Christians acknowledge the Devil. Satanists don’t. These are the words of Riaan Swiegelaar, cofounder and priest of the South African Satanic Church.

Satanism is the most misunderstood religion practised. Practitioners don’t believe in Satan, as most Christians do. They don’t do animal sacrifice and they’re not against Christianity. They have a goal the advertising of religious plurality.

The South African Satanic Church administers services, does Satanic Bible research and conducts community service such as women’s rights and animal welfare are priorities

They are a registered religious organisation. Their main philosophy of Satanism is living free from guilt…they say there is nothing wrong with their natural instincts but it’s about knowing yourself and becoming the optimal version of who you are, say Riaan Swiegelaar the cofounder of the South African Satanic Church.

He grew up in the 80s, at the beginning of the Satanic Panic era, in a very Afrikaans, Christian house. Satanism gets confused with Devil Worship, they do not even acknowledge the being(Satan) that people refer to as the devil. They see Satan as an archetype, an opposer of religious tyranny.

They do not condone animal sacrifice. They believe, as the inheritors of the Earth, that they should be looking after animals and their rights. Riaan Swiegelaar was a pastor in a Christian church. He says when he read the Satanic Bible, he recognised himself coming from the point of questioning things, never feeling you belong in a religion that revere external deities.

Swiegelaar and his devoutly Christian family agree to disagree. They completely respect each other. He says you’ll never find a Satanist disrespecting other beliefs. They believe all religions have their place. He also says they are here to promote religious plurality in South Africa.

“Hail, Satan!” Says Riaan Swiegelaar.

Source: AmazGist.com