Theories on The Satanic Afterlife
Many people wonder what Satanists believe about death and the afterlife. After all, Satanists are allying with the prince of darkness, and the ruler of hell. There could be some kind of punishment involved in a deal like that. But as you will see, the beliefs that Satanists have about death and the afterlife vary. Satanism is unlike many religions in that it does not offer a singular explanation on what happens in the afterlife.
Some Satanists want to end up in a place called hell, serving Satan after death. Others don’t even consider that there is a place to be after death, that there is nothing at all. What Satanists believe about the afterlife depends on who you ask. After all, no one has really proven what happens after death and we are all wondering about it. But, Satanism may provide some rational explanations to this eternal mystery.
For some would-be Satanists this is the kind of question that can prevent them from really wanting to explore Satanism at all. The looming fear of eternal punishment is constantly present for those who were raised to fear life after death. However, many Satanists just don’t accept christian definitions of what happens in the afterlife. Simply put, because Satanists aren’t Christian, the same rules do not apply. Many Satanists do not accept the Christian beliefs on the afterlife.
What Do Atheistic Satanists Believe About The Afterlife?
For instance the Church of Satan believes in a more sensible approach to life after death. For those who belong to the largest mainstream group of Satanists, who are LaVeyan or atheistic, the consideration of a life after death means almost nothing to them. They wish to live in the here and now, and it is today that is most important to them.
LaVeyan Satanists take a materialistic approach to life, so it’s no surprise that they don’t even consider there is a life after death. they believe in making the most of the here and now and living life for today. If other people even considered this, they might live their life in a better way knowing that this is their one and only chance to really live.
Atheistic and LaVeyan Satanists only recognize Satan in a symbolic way, so their views on what happens after death are quite simple and easy to understand. To understand this, here is the opinion of Peter Gilmore, the current High Priest of the Church of Satan: “Satanism is for the living, if we can we will cheat death at every turn, to continue living well.” The Church of Satan advocates living life to the fullest, so the consideration of an afterlife doesn’t really matter. What is important is taking advantage of the material world, and the material world is for the living.
A point that they also make is that the memory of a person’s life lives on long after they are gone. Anton LaVey spoke about this in the Satanic Bible when he discussed respect and how it will make you live on long after you are gone. In his quote: “Thus shall you make yourself respected in all the walks of life, and your spirit – your immortal spirit – shall live, not in an intangible paradise, but in the brains and sinews of those whose respect you have gained.”A person’s self-worth will be determined while they are living and their memory will live on with others, making this the only real kind of afterlife in the material. This is as close to an afterlife that Atheistic and LaVeyan satanists really come to.
Satanists Beliefs on Suicide and The Afterlife
But what do Satanists believe about the act of suicide? Many religions consider it to be the ultimate offense, and The Satanic Biblesome consider it to be a selfish act. While the opinion on this generally depends on who you ask, LaVeyan and atheistic satanists usually frown upon suicide, seeing it as something that is not necessary unless under extreme circumstances.
In the book, the Satanic Bible, Lavey discusses the idea of suicide and his Churches stance on it:
“Self-sacrifice is not encouraged by the Satanic religion. Therefore, unless death comes as an indulgence because of extreme circumstances which make the termination of life a welcome relief from the unendurable earthly existence, suicide is frowned upon by the Satanic religion.” And, its not because of the threat of an unknown or hellish afterlife, its simply the fact that they don’t advocate it unless it is for extreme circumstances.
Feelings and ideas about death and the afterlife are ingrained in the minds of those who have been indoctrinated into Christianity, Islam and other major world religions. These kinds of beliefs provide a way for religions to keep people on the straight and narrow by promising some kind of reward or punishment based on their behavior. In addition to this, the promise of reward or punishment seems to balance the scales in favor of those who lived a good life, and relief for those still living for them to know that a wicked person will be suffering in the afterlife. This kind of dogmatic approach makes people live their entire lives without questioning the possibilities.
The Satanic Temple’s Shocking Pink Mass
However, the Satanic temple had a shocking approach to their own ideas on the afterlife. In a ‘Pink Mass’, performed on July 14, 2013, the group did a special ritual at the graveside of Catherine Idalette Johnston, who was the mother of the founder of Westbro Baptist Church, Fred Phelps. Westbro is a controversial church that many groups have protested over the years. During this mass ritual, the intent of this blasphemous ritual was to turn Fred Phelp’s mother ‘gay in the afterlife, for eternity’.
