Thesis (MA)--Stellenbosch University, 2012. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: There are moments in history where the threat of Satanism and the Devil have been prompted by, and in turn stimulated, social anxiety. This thesis considers particular moments of ‘satanic panic’ in South Africa as moral panics during which social boundaries were challenged, patrolled and renegotiated through public debate in the media. While the decade of the 1980s was marked by successive states of emergency and the deterioration of apartheid, it began and ended with widespread alarm that Satan was making a bid for the control of white South Africa. Half-truths, rumour and fantasy mobilised by interest groups fuelled public uproar over the satanic menace – a threat deemed the enemy of white South Africa. Under P. W. Botha’s ‘total onslaught’ rhetoric, a large sector of white South Africa feared total ‘moral onslaught’. Cultural guardians warned against the satanic influences of popular culture, the corrupting power of materialism, and the weakening moral resolve of the youth. Others were adamant that Satanists sought to punish all good, white South Africans with financial ruin and divorce in their campaign to destroy white South Africa. From the bizarre to the macabre, the message became one of societal decay and a youth that was simultaneously out of control. While influenced by the international Satanism Scare that swept across the global West during the 1980s and early 1990s, this thesis argues that South Africa’s satanic panics reflected localised anxieties as the country’s social borders changed over time. While critically discussing the concept of the ‘moral panic’ and its analytical value in historical study, this thesis further argues that these moments of moral panic betray the contextually specific anxieties surrounding the loss of power and shifts in class and cultural solidarity. In so doing, this thesis seeks to elucidate the cultural changes in South Africa between 1976 and 1993 by highlighting the social, temporal and geographic boundaries which were contested and renegotiated through the shifting discourse on Satanism. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Daar is oomblikke in die geskiedenis toe die bedreiging van Satanisme en die Duiwel deur sosiale angstigheid aangespoor is en dit ook verder gestimuleer het. Hierdie tesis neem bepaalde momente van ‘sataniese paniek’ in Suid-Afrika – waartydens sosiale grense deur publieke debat in die media uitgedaag, gepatrolleer en heronderhandel is – in oënskou as oomblikke van morele paniek. Terwyl die 1980s gekenmerk is deur agtereenvolgende noodtoestande en die agteruitgang van apartheid, het dit begin en geëindig met wydverspreide verontrusting dat Satan poog om beheer oor wit Suid-Afrika te verkry. Halwe waarhede, gerugte en fantasie, gemobiliseer deur belangegroepe, het publieke onsteltenis oor die sataniese gevaar aangehits – = vyandige bedreiging vir wit Suid-Afrika. In samehang met PW Botha se ‘totale aanslag’ retoriek, het = groot deel van wit Suid-Afrika ook = ‘totale morele aanslag’ gevrees. Die kultuurbewakers het gewaarsku teen sataniese invloede op populêre kultuur, die sedebederwende mag van materialisme en die verflouing van morele vasberadenheid onder die jeug. Ander was oortuig daarvan dat Sataniste daarop uit is om alle goeie, wit Suid-Afrikaners deur finansiële ondergang en egskeiding te straf in hulle veldtog om wit Suid-Afrika te vernietig. Van die grillige tot die makaber, die boodskap was een van sosiale agteruitgang en = jeug wat terselfdertyd buite beheer was. Alhoewel Suid-Afrika beïnvloed is deur die heersende internasionale sataniese verskrikking wat gedurende die 1980s en die vroeë 1990s, dwarsdeur die globale Weste gevind is, voer hierdie tesis aan dat die Suid-Afrikaanse sataniese paniek, soos die sosiale grense in Suid-Afrika verskuif het, gelokaliseerde angs gereflekteer het. Buiten die kritiese bespreking van die konsep van die ‘morele paniek’ en die analitiese waarde daarvan, argumenteer hierdie tesis verder dat hierdie momente van morele paniek konteks-spesifieke angs blootlê, paniese angs wat met die verlies van mag en veranderings in klas- en kulturele samehorigheid saamhang. Hierdeur beoog die tesis om kulturele veranderinge in Suid-Afrika tussen 1976 en 1993 toe te lig, deur te fokus op die sosiale, temporale en geografiese grense wat deur die verskuiwende diskoers oor Satanisme betwis en heronderhandel is.

