The Dangers of Calling Horrific Actions "Satanic" or People "Satanists"

Whether or not you are a progressive or a conservative, an atheist or a Christian, you may use the term “Satanic” to describe a terrible action or thing, or describe any terrible person as a “Satanist.” However, this is a very dangerous thing to do for many reasons, from helping push the Church’s generational and hateful narratives, to continuing the stereotyping and scapegoating of an entire religious group.

Organized religion has always come with corruption and scandals, causing many to leave their places of worship out of disgust. This problem is especially prevalent in American Christianity, with churches constantly coming under fire for covering up child abuse, while promoting hatred towards LGBTQ+ groups. In order for these churches to keep their power, which required spreading fear amount their members, they would push the narrative of outside music and individuals being “Satanic” and “evil.” This especially became prevalent during the Satanic Panic, where churches were heavily pushing the narrative of “Devil-worshippers coming after our kids” during a time where allegations against priests were growing fast. This is why it is important to not call things “Satanic,” especially when related to horrific crimes like child abuse, as you are only continuing the distracting narrative of these corrupt churches that are actually abusing kids. It would be the equivalent of calling any terrorist attack “Islamic” or “Jewish,” which is wrong and bigoted.

Satanists are a real religious group that is growing around the world, with some Satanic organizations reporting hundreds of thousands of members. Because of the hateful narratives around Satanism and Devil-related imagery, Satanists have faced an uphill battle when it comes to discrimination and harassment, including an attempted bomb attack on the headquarters of a U.S Satanic group. This is an important reason why you should not call terrible people “Satanists,” as you are linking an entire religious group to a terrible person who is likely not even in the religion. It would be the equivalent of calling anyone who molests a child a “goddamn Muslim” or “goddamn Jew,” which is stereotypical and bigoted.

The whole concept of blindly calling everything “Satanic” is built on fear and bigotry, as opposed to logic and reason. The Satanic Panic was never about thinking logically or solving problems, instead it was about spreading fear. By calling something “Satanic,” you shut down critical thinking on what could be serious allegations or crimes, since you are using fear without logic to push a narrative, intentionally or not.

By continuing to call any terrible person a “Satanist” or a terrible action “Satanic,” you are pushing a generational moral panic that actively hurts people, while shutting down any form of critical thinking on important issues. Just be more careful with your words, especially when referring to a religious group, otherwise you are just being a bigot.