😱 Satanic Panic¶
Estimated time to read: 13 minutes
Satan worship and other cult activities are all tools of the adversary carefully designed to enslave you and, ultimately, destroy you. The battle between good and evil is very real. We determine by the choices we make each day where we stand, what our values are, and whom we have chosen to follow.
— “Crickets” Can Be Destroyed through Spirituality, By Ardeth G. Kapp, Young Women General President, General Conference 1990 October
The Satanic Panic is a moral panic spanning the 1970's through the late 90's, and I find it absolutely fascinating. I suppose that one reason for why this non-specific cultural anxiety so thoroughly grabbed my attention is that religious teachings, rhetorical or not, overflowed into real, tangible consequences for people who were only peripherally involved with Christianity's fear-mongering culture. Since I was raised in the United States, most of my cultural perception is within this country's borders— as such, I am less informed about this moral panic's effects outside of 🇺🇸 'mericuh 🇺🇸
Above is a link to Wikipedia's description of the Satanic Panic broadly, but the site also has an article specifically about this moral panic within the state of Utah— and we now have an intersection of two topics that I can't seem to get enough reading material about.
By my estimation, this moral panic is an overreaction to teenage counter-culture. Little Suzie and Jimmy are exploring genres of music, and listening to Metallica elicits a reaction of tut-tutting disapproval from their overbearing religious parents. This gives the teenagers some level of influence and control, even catharsis against the restrictive rules imposed upon them. Cassette tapes that imply affinity for Christianity's boogeyman elicit yet a stronger reaction from scrutinizing, controlling religious parents. Drawing pentagrams and violently abusing the neighbor's dog is enough to draw anguished tears from the authority figures who teenagers were otherwise powerless against. Of course they're going to keep escalating.
A seventeen-year-old doofus who understands the game Dungeons & Dragons knows that it's a social storytelling activity. The use of dice adds entropy and parameterized unpredictability to the game's storytelling. Vanquishing the imaginary demon—only as tangible and consequential as a piece of paper can be—is a fantasy group activity. Two outcomes follow: building group cohesion with your pals, and causing your stoic, taciturn parents to panic. A win-win situation for an angsty, hormonal teenager. Of course he's going to lean into it.
Pushing boundaries is part of growing up. Every adult you've ever seen or talked to was a teenager at one point, and they'll expect "kids these days" to adhere to some unspoken or unjustified higher standard. Lather, rinse, repeat until general authorities of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints identify this as a theological crisis that must be publicly addressed. Here I've collected some of those materials—targeted exclusively toward minors. After all, this is only pertinent to kids and teenagers... right?
Music¶
Maybe I'm still a product of my sheltered upbringing, but if you were to ask me to locate and identify some dance music that glorifies Satan-worship, I wouldn't even know where to look for it. The closest matches I could think of are just counter-culture "up yours, mom & dad" teenage-angst songs. I don't know how prevalent this style of satirical music was in the 1970's, nor any "legitimate" Satanic music. I will describe below, in the context of one of the excerpts, that "Satan-worship" music is a category of its own, rather than "I snort cocaine while engaging in sodomy" qualifying as worshipful.
Reading what LDS church authorities have to say, I might conclude that "Satanic music" is so ubiquitous that every other vinyl exclusively contained musical instructions to burn Bibles or something. You know, the real foot-tappin' tunes that the cool kids are into!
How does one learn to select the best popular music? The answer to this question lies in what a song says, what a performance implies, and what kind of response is elicited. It’s quite easy to evaluate the explicit message of a song by listening to the words. If moral misconduct, the use of drugs, Satan-worship, rejection of legal authority, or any act or attitude contrary to the gospel is advocated, the song should not be used. For example, Jesus Christ, Superstar was found to be unacceptable because its doctrine is incorrect.
