enemy of Christians and Jews. Satanists are more against Christianity than Judaism, though, condemning Christians for the censure of the Church and defiling Christian practices, specifically the Eucharistic celebration. Christians, in turn, severely oppose the satanic beliefs that man is an animal, just like the other creatures in this planet, and that man is a god of his own life (Dominguez). Among the supposed deeds of the Satanists include cannibalism, serial killings, terrorism, and witchcraft (Dawson 258). Rituals summoning the devil and prayers adoring Hell and its master are two of the usual charges hurled towards satanic cults. These rituals are said to invoke the help of the devil before performing magic and casting spells on another, usually helpless, human being. Satanists are often associated with the symbol of a pentagram with a goat’s head in its center, identified as their emblem (Dominguez). There are two kinds of Satanists, according to Dr. Jerome Dominguez, writing from his website explaining religion and cults. The first kind comprises those believers in Satan’s existence and power. They sacrifice animals and children in order to worship and gain favors from him. Their main rite is the Black Mass, a distorted version of the Catholic Church’s Eucharistic celebration, performed to obtain magical powers through sexual orgies. The other kind of Satanists do not believe in Satan’s existence, only in him as the personification of human desires. They act on these desires through drugs, promiscuous sex, murder, theft, etc. Groups based on this kind usually protest the label of Satanism. Satanists comprise only a small percentage of the world’s non-religious, usually distributed within cults and secret organizations (Domiguez). They can be categorized into seven often-overlapping categories: