Acknowledgements
Preface: Introducing Satanism
Chapter 1 - Anthropology of Evil: The Folklore of Satanism
Chapter 2 - Satanic Precursors
Chapter 3 - The Age of Satanism: Anton LaVey and the Church of
Satan
Chapter 4 - The Satanic Bible
Chapter 5 - Reading Satanism through Demonology: The Satanism
Scare
Chapter 6 - Adopting Satanic Identities
Chapter 7 - Little Nicky Grows Up?
Chapter 8 - Satanic Attitudes
Chapter 9 - Children of the Black Goat
Epilogue: Satanism in Play
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Asbjørn Dyrendal is Professor of Religious Studies at the Norwegian
University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, Norway.
James R. Lewis is Professor of Religious Studies at the University
of Tromsø in Tromsø, Norway.
Jesper A. Petersen is Associate Professor at the Programme for
Teacher Education at the Norwegian University of Science and
Technology in Trondheim, Norway.
"The Invention of Satanism is a useful text for those wanting a
detailed, if brief, history of the Church of Satan, its
development, and the demographic of its believers. The text is
straightforward and information rich, a credit to the detailed
knowledge of the compilers." -- Tara Blue Moon Smith, University of
Sydney, The Journal of Religious History
"[W]ell worth a read, representing perhaps the best place for
students to begin their exploration of this subject."-Ethan Doyle
White, Correspondences
"The Invention of Satanism provides an accessible and highly
informative introduction to contemporary Satanism as a religious
movement. Succinctly covering a number of important themes in the
history of Satanism, it will be especially useful to students and
scholars interested in contemporary Western esotericism, Paganism,
and New Religious Movements (NRMs). It also suggests many fruitful
venues for future research."-Manon Hedenborg-White, Aries:
Journal for the Study of Western Esotericism
"An important contribution to the field of Satanism studies . This
volume functions as an excellent introduction to the subject in
addition to establishing central research avenues in the field,
supplemented by illuminating discussions of work that remains to be
done. The Invention of Satanism will be a good first reference for
both specialists and lay readers interested in Satanism, along with
those investigating the various and overlapping fields of
new religious movements, Paganism, occultism, the subjects of
religious rhetoric, and other alternative religious currents and
antinomian discourses."--Nova Religio
"Studies of the esoteric and the occult have matured into a strong
research area within the history of religions, and Dyrendal, Lewis,
and Petersen have been at the forefront all the way. Their new book
offers a state-of-the-art discussion of Satanism and the occulture
in which it thrives. Based on facts and primary sources rather than
hearsay, Satanists are presented as people, and as makers of
religion." --Mikael Rothstein, PhD, Associate Professor,
University of Southern Denmark and Guest Professor at the Vytautas
Magnus University, Kaunas
"The Invention of Satanism is a groundbreaking book on two counts.
It does not simply rehearse the story of a legendary Satan who
symbolizes ultimate evil in Christianity. Rather, it focuses on
real, contemporary satanic movements populated by individuals who
openly identify as Satanists. Even more impressive and innovative,
the authors ground their analysis in hard data from texts,
interviews, surveys, and national censuses, bringing
contemporary
Satanism to life." --David G. Bromley, Professor of Religious
Studies and Sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University and
Founder and Director of the World Religions and Spirituality
Project
"This valuable volume demonstrates that concern about Satanism has
not dissipated; it will always be a part of the cultural background
of modern Western societies, but is ever-changing. The three
authors, all well-known scholars, document the modern history of
Satanism and how it is evolving, adding to scholarly knowledge
about this fascinating and important cultural phenomenon." --James
T. Richardson, co-editor of The Satanism Scare
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