— Popular Music Guidelines, Ensign 1974 April
The... The doctrine is incorrect? You're telling me that a rock opera shouldn't be equated with authorized, prophetic insight? ... Okay. Thanks for clarifying. After reading that I had to check if the Life of Brian had been formally denounced as heretical, but... I guess that one was too obviously demarcated as entertainment. No results.
Guidelines for Church-Sponsored Dance Groups
Respect the high moral and ethical standards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by presenting only high quality entertainment, routines, scripts, lyrics, and actions in the best of taste. There shall be no profanity, swearing, vulgarity, or suggestive stories; no reference to sexual promiscuity, alcohol, drugs, or other harmful substances; no disrespect for family, country, or other worthwhile institutions; no reference to Satan-worship or sympathy, or any other practice that is contrary to the best standards of behavior of our society; nor shall there be any profane usage of the names of Deity.
— FYI: For Your Information, New Era 1975 March
I will observe that this quote clearly distinguishes "profanity, swearing, vulgarity," "references to sexual promiscuity, alcohol, drugs," and "disrespect for ... institutions" each as separate clauses from Satan-worship. Those aspects in a song do not qualify the song as Satan-worship. They are not mutually exclusive, nor are they the criteria. "Satan-worship" songs are not songs about sex, drugs, rock 'n roll, etc. They are their own category.
Added bonus: at the top of this article is the following "Editors' Note (updated Feb. 2020):"
Articles in the magazines archive may reflect the terms and language of an earlier time. Current messages on disabilities and the gospel are available here.
As promised, they do use some "terms and language" that today's sensibilities call distasteful. I'm not trying to comment on political correctness, but rather observe that a publication led by prophets and apostles (or their delegated correlation committee) lacked the foresight that necessitates an editor's note to be added 45 years after distribution.
Satanic Songs. Moroni 7:17 tells us that anything that persuades us to do evil (such as the songs referred to in the previous sections) is ultimately “of the devil.” But, unfortunately, several groups have progressed beyond merely trying to persuade us to do evil. By their own boasting, many have become heavily involved in the occult, in witchcraft, in black magic, and in Satan worship itself. Such groups use their music and their lyrics to spread this mysticism and demonology to their listening public.
— A Closer Look at Popular Music, Ensign 1983 March
"These bands whose livelihood depends on counter-culture have said that they're engaged in both black magic and Satanism! We should take this claim at face value and not take time to critically evaluate it."
Bro they're deliberately trying to elicit a reaction from you. Tell me there isn't a teenager, only permitted to read from The Ensign to pass the time on a boring Sunday afternoon, who reads this and thinks "that sounds totally metal 🤘 I'm going to go and buy some now." This is free marketing.
I know this was written in the early 80's, but this publication led by prophets and apostles (or their delegated correlation committee) is using the same misguided reasoning behind the failed D.A.R.E. program— if we tell kids & teenagers about how bad hallucinogenic drugs are, they're more likely to seek out & obtain hallucinogenic drugs. If we tell kids & teenagers about how 'this garbage that you call music' has witchcraft and Satanism in it, the kids are more likely to encounter and consume it than if they had been left to chance... because that makes it sound rad as hell. If this prudish business suit doesn't like it, that must mean it is both gnarly and bodacious.
This quoted paragraph is part of a lengthy address, and I'll ask that you go read the opening statements. It sounds really familiar to the rhetoric I grew up with, but one generation earlier. I'm one of those lazy & entitled Millennials (albeit on the younger end of that age range,) and clearly remember as an impressionable teenager being warned of the terrible danger being beamed directly into my ear-holes by the foul temptress Katy Perry. Not only did she kiss a girl, but—you're never going to believe this—she liked it. The world's gone to hell in a handbasket, I tell you. I was fifteen or so when that song was being played on the radio, and I distinctly remember my ward's bishop calling a priesthood meeting with exactly as much hand-wringing and pearl-clutching as you're imagining, to tell us all about how this song is clearly the work of Satan to corrupt our generation's innocent youths.