Text in Afrikaans / Satanisme het ‘n destruktiewe effek op die ontwikkeling en welsyn van die adolessent en beïnvloed alle vlakke van sy of haar ontwikkeling. Sataniste gebruik verskeie wyses om adolessente te lok, onder andere ‘n fokus op individue se behoeftes aan lewensmiddele soos geld en aanvaarding, Tydens hierdie studie is die gebrek aan riglyne vir spelterapeute in die hantering van adolessente wat in Satanisme betrokke is, as navorsingsprobleem geïdentifiseer. In die lig van die navorsingsprobleem is die doel van die studie geformuleer, naamlik om riglyne te formuleer waarvolgens spelterapeute die probleem van adolessente wat by Satanisme betrokke is te hanteer. Ten einde die doel te bereik, het die navorser inliging ingesamel aan die hand van kwalitatiewe prosesse, gebaseer op die basis van bewys gebondenheid Satanism has a destructive effect on the development and wellbeing of the adolescent and is known to influence all levels of his or her development. Satanists use a variety of forms of entrapment and their focus on the individual’s need of worldly goods, wealth and acceptance makes the adolescent easy prey. During this study the lack of guidelines, for play therapists who became involved in the handling of adolescents entrapped in Satanism, was identified as the research problem. Bearing in mind the research problem, the aim of this study had thus been formulated, namely to formulate guidelines according to which play therapists will be enabled to address the problem of adolescents entrapped in Satanism. To fulfill this aim, the researcher had gathered information by means of qualitative processes, based on evidence. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

Text in Afrikaans / Satanisme het ‘n destruktiewe effek op die ontwikkeling en welsyn van die adolessent en beïnvloed alle vlakke van sy of haar ontwikkeling. Sataniste gebruik verskeie wyses om adolessente te lok, onder andere ‘n fokus op individue se behoeftes aan lewensmiddele soos geld en aanvaarding, Tydens hierdie studie is die gebrek aan riglyne vir spelterapeute in die hantering van adolessente wat in Satanisme betrokke is, as navorsingsprobleem geïdentifiseer. In die lig van die navorsingsprobleem is die doel van die studie geformuleer, naamlik om riglyne te formuleer waarvolgens spelterapeute die probleem van adolessente wat by Satanisme betrokke is te hanteer. Ten einde die doel te bereik, het die navorser inliging ingesamel aan die hand van kwalitatiewe prosesse, gebaseer op die basis van bewys gebondenheid Satanism has a destructive effect on the development and wellbeing of the adolescent and is known to influence all levels of his or her development. Satanists use a variety of forms of entrapment and their focus on the individual’s need of worldly goods, wealth and acceptance makes the adolescent easy prey. During this study the lack of guidelines, for play therapists who became involved in the handling of adolescents entrapped in Satanism, was identified as the research problem. Bearing in mind the research problem, the aim of this study had thus been formulated, namely to formulate guidelines according to which play therapists will be enabled to address the problem of adolescents entrapped in Satanism. To fulfill this aim, the researcher had gathered information by means of qualitative processes, based on evidence. / Social Work / M. Diac. (Play Therapy)

In 1990 a small self-published journal/magazine called The Watcher was distributed among New Zealand's occult underground. The Watcher described itself as 'the New Zealand Voice of the Left Hand Path', and was published as the journal of the Order of the Left Hand Path. The Watcher and the Order directed its attentions towards those occultists who identified themselves as Satanists and, as such, the journal articulated a distinctly Satanic philosophy and perspective. However, as the journal evolved and developed, renaming itself as The Heretic and The Nexus in later years, there arose alongside Satanic philosophy an increasing emphases on what could be called esoteric Nazism or esoteric Nationalism. Given that the editor of The Watcher was Kerry Bolton, a man who has been immersed in New Zealand's Nationalist/neo-Nazi movement since the early 1970s, such an increasingly political orientation was perhaps unsurprising. This thesis examines the way in which the Order bought Satanic and neo-Nazi ideologies together and the resulting synthesis. It also looks at the transition from being a Satanic order led by a neo-Nazi to an openly neo-Nazi Order that uses Satanic philosophy to justify and popularise its conception of National Socialism.

