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Satansplain #072 – Myth of Satanic Denominations (“No, it’s not like Catholics vs. Protestants”, part 2)

Continuing from the previous episode, a look at whether various “Satanic” groups can really be called different denominations of Satanism, with a particular look at groups formed after 1966, especially in the age of the Internet. No, it’s still not analogous to Catholics arguing with Protestants.

00:00:00 – Intro
00:02:15 – Review of episode 71, and why the Catholics vs. Protestants is still a bad analogy
00:07:25 – Why I don’t say “LaVeyan”
00:09:15 – Summary of episode 72, and “de facto Satanists”
00:14:26 – Dictionary argument and “Satanism is just any religion about Satan, right?”
00:18:54 – Summary of After 1966 – Theistic LHP Religions
00:23:04 – The Deism-to-Atheism Conspiracy Theory
00:31:15 – Non-theistic Satanic groups and Cevin Soling’s tax shelter (a.k.a. The Satanic Temple)
00:37:49 – Even more pseudo-Satanic groups I’ve seen
00:41:11 – No, these groups haven’t “evolved” anything
00:45:33 – Eco Satanism example, and collective action
00:48:43 – Rising up / Ecumenicalism
00:51:23 – Other lame reasons, e.g. wanting to do crime
00:55:06 – Other excuses: missing the boat on parts of Satanism, conspiracy theories of “Theistic LaVeyans”
00:57:27 – The Internet and the ease of declaring your own denomination/org
01:00:30 – Closing Remarks

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Satansplain #071 – No, Dummy, It’s Not Like Catholics vs. Protestants (part 1)

Exploring the allegation of Satanism having different “denominations”, why this view is inaccurate, and what’s really going on with these so-called “types of Satanism”. Also, why “gatekeeping Satanism” is a wise and necessary thing.

00:00 – Intro
02:16 – The problem of misinformation
06:32 – Reminder: Non-theistic religions exist, and Satanism is a religion
08:10 – The arguments I hear (re: this episode’s title)
11:26 – The TL;DL Summary (No, these aren’t “denominations of Satanism”)
16:16 – Who is (or gets called) a “Satanist”?
23:12 – What makes a religious denomination? Example: Catholics vs. Protestants
26:31 – Why “It’s like Catholics vs. Protestants!” is a bad analogy
30:31 – The Duck Test (and why it doesn’t work here)
33:15 – Before 1966, continued
36:42 – 1966: The Church of Satan and taking up a pejorative with pride

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Satansplain #025 – Illuminati Believers in Nigeria

Why do so many people from Africa, especially Nigeria, mistakenly believe Satanists are the Illuminati? And that we’re hiring? Satansplain investigates.

Selected sources:

00:00 – Intro
00:50 – A special message to residents of Africa (especially Nigeria)
03:04 – Joining a Satanic organization will not guarantee you wealth
05:10 – We don’t want you if you don’t already understand Satanism
05:32 – We do not tolerate scams (and neither should you)
06:36 – We don’t have branches/chapters and don’t need them
08:23 – Summary
11:59 – Dealing with messages from Nigeria
15:51 – It happens offline too
17:11 – …and is older than the Internet
18:07 – People conflating Freemasonry / Illuminati / Satanism / wealth
19:53 – Satanism and Freemasonry (and propaganda)
20:16 – Freemasons, the mythical Illuminati, and the defunct Illuminati
23:31 – The ironically Satanic take
24:52 – Why Nigeria? Some not-so-great explanations.
27:00 – “Mud huts” don’t have the Internet, dummy
29:30 – The 419 Scam
37:54 – Nigerian “church” scams
42:33 – Why Nigeria? Some statistics
45:00 – Freedom of religion vs. state religion
46:00 – Religiosity in Nigeria
47:05 – Nigeria and language
47:55 – Nigeria GDP vs. Human Development Index
49:02 – Summary