Editing Church of Satan (section)

==Beliefs==
LaVey described his religion as "just [[Ayn Rand]]'s philosophy with ceremony and ritual added";{{sfn|Lewis|2002|p=9}} similarly, sociologist of religion [[James R. Lewis (scholar)|James R. Lewis]] described it as "a blend of [[Epicureanism]] and Ayn Rand's philosophy, flavored with a pinch of [[Ceremonial magic|ritual magic]]."{{sfn|Lewis|2002|p=2}}  There is no belief in nor worship of the Devil or a [[Devil in Christianity|Christian notion of Satan]].<ref name="wikinews">{{cite news |url=https://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Satanism:_An_interview_with_Church_of_Satan_High_Priest_Peter_Gilmore |title=Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore|newspaper=Wikinews|date= 5 November 2007|access-date=2013-09-09}}</ref> High priest Peter Gilmore describes its members as "skeptical atheists", indicating the Hebrew root of the word "Satan" as "adversary" or "opposer."<ref>{{Cite web |title=H7854 - śāṭān - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv) |url=https://www.blueletterbible.org/kjv/gen/1/1/s_1001 |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Blue Letter Bible |language=en}}</ref> According to LaVey, it is not enough for satanists to merely be atheistic.<ref>{{cite book |last1=LaVey |first1=Anton|title=The Devil's Notebook |date=2000 |publisher=Feral House |isbn=9780922915118 |page=85 |quote=As Satanists, we have the advantage of realizing this early in the game. It has never been enough for us to be atheistic - we have learned how to smash religious ignorance by beating them at their own game, using the Christians' own manufactured fears to destroy them.}}</ref> Gilmore rejects the legitimacy of [[Theistic Satanism|theistic Satanists]], who believe Satan to be a supernatural being or force that may be contacted or supplicated to, dubbing them "devil worshipers".<ref name="wikinews"/> In an interview with David Shankbone, Gilmore stated "My real feeling is that anybody who believes in supernatural entities on some level is insane. Whether they believe in the Devil or God, they are abdicating reason." He added, "Satanism begins with atheism. We begin with the universe and say, 'It's indifferent. There's no God, there's no Devil. No one cares!'"<ref name="gilmoreinterview">[[n:Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore|Interview with Peter H. Gilmore]], David Shankbone, ''[[Wikinews]]'', November 5, 2007.</ref> According to Gilmore,  
{{blockquote|We do not believe in the supernatural. To the Satanist, he is his own God. Satan is a symbol of Man living as his prideful, carnal nature dictates. Some Satanists extend this symbol to encompass the evolutionary "force" of entropy that permeates all of nature and provides the drive for survival and propagation inherent in all living things. To the Satanist, Satan is not a conscious entity to be worshiped, rather it is a name for the reservoir of power inside each human to be tapped at will.<ref name="CoS"/>}}
The church has stated its contention that they are the first formally organized religion to adopt the term "Satanism" and describes the term "Theistic Satanism" as "[[oxymoron]]ic".<ref>{{cite web|title=F.A.Q. Fundamental Beliefs|url=https://www.churchofsatan.com/faq-fundamental-beliefs/|publisher=Church of Satan|access-date=30 January 2023|archive-date=22 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222212500/https://www.churchofsatan.com/faq-fundamental-beliefs/|url-status=live}}</ref>
 
LaVey's views on magic were ambiguous. He insisted  Satanism was a "[[Materialism|materialist]] philosophy" but also often talked of magic.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: section 5. The Temple of Set and Esoteric Satanism. The Temple of Set</ref>
He included this rule in his "Rules of the Earth":<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.5/>
{{blockquote|Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained."<ref name=Footnote132>LaVey, "Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth."</ref>}}

LaVey also often talked of  a "Satanic magical formula" of  "nine parts respectability to one part outrageousness",<ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's">[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: section 4. The Church of Satan. LaVey's Satanism</ref>  Satanism requiring some element of sinisterness, but not so much as to put off potential congregants. The "Rules of the Earth" in LaVey's Satanic Bible specifically prohibited unwanted sexual advances and harming animals or children,<ref>{{cite web |author=A. S. LaVey|title=The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth |date= 1967 |website=Church of Satan |url= https://www.churchofsatan.com/eleven-rules-of-earth |access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=A. S. LaVey|title=The Nine Satanic Sins |date= 1987|url= https://www.churchofsatan.com/nine-satanic-sins |website=Church of Satan}}</ref> but the Church also  "often featured a nude woman serving as an altar" in its black masses.<ref name=JPLS2023:sect.4-Magic>[[#JPLS2023|Laycock, ''Satanism'', 2023]]: section 4. The Church of Satan. From the Magic Circle to the Church of Satan</ref>

Though not emphasizing social or political causes, like [[Ayn Rand]], LaVey explicitly opposed [[egalitarianism]] and supported [[social stratification]], calling for the end of the "myth of 'equality'", which only "supports the weak at the expense of the strong".<ref>{{cite web |title=Pentagonal Revisionism: A Five-Point Program |website=Church of Satan |url=https://www.churchofsatan.com/pentagonal-revisionism/ |date=1988 |last1=LaVey |first1=Anton |access-date=8 January 2023}}</ref> But he also suggested that in loving themselves, [[Hedonism|hedonists]] developed the ability to love others.  He was quoted as saying, "If Satanists didn't care, they wouldn't be so dark and pessimistic."<ref name=Footnote-88>B. Barton, The Secret Life of a Satanist: The Authorized Biography of Anton LaVey (Los Angeles, CA: Feral House, 1990), p. 213.</ref><ref name="JPLS2023:sect.4-LaVey's"/>