This study is an attempt to investigate religious perceptions and its development, function and connection to religious practise within the Swedish extreme metal scene. This is performed mainly by a qualitative method of investigation, studying lyrical content published on a number of extreme metal albums, thereafter relating the lyrical progression to the progession of the scene as a whole and also to the development of individual religious belief and practise. The lyrically expressed manifestations of religiosity within the extreme metal scene prove to be related to religious practise in some cases, most visibly in the Christian parts of the scene.The study also indicates that development of religious expression often is evident regardless of religious preference. This development also regularly relates to an increase in musical evolution and prowess often achieved with increased age and maturity. Musically and lyrically, the extreme metal scene displays transgressive attributes which assist both individual and group in the process of creating identity, meaning and individuality.Experiencing extreme metal, in concert or in the privacy of one´s own home, can be one way of perceiving spirituality in this modern age.

La représentation de Satan et de ses différentes dénominations a constitué un sujet majeur de l’histoire de l’art occidental chrétien des premiers siècles de notre ère jusqu’au début du vingtième siècle. Alors que nous estimions le thème définitivement abandonné suite au fort recul de la pensée religieuse – notamment de la croyance au Diable – dans les sociétés actuelles, nous relevons que l’art contemporain lui accorde une place prépondérante dans sa production et ses manifestations. Le constat de ce décalage ostensible est à l’origine de la volonté d’étudier les raisons, les expressions et les conséquences qui accompagnent la présence de Satan dans l’art d’aujourd’hui. Pour rendre compte de cette discordance, cette thèse se scinde en trois mouvements : une étude comparative de l’histoire de la figure entre son passé et son présent, puis de sa disparition relative à sa réincarnation effective ; une analyse du traitement de l’imagerie diabolique par les artistes, et des messages qu’ils transmettent à travers elle ; une réflexion sur la survie théorique de la figure, et sur le silence du monde de l’art face à l’omniprésence de sa représentation. Le «retour» du Diable s’explique par deux raisons principales : détaché de ses racines théologiques, il est devenu aisément manipulable ; héritière de son glorieux passé, son image possède une force symbolique irremplaçable. La figure de Satan dans l’art contemporain est le reflet de nos sociétés, de nos angoisses, et de nos espoirs de libération – symptôme et possible remède. Vouloir l’ignorer revient à refuser d’affronter la préoccupante situation sociopolitique du monde : un vœu pieux potentiellement dangereux. / The representation of Satan in his various denominations has constituted a major topic for Western Christian art history, from the first centuries A.D. to the beginning of the twentieth century. While, following the large decline of religious thought and of the belief in the Devil, the theme was considered as permanently obsolete in our present day societies, we notice that contemporary art provides it a leading place in its productions and expressions. The genuine will to study the reasons, the manifestations and the consequences accompanying the presence of Satan in today’s art comes from the observation of this blatant discrepancy. In order to figure out this discordance, this thesis is divided in three parts: a comparative study of the figure between its past and its present, then from its relative disappearance to its effective reincarnation; an analysis of the diabolical imagery as it is treated by artists, and of the messages they deliver through it; a reflection on the theoretical survival of the figure, and on the art world’s silence in the face of his omnipresent representation. The Devil’s “come back” can be explained by two main reasons: cut from his theological roots, this character is easily maneuverable; his image possesses an irreplaceable strength inherited from his glorious past. The figure of Satan in contemporary art mirrors our societies, our fears, our hope for liberation – a symptom and a possible remedy. To try to avoid it is to refuse to contend with the worrying socio-political situation of the world: a potentially dangerous vain wish.

