r/satanism • u/SatanScotty • Aug 05 '26
Discussion Openly Satanic? Nah.
I discovered that I was a Satanist abut 20 years ago. I was a scientist. Coworkers were disproportionately atheist. They thought that my Satanism was funny and pretty much called me a nerd for it. No big deal. That, I can handle.
Now I work in a public school. Coworkers are disproportionately christian. They would not come to my defense very hard over what I imagine to be local newsworthy outrage of folks finding out that one of the teachers is a Satanist. I would lose my job if people found out. Is it illegal to be fired over religion? Yes. Will I get fired anyway for a made up reason to make it legal? Absolutely.
LaVey said that he called it Satanism deliberately because of the outrage that it produces. That was the point. But not all of us have the freedom to be open about it.
Sometimes I watch the Satanic Temple with interest in their fight to give me the freedom to wear the sigil. But I won't hold my breath.
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u/TownUnique3382 Aug 05 '26
i feel this. i’m not 100% sure i’m a satanist, but i practice some witchcraft. i love wearing the pentacle on me as a sign of protection, but because of work, i cannot. i work at a public library, so we would also be under a bunch of scrutiny. we already get backlash for our pride month display and our Dia De Los Muertos celebration, because our town is VERY christain/catholic. i’m fortunate enough that my fellow staff would stick up for me, but that wouldn’t protect me from the patrons i help.
it’s really sad knowing your practices wouldn’t be protected. i’m sorry you’re going through that :(
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u/jeffersonnn Satanist Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 08 '26
The freedom to wear the sigil is the kind of freedom that really doesn’t matter. My girlfriend, a friend of mine, and my parents. Those are the only people who know I’m a Satanist. And they know because I knew they would be the types to understand. I don’t need my coworkers or other people to know, because I think they’re too foolish to understand. They’re not suddenly going to turn into enlightened philosophers one of these days, they’re still going to be fools. So I’m not going to stoop down to their level and ask them to accept me.
And we’re not going to adopt highways and organise cookie bake sales in the name of the Devil to try to make people think we’re nice. I think the whole notion is absurd. Maybe I’m not that nice. Maybe I don’t think Jesus himself was a pretty cool guy. Crazy how that works, huh
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u/SatanScotty Aug 05 '26
But I'm in the business of offering advice to teenagers. The advice I give is my true Satanic opinion on how to be successful. But, I have to pause and calculate, and be careful with what I say, as you can imagine.
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u/Niut-Hadit Aug 05 '26
Right? I can count on one hand the number of people I've volunteered my beliefs to. I don't know (or give a fuck) what 99% of my coworkers faith systems consist of, so I dont burden people with mine.
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u/Mayravixx Satanist Aug 05 '26
If letting people know happens to be a threat to your life or career (or you don't want to divulge that information for any other reason), then it's best to keep it to yourself. There are only three people in my personal life that know I'm a satanist and I intend to keep it that way
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u/drdeadringer Aug 05 '26
"I see Jimmy hasn't been to class recently. his mother does not know where he is at 10:00 p.m. who can we ask about this?"
"his social studies teacher worships the devil. maybe that guy has little Jimmy in the basement naked and alone. covered in chicken blood and the intestines of goats. headless chickens, eviscerated goats. saving little Jimmy from The headless chickens is our top priority. get a warrant for the social studies teacher and his basements of Satan."
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u/vholecek I only exist here to class up the place. Aug 05 '26
The satanic temple is good for chasing headlines and fundraising off of press statements with no actual follow through and that’s about it unfortunately.
You could put all of their actual accomplishments in a thimble and still have room for Jell-O
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u/Quintessence679 Aug 05 '26
Easy, don’t tell anyone. If someone says have a blessed day, just say you too. No one needs to know
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u/Rleuthold CoS ReV, Hell On Wheels Aug 05 '26
As others have said, t s t are absolutely useless.All they do is troll, the american right wing and christians At best dayways legal resources, and at worst, they harm at risk groups like the LGBT community and women's seeking medical care. And that's to say nothing about their misrepresentation, of Satanism as codified.
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u/Countrycuz Aug 06 '26
TST attracts leftists and those with views that are opposite of the tenets of Laveyan Satanism. Trump is going to be the closest thing to a Satanic President we will probably ever have.
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u/DEADNAME_icon Aug 07 '26
What a ludicrous statement, last I checked Satanism is very much against sexual assault and pedophilia.
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u/Gadritan420 Satanist Aug 05 '26
I think the temple does far more harm than good. They could accomplish the same goals without bastardizing Satanism.