This Ensign article seems to be the exact same message, just iterated twenty years earlier. Looking back on my experience, that bishop took a particular interest in teenage boys whacking off. Definitely didn't have any lasting repercussions that stuck with me well into my thirties, nope
Other avenues¶
You thought that throwing your radio out the window would save you from Hollywood's demonic influence? Think again!
A warning: there is a dark side to spiritual things. In a moment of curiosity or reckless bravado some teenagers have been tempted to toy with Satan worship. Don’t you ever do that! Don’t associate with those who do! You have no idea of the danger! Leave it alone! And there are other foolish games and activities that are on that dark side. Leave them alone!
— To Young Women and Men, Boyd K. Packer, General Conference 1989 April
👻 beWaaAaArE 🎃 of the Parker Bros.' 1890 patented board game! 💀
I'm being persecuted!¶
In this war against the Saints, Satan does not hesitate to use power. “Force,” President David O. McKay has said, “emanates and comes from Lucifer himself.” (Gospel Ideals [Improvement Era publication, 1953], p. 302.) Satan often rules people through dictatorships and other forms of compulsion and force. When Satan’s power is strong in government, severe restrictions are imposed on worship, travel, communications, and other precious rights and activities. Even where more democratic governments operate he remains active in sponsoring criminal gangs, witchcraft, Satan worship, evil and secret organizations, and other groups that run counter to the principles of the gospel. These groups all attempt to use force and fear to achieve their ends.
— The Adversary, New Era, 1975 September
I know this isn't the point being made but it sure does have war on Christmas vibes.
Also, observe how LDS church leadership backed off of identifying Satanic influence in government at about the same time of McCarthysim cooling down. I bet it's just a coincidence, not related at all.
“We occasionally receive reports from some areas about the activities of people who engage in ritualistic practices including forms of so-called Satan worship.
“We express love and concern to innocent victims who have been subjected to these practices by conspiring men and women. We are sensitive to their suffering and assure them that help is available through the mercy and love of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
— Policies and Announcements, Ensign 1992 June
My understanding of these "ritualistic practices" is that a therapist will hound a patient until said patient concedes that "okay, yeah, we sacrificed fetuses or whatever, get off my back" which admission is indisputable proof of Satan's demonic summoning-circles. Yeah, I guess they were victims, but if anything they were being predated upon by therapists subversively convincing a patient that they had been abused, but just forgot about it since it was too traumatic. You tell me what role Satan had there.
Crazy how the church stopped talking about those reports once the moral panic fizzled out. Seems that Satan either gave up, or got scared off by the release of Windows 95.
Occult¶
The occult includes Satan worship. It also includes mystical activities that are not in harmony with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Such activities include (but are not limited to) fortune-telling, curses, and healing practices that are imitations of the priesthood power of God (see Moroni 7:11–17). Church members should not engage in any form of Satan worship or participate in any way with the occult. They should not focus on such darkness in conversations or in Church meetings.
— General Handbook § 38.6.12 The Occult
Oh. That's not from the 80's, that's... that's still in there today.
This fixation on the occult is something I find to be a strange double-standard. Other varieties of Christianity "draw near unto [God] with their lips, but their hearts are far from me," "all the churches were wrong," or are simply "playing church." But those occultists—and we all know an occultist or two, right?—they need to be denounced. They need to be clearly marked not simply as imposters, nor to be treated with the same kind of condescension toward other religions for not having the priesthood™️, but they need their own section in the General Handbook because they're so nefarious.
From a Mormon perspective, how is an occultist any different from a Baptist preacher? Occultists are signified as being able to imitate priesthood power, such as healing practices. If a Baptist preacher tries to heal by the power of God, it's not authorized, so nothing happens. But if an occultist tries it, that's different. They are evidently able to tap into some power that is greater than the misguided variations of Christianity. But at the end of the day, neither are "authorized" by God, so any attempt at a healing practice would be equally ineffective... right?