The leader of the Satanic Temple stated during the ritual, “Fred Phelps is obligated to believe that his mother is now gay … [and] if beliefs are inviolable rights, nobody has the right to challenge our right to believe that Fred Phelps believes that his mother is now gay.” The Westbro Baptist church claims that beliefs are infallible, so through this ritual, supposedly, Fred Phelps had no choice but to believe that his mother is gay for all eternity. The mass was in response to Westbros outspoken anti-gay rallies.
What Theistic and Spiritual Satanists Believe About The Afterlife
Other more spiritual or religious Satanists have a different view on the afterlife. Writer, Diane Vera, was asked about her beliefs on the afterlife at her website, TheisticSatanism.com. She states that she doesn’t personally believe in an afterlife, but that other theistic Satanists may have different beliefs.
Diane Vera states: “I’m not dogmatic on the question of the afterlife. I don’t claim to have made an exhaustive study of all purported evidence for it. Unlike me, most theistic Satanists do believe in an afterlife of one kind or another.” It’s still a rational approach to an afterlife belief. However other theistic or religious Satanists have a deeper belief that they will be in a place called hell, at the side of Satan.
One theistic Satanist named Sophie, at her blog, believes in a literal hell similar to the one portrayed by Dante’s paradise. She believes that there is a hierarchy in hell where Satan and his demons rule over each section. She also doesn’t believe that hell is entirely a place of punishment. If you chose to be by Satan’s side you will be rewarded in some way in the afterlife. I’m sure this is a comforting thought and it is one that is often reflected by spiritual and theistic Satanists.
Other Satanists accept that there may be an afterlife but that there is no heaven or hell. At the Spiritual Satanist blog, Venus Satanas discusses how she believes that there may be an afterlife, but how it is not like heaven or hell. It could be a place where spirits are trapped in some sort of purgatory, until they one day return to the source from which they came. A spirit exists on the earth for some time until it can finally be set free.
Venus Satanas states: “Heaven is of course a convenient lie and it has left so many of these spirits stranded. I do not believe that this spirit afterlife is eternal. When a spirit goes ‘towards the light’ or is helped to the other side, it is dissipated and it no longer exists as a collective energy. The spirit is ‘stuck’ between worlds as it clings to the things that influenced the spirit during life.” She admits, however, that this is only a theory because no one has really proven that there is an afterlife.
An Overall View of What Satanists Believe What Happens After Death
In the survey, titled “The Invention of Satanism”, Satanists of all walks of life were interviewed through a survey on their afterlife beliefs. The majority of them believed that there was no afterlife. Some, however took the stance that their souls would be ‘merged with the cosmos’. Some believed in reincarnation, that their soul would exist and return to live again. Still, others believed that their soul would travel to another place after death. There was no general consensus on what people believed would happen to them after death.
So, as you can see the beliefs about the Satanic afterlife vary according to personal beliefs. Satanists are not bound to one particular belief, they are free to chose how they wish to approach this eternal question. This gives Satanists freedom to chose how they want to live their life without the burden of sin or guilt. You can enjoy the here and now and make the most of your life. It truly is a rational approach to a long-standing philosophical question.
And, for other Satanists, believing in an afterlife gives them a sense of peace or relief to believe that they will be at Satan’s side at the end of it all. Religious Satanists do not just invert the Christian belief, they have their own special way of approaching ideas on the afterlife for Satanists. And these approaches vary according to what a person chooses to believe or not believe about life after death.
In the end, no one has visited heaven or hell and had returned with any kind of real evidence. Even if they did, no one would believe them. And if heaven and hell is like how the Christians describe it, I’m pretty sure that I would prefer to be in hell. All of my old friends will be there!
References:
http://www.refinery29.com/satanist-beliefs-death-afterlife A Discussion on What Satanists Believe About The Afterlife
The Satanic Bible, Book of Satan Chapter 3, Anton LaVey on Satanism and Life
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Anton_LaVey Quote from Anton LaVey, on the subject of Suicide
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/18/pink-mass-westboro-baptist-church-gay-satanists_n_3616642.html
The Satanic Temple’s Shocking Pink Mass
http://theisticsatanism.com/Muse/FAQ-DV.html#afterlife Diane Vera’s Answer to The Afterlife Question
http://lovethedarklord.blogspot.com/2012/05/what-do-you-think-hell-is-like-6.html Theistic Satanist Sophie, Answer on The Afterlife
http://spiritualsatanistblog.com/satanism-and-the-afterlife/ Spiritual Satanist Blog, on The Afterlife
The Invention of Satanism, By Asbjørn Dyrendal, James R. Lewis, Jesper Aa Petersen, Satanist Survey on The Afterlife