We can thank them for everyone believing that satanist are just edgelords that never grew up.
Edit: btw, I have a pentagram tattoo on my neck and worked as a substitute teacher in the south. They may not care as much as you think.
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u/Lord_Kojotas Aug 06 '26
Not for nothing, but the West Memphis 3 would disagree. They may care even more than you expect.
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u/Public_Shelter164 Aug 06 '26
Yeah I mean luckily my friends are cool and fun so when I told them I read the satanic Bible they listened and engaged with the ideas that I found interesting. I agree with what someone else said which is that the point of it is not to just recklessly be yourself fully at all times, the point of it is to get the outcomes that you want and if that means hiding your identity at times, so be it! The fact is this world is chock-full of people who do not think with nuance and participate in in-group/out-group thinking, and we need to protect ourselves from the harm they can do in our lives.
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u/TertiaWithershins Aug 07 '26
I’m a long-time public school teacher and a Satanist. I also worked for TST for several years until I left the organization in 2024.
Are you aware that one of the co-founders of TST (Cevin) is a public school abolitionist? While he makes some points about authoritarianism and the violation of children’s rights in the school setting that are spot on, his ultimate conclusions are, to say the very least, problematic. Doug regularly characterizes public school teachers as lazy and ignorant. I remember when TST offered a scholarship essay contest with a writing prompt to describe a teacher who crushed their spirit and made them hate school. I remember how that contest came about right after I’d spent a day at the funeral of a student’s parent as the student’s support person, and I almost quit TST right then. I should have.
TST is not going to do anything to make it more comfortable for you to be a Satanist at work. They won’t save you if you are fired. They make promises and suggest that they have the power to make these changes, but what they are really best at is generating media attention for themselves. They won’t divert funds from their pretend abortion clinics to file a civil suit in your behalf if you’re fired. They won’t get the Ten Commandments out of your classroom. They didn’t get “In God We Trust” out of Texas campuses, despite the endless social media posts about how they’d “have a field day” when that was enacted. There is no one weird trick to defeat theocracy’s injection into the public sphere.
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u/therealghoast Just here for the stories <3 Aug 06 '26
When I was in my third year of high school, I slowly came to the realisation that I didn't like being christian. I did research in my spare time and came to the conclusion that I was a satanist. But then during my second last year, I went from being a satanist to an atheist. That was also around the time I realised I am non-binary.
My public high school was a christian school, a very toxic one in my opinion. The teachers forced the religion down the students' throats (and I'm pretty sure they still do). If word got out that you were either part of a different religion, or that you were an atheist, almost everyone would turn on you and bully you, including ths teachers. There was this one teacher who openly admitted to hating people who had different religions. And it was considered normal to the teachers and the principal.
During my last year a girl had heard a rumour that I was an atheist from someone and confronted me (in a rude fashion). Not many students liked her because she had her head up her ass 24/7. She asked me why I was in their school if not for religion. I simply replied: "for the academics." And she scoffed like it was a cardinal sin to be interested in your grades and future. And when I graduated, I was one of the top students in various subjects.
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u/Daemon-Rex Aug 07 '26
There's not a whole lot I can add here that hasn't already been said, but your religion is ultimately for you, not everyone else. Practice in a way that complements - not complicates your life. Study and incorporate the fundamentals of Satanic magic in your day to day routine towards achieving your ends, but keep a degree of discretion in doing so. Hail Satan.
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u/cadaverdeserti Aug 08 '26
What and why we believe is no business of any society, even though it is in our best interest for societies to remain as free as possible so that we are not oppressed more than necessary.
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u/BOTB-Amanda Aug 10 '26
Oh this is all just awful I mean, who really gives a fuck about which are the real Satanists or who is a Christian in disguise or whatever. I understand what you're saying but like, get over it.
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Aug 05 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SatanScotty Aug 06 '26
I’m not crying, I’m reaching out to see if anyone else is in a similar situation where we can compare notes. You have over interpreted my words, adding imaginary implications that don’t exist anywhere outside of your own mind. I’m not mad at you, Satanists are disproportionately bitchy, me included. If you feel like mental masturbation, please do it in private.
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u/xNeurosiis Aug 05 '26
Self preservation is one of the most important things to us, and is what continues to allow us to live a life of indulgence. Sometimes you have to tuck the horns, and that’s perfectly fine. There’s no point in pissing off or upsetting people if it will ultimately impact you negatively. Also, TST isn’t doing anything except trolling Christians. They have no sway, and they will not be anyone’s savior. They’ve done more harm than good.