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.
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.