Much like any other belief set, acts of both unspeakable evil and charitable good have been performed under the banner of Satanism.
In today’s episode of Undiscovered, we explore both sides of this story.
We’ll look more closely at two vastly different world-views: the perspective of those who have suffered abuse at the hands of Satanists and those who believe the rituals and iconography of Satanism can be re-appropriated to build a positive and welcoming community.
In the UK, there is currently no explicit law against Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA). Victims of SRA and their allies, like Vicky Ash and Wilfred Wong, who we spoke to in this week’s episode, are campaigning to change this. They argue there should be a specific focus on the satanic dimension of the abuse, and punishments that recognise that the name in which these crimes are perpetrated is important as the effects are uniquely traumatising.
There is also a conspiratorial dimension behind their activism. As they fight so hard to have their experiences recognised - our interviewees reported that it feels as if there is a powerful force, a secret group of society's elites, stopping them from getting the justice they deserve.
This idea of secret cabals is in direct contrast to an open, and even performative, brand of Satanists like Zeke Apollyon - High Cardinal of the recently rebranded Global Order of Satan. In the second half of the show, Zeke lays out their philosophy which challenges many negative associations with the occult - whilst leaning into its visual, verbal and ritual motifs.
Tune in to the episode to find out more about these competing, but by no means mutually exclusive, understandings of Satanism.