Theistic Satanism: Home > Politics > Fascist > Should we aim to rule the world?



Fascism vs. democracy vs. checks and balances:
Should we Satanists aim to rule the world?


by Diane Vera



Copyright © 2006 Diane Vera. All rights reserved.



Some "Satanic fascist" groups seem to imagine that they, as Satanists, are destined to conquer the world.

According to various right wing Christian and Muslim conspiracy theories, the world is already ruled by Satanists via "the Illuminati" and "the New World Order." Some Satanists have claimed that it would be a good idea to try to make these conspiracy theories a reality. (An example is the Black Legion Party, about whose website I've commented here.)

But would this, in fact, be a good idea? I don't think so. There's nothing wrong with seeking power, but outright world conquest is another matter.

First off, the thought of us Satanists organizing a world-ruling conspiracy is just laughable. Look at all the infighting in the Satanist scene. We Satanists can barely get our organizational act together at all.

But would it be a good idea for us to try to rule the world even if we were better organized?

Let's take a few lessons from the experience of another group of people who have been falsely reputed to rule the world, namely Jews. In fact, conspiracy theories about Satanists closely resemble conspiracy theories about Jews. See the following pages:

Another thing we have in common with Jews is being the subject of a blood libel. See my Against Satanic Panics site, and see the following pages:

Believe it or not, the anti-Jewish blood libel is still not dead yet. See:

In my opinion, some important lessons we need to learn are these:

  1. Being falsely reputed to rule the world can be very hazardous to one's health, to put it mildly. So, it might not be in our best interests to feed that delusion, fun though it may be.

  2. If you're an unpopular religious minority to begin with, then forcibly taking over a country is not a good idea. Look at Israel/Palestine. Jews are safer here in New York than in Israel. Even here in the U.S.A., Jews aren't exactly on top to anywhere near the extent that the neo-Nazis would have us believe (see my brief critique of anti-Jew racist ideology), but there is far less anti-Jew bigotry here than just about anywhere else in the world.

  3. In response to the above, some "Satanic fascists" might argue that what they are fighting for is not a world run by Satanists per se (and thus a world in which Satanists would be a highly visible target), but rather a world governed by "Satanic principles" (i.e. the principles of their own form of Satanism, usually LaVey-based). But there's a parallel to this in Jewish history too. Many Jews once supported the fascist-like ideology known as Communism/Leninism/Bolshevism. But, despite the involvement of Jews in many Communist parties throughout Europe, Jews didn't exactly end up on top in Communist countries.

Some Satanists are apparently hoping to become the secret rulers of the world. However, in reality, a grand conspiracy can't keep its secrets for very long, a fact which is one of the main things wrong with conspiracy theories. (See What is a Conspiracy Theory? in the sci.skeptic FAQ.) And a conspiracy of Satanists would have an even harder time keeping its secrets, given what blabbermouths a lot of us are.

Instead of trying to rule the world, I think we Satanists would be well-advised to adopt the strategy that has been used successfully by many liberal and left-wing Jewish political activists here in the U.S.A.: opposing the Christian religious right wing, opposing racism, and standing up for the rights of all minority religions.

Let's not forget that our own legal and social rights do depend on the legal and social rights of other unpopular minorities. Yes, they really do. That's not just a liberal platitude. A tolerant society, in which the rights of unpopular minorities are protected, is in the best interests of anyone who, in any way, is anything other than a strictly cookie-cutter "normal" person. Of course, it also helps to be able to afford a good lawyer.

In the long run, our rights will also depend on being an accepted part of a powerful political alliance to enforce those rights. The alliance we need already exists; we just need to become an accepted part of it by convincing people of other unpopular minority religions, and of no religion, that it is in their own best interest to debunk Satanic panics. This isn't as difficult as it may seem, at least not in the long run, although it may be tough going at first. Indeed, some people in the alliance have already opposed Satanic panics in the past. (See "Satanism" scares and their debunking on my Against Satanic Panics site. See also A budding new “Satanic” panic and the Pagan community for an example of how to go about convincing Pagans that it is in their own best interests to debunk popular misconceptions about Satanism.)

We Satanists shouldn't imagine that we are somehow above needing legal rights, or that only "the weak" need legal rights. For more about the latter delusion, see my separate article on Satanist superman syndrome.



Back to: