Editing Temple of Zeus (organization) (section)

==Reception==
Joy of Satan Ministries became the topic of significant criticism for its close connections to a high-ranking leader of the [[National Socialist Movement (United States)|National Socialist Movement]], as well as for its [[Anti-Semitism|antisemitic]], [[Anti-Judaism|anti-Judaic]], [[Anti-Christian sentiment|anti-Christian]], and [[Islamophobia|anti-Muslim]] beliefs.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> While some among the theistic and spiritual Satanist community adopt their ideas as a model, they may distance themselves from the group's controversial beliefs,<ref name=":6" /> and "explicit connection with Nazism."<ref name=":10" /> According to religious studies scholars, although they may appear somewhat similar to the [[Order of Nine Angles]], their ideology and beliefs fundamentally oppose each other.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Colin |first=Mathieu |title="And the Devil Marches With Us": Aesthetics and Accelerationism in the Order of Nine Angles |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2024}}</ref>

When the fact that Maxine was the wife of a well-known American neo-Nazi leader became public knowledge, it created serious problems within Joy of Satan Ministries itself.<ref name=":11" /> This controversy exposed the split in the NSM between the Christian Identity and the [[Odinists]] and Satanists.<ref name=":11">{{Cite book|last=Karkov|first=Catherine|title=Disturbing Times Medieval Pasts, Reimagined Futures|publisher=Punctum Books|year=2020|isbn=978-1950192755|location=|pages=323}}</ref> According to Introvigne (2016), "Several local groups abandoned Dietrich and started minuscule splinter organisations. Some of these insisted that they were not Satanist, just pagan".<ref name=":1" /> Introvigne also adds that while most of the Satanic groups are no longer active, JoS persists, albeit with fewer members.<ref name=":1" /> Despite the events, Introvigne notes that the group's beliefs in extraterrestrial life, meditation, and telepathic communication with demons have gained popularity among a broader community of non-LaVeyan "spiritual" or theistic Satanists.<ref name=":1" /> Followed by a series of backlash, Clifford and Andrea Herrington were also accused of sexual misconduct which Introvigne claims "are difficult to evaluate",<ref name=":1" /> however, Maxine's Satanic affiliations were enough to result in Clifford Herrington's departure from the National Socialist Movement.<ref name=":1" /> Clifford Herrington would then attempt to recreate his own "National Socialist Freedom Movement" after leaving the NSM in 2006.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=February 6, 2021|title=The National Socialist Movement|url=https://www.adl.org/education/resources/profiles/national-socialist-movement|access-date=|website=ADL}}</ref>

Scholar of religion, [[James R. Lewis (scholar)|James R. Lewis]], noted in his ''Satan census'' (2009) a surprising number of respondents to the Joy of Satan Ministries. Additionally, the scholar of Satanism, Jesper A. Petersen, found in his 2014 survey on the Satanic ''milieu'''s proliferation on the internet a surprising prominence among theistic Satanist websites on the internet,<ref name=":7" /> noting the popularity of the [[Church of Satan]] to be somewhat paradoxically with the Joy of Satan Ministries' page base on the [[Angelfire]] network.<ref name=":7" />