Editing Order of Nine Angles (section)

==Definition==

The ONA has been characterised as a [[new religious movement]].{{sfn|Shah|Cooper|Newcombe|2023|pp=2, 8}} The group presents its teachings as "Traditional Satanism",{{sfnm|1a1=Faxneld|1y=2013a|1p=207|2a1=Faxneld|2y=2013b|2p=88|3a1=Senholt|3y=2013|3p=250|4a1=Sieg|4y=2013|4p=252}} and various [[religious studies|scholars of religion]] have described it as Satanic. The scholar Jesper Aagaard Petersen called the ONA's teachings a "new interpretation of Satanism and the left-hand path".{{sfn|Petersen|2014|p=416}} Other scholars have offered similar descriptions; Per Faxneld described the ONA as "a dangerous and extreme form of Satanism",{{sfn|Faxneld|2013a|p=207}} while Fredrik Gregorius called it "one of the most controversial and infamous Satanic groups of the twentieth century".{{sfn|Gregorius|2023|p=252}} Religious studies scholar [[Graham Harvey (religious studies scholar)|Graham Harvey]] thought that the ONA fit the stereotype of the Satanist "better than other groups", like the [[Church of Satan]], in large part due to its embrace of "deeply shocking" and illegal acts.{{sfn|Harvey|1995|p=292}} Conversely, the scholar of religion George Sieg argued that the ONA should be categorised as "post-Satanic" because it has "surpassed (without fully abandoning) identification with its original satanic paradigm".{{sfn|Sieg|2013|p=255}}

Other scholars have portrayed it principally as an overlap between Satanism and Nazism; the historian [[Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke]] called it a "Satanic Nazi cult",{{sfn|Goodrick-Clarke|2003|p=215}} while the specialists in far-right politics [[Jeffrey Kaplan (academic)|Jeffrey Kaplan]] and Leonard Weinberg characterised it as a "National Socialist-oriented Satanist group".{{sfn|Kaplan|Weinberg|1998|p=143}} Further academic descriptions have highlighted other links; the religious studies scholar Connell R. Monette called it a "blend" of Satanism with [[Hermeticism]] and "some pagan elements",{{sfn|Monette|2013|p=85}} while the historian of religion Ethan Doyle White characterised it as a group existing at the intersection of the Satanic and modern pagan milieus.{{sfn|Doyle White|2018|p=162}} Considering the manner in which the ONA had syncretized both Satanism and [[Heathenry (new religious movement)|Heathenry]], the historian of religion [[Mattias Gardell]] described its spiritual perspective as "a heathen satanic path".{{sfn|Gardell|2003|p=292}} With the recent (post-2020) appearance of ONA in American and European news media, historical scholarship has examined the relationship between ONA's unique esoteric tradition and violent political accelerationism to characterize the movement as [[neo-fascist]].{{sfn|Palella|2024|p=7}}

Alternative definitions have been provided by counter-terrorism organisations. The [[Global Network on Extremism and Technology]] for instance labels the ONA a "decentralised esoteric militant accelerationist network of threat actors".<ref name=GNET/> The ONA has been described as "occult-based neo-Nazi and racially motivated violent extremist group" by the United States government.<ref>{{cite news |date=2020-06-23 |title=US soldier Ethan Melzer accused of planning attack on own unit |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-53145806 |access-date=2025-11-26 |work=[[BBC News]] |location=London}}</ref>