Fondé aux États-Unis fin 2012 par Malcolm Jarry et Lucien Greaves et se voyant comme une évolution de l’Église de Satan, groupe fondé par Anton LaVey en 1966, le Temple Satanique est à la croisée entre satanisme, sécularisme et religion non-théiste, en plus de s’appuyer sur un activisme politique explicite en faveur de la séparation entre Églises et État. Il s’appuie sur une lecture non-théiste de la figure de Satan comme symbole de libre-pensée et de compassion, inspirée notamment des lectures romantiques et de La Révolte des anges (1914) d’Anatole France. En se positionnant comme religion dans la sphère publique, l’organisation souhaite contrer l’hégémonie du christianisme et assurer le respect d’un réel pluralisme religieux, qui prendrait en compte les récentes mutations démographiques et culturelles américaines. Cette thèse emploie une approche interdisciplinaire. Sur le plan théorique, elle analyse ce groupe se disant religieux à l’aide de l’histoire des idées ainsi que d’une analyse sociologique, politique et médiatique. Elle met en œuvre une méthodologie qualitative et quantitative, documentant plusieurs aspects du groupe à l’aide d’entretiens et d’un questionnaire qualitatif en ligne. Les principales innovations de cette thèse sont les suivantes. Nous analysons le Temple Satanique comme un mouvement social mettant en avant le concept de communauté, et nous situons l’organisation dans un paradigme ultramoderne (concept de Jean-Paul Willaime), selon lequel un certain nombre de sous-cultures sont générées, cherchant à créer des ressources de sens. Ces sous-cultures émergent comme des systèmes de sens identitaires et politiques s’alimentant à des sources mythiques et esthétiques pour élaborer du sens, puisant largement dans les domaines religieux et spirituels. Il s’agit d’un laboratoire d’étude de la complexification du milieu séculariste et de ses profondes divisions, ainsi que du satanisme moderne et contemporain. Sa particularité est de proposer un satanisme politique rationaliste. Notre recherche se situe au croisement de trois champs d’études : celui des nouveaux mouvements religieux, celui du satanisme et de l’ésotérisme, ainsi que celui de la religion digitale. Cette religiosité, largement diffusée sur Internet, redéfinit les cadres institutionnels et de croyances, les adeptes ayant accès à des ressources presque illimitées, informant un mode du croire caractérisé par son individualité et sa méfiance institutionnelle, mettant en exergue une tension constante entre individualité et communauté. Par ses procédés ultramodernes, le groupe se pose en contre-mythe, afin de questionner l’héritage chrétien américain revendiqué par la Droite chrétienne comme une religion civile. En effet, par l’usage du symbole de Satan, l’organisation met en tension l’identité nationale américaine en posant la question de l’intégration des populations non-chrétiennes au sein d’un cadre culturel fortement imprégné de christianisme. Le Temple Satanique pose ainsi la question de l’intégration des communautés marginalisées, comme les athées, ou la population des sans-religion, dans la sphère publique, à l’heure où elles deviennent des forces politiques potentielles. C’est sans doute pour cette raison qu’il compte déjà des antennes dans d’autres pays. Le Temple essaye de dépasser l’aporie entre religion et mode de vie séculariste, en mettant en avant une religion non-théiste s’appuyant sur des valeurs partagées au sein d’une communauté. / Founded in the US by Malcolm Jarry and Lucien Greaves at the very end of the year 2012 and thought as an evolution of The Church of Satan, the first satanic organization created by Anton LaVey in 1966, The Satanic Temple is both a non-theistic religion, a secularist group and a satanic group fighting for the strict separation of Church and State. Drawing especially on romantic and Anatole France’s Revolt of the Angels (1914) readings of Satan as an embodiment of freedom, justice and science, The Satanic Temple uses its position as a religion in the public sphere to denounce what is considers the marks of Christian hegemony within public institutions or places, and stands for other discriminated groups by defending a respectful and inclusive religious pluralism for all faiths, and taking into account the recent cultural and demographic changes in the US. This dissertation uses an interdisciplinary approach. In order to analyze this aspiring religious group, it combines a sociological analysis, the study of history of ideas as well as political and media studies. It also uses a quantitative and qualitative methodology to understand several dimensions of the group, with interviews and an online survey. The main innovations of the dissertation are the following. The Satanic Temple is a social movement building a community of like-minded people and transforming the concept of religion. I consider it a direct result of the ultramodern paradigm described by Jean-Paul Willaime that gives birth to a number of subcultural movements that struggle to create sense for their members. I analyze these subcultural movements as political meaning systems creating a sense of identity. They draw on mythical and aesthetical sources to create meaning by using religious and spiritual resources. This paradigm enables us to analyze the increasingly complex secular milieu and its divisions, as well as the evolution of modern and contemporary Satanism. Political rationalist Satanism is one of its new developments. Our research stands at the crossroad of three areas of studies: new religious movements studies, esoteric and satanic studies, and digital religion studies. I shall analyze the individualization of religious beliefs on the Internet, and the growing mistrust towards institutions or the process of formalization, perceived as threats to the unlimited religious resources offered by digital platforms. The tension between individuality and community is constantly at stake for a group such as The Satanic Temple. As an ultramodern movement, The Satanic Temple takes the stance as a counter-myth in order to question the Christian legacy of the country claimed by movements, such as the Christian Right, that want to turn it into the one and only possible civil religion. Indeed, The Satanic Temple aims at raising the question of the integration of non-Christians as respectful and respected citizens within the public sphere, thus negotiating the tensions at the core of the American national identity and of its civil religion, both heavily influenced by Christianity, with the help of Satan’s symbol. The rise of the « nones » as a new political force also raises the issue of their integration, as The Satanic Temple asks the tough question of taking into account marginalized communities that want their voice to be heard in a changing public sphere. Despite being primarily US-based, the organization has chapters in other countries such as Canada, and in Europe.

