Overview#
The Church of Satan is a Satanist organization founded by Anton LaVey in 1966. Its official site supplies the founding account, while its Fundamental Beliefs FAQ identifies its Satanism as atheistic.[1][2]
The organization’s use of religious language and ritual does not mean that it teaches the worship of an independently existing supernatural Satan. Its own explanation of the figure is necessary for understanding its identity.[2]
Satan and the human person#
The official account gives Satan a symbolic place in a philosophy concerned with human nature, individual judgment, and earthly life. A reader should use that self-description rather than infer theism from an image of the Devil or from the word church.[2]
This distinguishes the organization from Theistic Satanism. The comparison concerns ontology: what the practitioner believes exists. Similar imagery can accompany quite different answers to that question.
Symbol and institution#
The Sigil of Baphomet is closely associated with the Church. Its institutional history describes the reception of a goat-and-pentagram design into the organization’s identity. The full emblem is more specific than the general geometric figure of a pentagram.[3]
Symbols can communicate affiliation and philosophical meaning without supplying an entire doctrine. The emblem should therefore be described alongside the organization’s published explanation of its beliefs.
Relationship with other Satanist organizations#
The Church of Satan and The Satanic Temple are separate organizations. The Temple’s official FAQ provides its own account of religious identity and activity. Shared non-theism does not erase differences in founding history, philosophy, ritual, and public work.[4]
Institutional statements can also dispute who properly uses the name Satanism. An encyclopedia should attribute such claims rather than let one group’s boundary-setting become the unquestioned definition of an entire field.
Sources and changing information#
Official pages are strong sources for what an organization says about itself. They are less sufficient for independently evaluating every historical assertion or the conduct of every member. Founding history, declared principles, and observed practice are related but distinct subjects.
Current leadership, fees, and membership procedures can change and should be checked separately when needed. A general overview can explain identity without reproducing a set of operational details that may soon become outdated.
See also#
References
- Church of Satan, official website · Official statement of its founding in 1966 by Anton LaVey. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
- Church of Satan, Fundamental Beliefs FAQ · Official self-description of atheistic Satanism; no claim to represent all people using the name Satanist. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
- Church of Satan, The History of the Origin of the Sigil of Baphomet · Official institutional account of the emblem’s reception; distinguish organizational history from universal meanings of a pentagram. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
- The Satanic Temple, Frequently Asked Questions · Official institutional self-description, including non-supernatural beliefs and the relationship between religion and activism. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