Do Satanists congregate like many religions do?

LaVeyan Satanists do not have actual Church buildings where people meet once or twice a week to congregate.  There used to be grottos back in the early days of the CoS but those disbanded quickly.  Having churches and places of meeting would be in contradiction to our individualistic philosophy and wouldn’t make us different than the herds and spiritual religions we oppose.  Also, because we are individuals, there are Satanists with various different outlooks on life.  Things can happen when you put those kind of people together in a building.  Individuals have different kind of opinions and other kinds of philosophies and sometimes there can be clashes.  Lots of Satanists go their whole lives without meeting another Satanist.  Some join the CoS but choose to remain alone in order to have success and peace in their personal endeavors.

Some Satanists who do meet each other and become friends through mutual interests in Satanism and other activities do get together occasionally for ritual and other kinds of projects but generally we focus on getting the most out of our personal, private lives.  If you discover Satanism and then try to join the CoS solely for riches, congregation, pen-pals, and wearing robes and doing rituals all the time, you’ll be disappointed.  If those are your main reasons for wanting to join a Satanic organization, maybe try the pseudo-Satanists known as The Satanic Temple.

In The Satanic Scriptures, Magus Gilmore discuses that such a thing as a “Satanic Community” is a complete oxymoron and anyone who has thoroughly studied Satanism can clear see why this is so.  Because of the individualistic philosophy and disdain of herd conformity, there can be no such thing as a Satanic Community.  I’ve often seen social media posts and hashtags that use the term “satanic community” and wondered how much study these supposed Satanists have done.

It’s understandable that humans crave the company of others and want to seek out others who are just like them.  But the thing to remember is that the main ideas of Satanism are about focusing on getting the most out of your personal life and doing something great with it using the ideas of Satanism.  If you should happen to meet another Satanist and you guys have mutual interests, then great!  Just remember what Satanism is truly about.  A friendly reminder that you do not need to join the Church of Satan to actually be a Satanist.

-Hail Satan!

Manny

References

Gilmore, P. H. (2016). The Satanic Scriptures. Baltimore, MD: Underworld Amusements.