The purpose of this paper is to present an opening to argue for a transtheoretical and - activist fellowship with Satan and the values connected to hir. A transactivist fellows-hip with Satan builds on two primary points of contact. It is on one hand the opportu-nity to take advantage of the non-conformist, non-normative and polemical signifi-cance Satan has been attributed, especially in the history of literature, but also in the history of religion. And on the other hand this study also dwells upon how Satan as a figure has served as an expression of evilness, hatred, darkness and suffering amongst people. The questions i ask, is if there is a course that allows me to theorize for a stra-tegic collaboration between the transactivist struggle and the ideas that is connected to the satanfigure in John Miltons Paradise Lost. I also ask if there is a transtheoretical-and activist approach where Satan can function as an ally within the transactivist re-sistance. The purpose of this paper also carries on a confrontation with the notion of ”tone-policing", and love and tenderness as the only sanctioned (and praised) incenti-ves for political struggle. In this thesis I make a link between the logic that connects to Satan as an ideological basis and a non-conformist (militant), seperatist, anti-capi-talist and queer attitude in transactivist struggle. With the help of Susan Stryker's the-ory of the monsteridentity I will experiment with extracts from John Milton's Paradise Lost, where the Satan figure and the transactivist position builds on a fellowship as my analysis proceeds. To do this i use a queer-deleuzian tool as a method that focuses on textual framings within the idea of spatial relations, meaning how the actual text can and should correspond with discourses outside its territorial space. This allow me to di-sengage Satan from its original amplitude, and instead of interpreting how Satan handles hirself in Paradise Lost, i will liberate Satan from this narrative and create a relation between hir and my thesis. In this way I create an occasion, through a theore-tical approach to trans-subjectivity as comparable to the perception of the monster as a non-normative figure, to bring the transgendered monster together with the satanic monster. The ”what” that will subsequently crystallize during the analysis have the intention to tell the story about the ways in which the non-confirmative transactivist have in common with Satan. After doing this i will conclude my thesis with a discus-sion that reflects on how this fellowship has evolved in relation to the proposed politi-cal and emotional connections between the non-confomative transactivist and Satan.

This study regards the influence of ’modern’ satanism on performative art in the nineteen sixties- and seventies. The methodological framework consists of performativity theory, religious visual culture and aesthetics of experimental film. The material consists mainly of cinematic work by Kenneth Anger and Alejandro Jodorowsky, as well as musical performances by the likes of Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones and David Bowie. In addition to this material I also use academic texts, dissertations and books written about the subjects themselves as a foundation for my own further analysis and discussions. By looking closely at a selection of cinnematic work of foremost Kenneth Anger, I try to show how his own esoteric and occult interests are present as a fundamental part of his creative process and the following filmworks/artworks themselves. This is also put into relationship with Anton Szandor Lavey, founder of the Church of Satan, and their common thoughts concerning ritually performed magic. By using performativity theory I trie to emphasise the interlocking structures of these two worlds in the artwork of Kenneth Anger and other artists active in the culturual ’milieu’ of the sixties- and seventies. The results indicate that the religious sphere of satanism, occultism and esotericism (and alternative modes of religion in general) was closeley inflicted with counterculture-infused film and music (as represented by the selection of material).

This bachelor thesis offers a rhetorical analysis of the album Maranatha by Swedish Black Metal artist Funeral Mist. Its main focus is on the intertextuality between the song "Blessed Curse" and the biblical book Deuteronomy, especially Deut 28 from which it has sampled a large portion of text. In the analysis I uncover the similarities and differences between the two texts in order to explain how the biblical fragments constitute new meanings when rearranged and taken out of their original context. The analysis concludes with relating the material to its new context i.e. the album Maranatha and the Black Metal scene by explaining other intertexts and references to the Bible and discussing which genre is best suited to describe the album as a whole. The results of the study show that the biblical quotations in the lyrics convey radically different messages and meanings compared to their original content in Deut 28. This in turn acknowledge how dependent linguistic symbols are on their context. I finish off my thesis with a few reflections on the moral and ethical implications of this use of biblical material concerning the anti-christian agenda supported by members of the Black Metal scene and specifically how Daniel Rostén of Funeral Mist view his own work and agenda.