Buddhism technically does have gods, but they’re not creators and are not all-powerful. Buddhism is mainly about understanding suffering, escaping the cycle of rebirth, and achieving enlightenment.
As for Satanism, allow me to correct one small detail. There are theistic forms, but they’re not “Satanism”. The Church of Satan, founded in 1966 was the first religion in history to explicitly organize itself under the name “Satanism”. They deify the self, and there is a lot of psychodrama/ritual involved. It was heavily influenced by Ayn Rand but fused with ritual, symbolism, carnality, elitism, and psychodrama. Many LaVeyan Satanists consider this to be the one true form of Satanism. That’s part of the reason The Church of Satan and Satanic Temple hate each other. (Fun fact, one of the founders of the Satanic Temple, formerly a LaVeyan Satanist, left because he said TST “isn’t satanism”. His name was Brian Werner in case you want to fact check that yourself.)
The Church of Satan are atheists. They might worship the self, but they don’t think the self is a god. I don’t have the patience if you want to split hairs in that, but it isn’t a kind of theism as it’s commonly understood. It’s like saying that vegetarians eat meat because the edible part of a nut is called “meat”.
That’s exactly my point. They’re atheists, but LaVeyan Satanism is still technically a religion. Religion does not necessarily require belief in a god. People get confused because the Church of Satan has never actively pursued formal legal recognition and public facing institutional status. That’s just because they don’t care what people think of them. Asking institutions for validation is very un-Satanic.
Buddhism technically does have gods, but they’re not creators and are not all-powerful. Buddhism is mainly about understanding suffering, escaping the cycle of rebirth, and achieving enlightenment.
As for Satanism, allow me to correct one small detail. There are theistic forms, but they’re not “Satanism”. The Church of Satan, founded in 1966 was the first religion in history to explicitly organize itself under the name “Satanism”. They deify the self, and there is a lot of psychodrama/ritual involved. It was heavily influenced by Ayn Rand but fused with ritual, symbolism, carnality, elitism, and psychodrama. Many LaVeyan Satanists consider this to be the one true form of Satanism. That’s part of the reason The Church of Satan and Satanic Temple hate each other. (Fun fact, one of the founders of the Satanic Temple, formerly a LaVeyan Satanist, left because he said TST “isn’t satanism”. His name was Brian Werner in case you want to fact check that yourself.)
You’re right, I got mixed up. It is both non-theistic and officially atheistic. I haven’t read about it in a long time.
The Church of Satan are atheists. They might worship the self, but they don’t think the self is a god. I don’t have the patience if you want to split hairs in that, but it isn’t a kind of theism as it’s commonly understood. It’s like saying that vegetarians eat meat because the edible part of a nut is called “meat”.
That’s exactly my point. They’re atheists, but LaVeyan Satanism is still technically a religion. Religion does not necessarily require belief in a god. People get confused because the Church of Satan has never actively pursued formal legal recognition and public facing institutional status. That’s just because they don’t care what people think of them. Asking institutions for validation is very un-Satanic.