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Satanic Ritual Abuse?
I thought this was an interesting article about some of the crazy beliefs people have regarding Satanists. Enjoy.
Satanic ritual abuse, or SRA, is a practice of an alleged organized network of Satanists engaging in brainwashing and abuse of victims, especially children, throughout the United States or even the world. The term Satanic Ritual Abuse is often used interchangeably with Sadistic Ritual Abuse, a broader term that refers to any and all ritualistic abuse. This is especially the case in psychology. Claims of Satanic Ritual Abuse remain controversial and law enforcement sources, criminologists, psychologists, and religious affairs commentors generally consider this belief false or at least grossly exaggerated. At present, press and media figures and much of the public treats claims of Satanic ritual abuse with great skepticism. Many sociologists class the public outcry in the 1980s concerning SRA as an example of a public moral panic.
It is important to note that modern satanism (or LaVeyan satanism) does not condone unnecessary violence or ritual killing, especially with regards to children.
Prevalence
Those who believe that there is organized Satanic ritual abuse going on in the United States claim that large numbers of people there are ritually murdered annually. Some sources claim Utah State Prison psychologist Al Carlisle estimated between 40,000 to 60,000 people are ritually murdered annually in the US. However, Al Carlisle was quoting another person's estimate, and acknowledged the figure would have to be much lower. The FBI Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) statistics list only 16,504 total homicides reported to law enforcement in 2003. See Crime in the United States - 2003. However, it must also be remembered that the Uniform Crime Report records only the crimes reported to police.
There is no generally accepted evidence of any murders due to SRA. Despite widespread claims, no firm evidence of any organized network of Satanic ritual abuse has been presented in court. The panic slowly faded in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance concludes: "In the early 1990s, we analyzed reports on SRA from both believers and skeptics. We tentatively concluded that the skeptics are correct; there is no international Satanic conspiracy ritually abusing and murdering children. We have been tracking the SRA movement ever since, and have not seen any hard evidence to change our conclusions." One FBE special investigator, however, says that 'the majority of victims alleging "ritual" abuse are in fact victims of some form of abuse or trauma.
Historical origins
The belief that certain people worship evil principles or entities, and use magic powers against others, commonly known as witchcraft, is probably as old as mankind and can today still be found in many cultures. For example the early Christian writer Epiphanius of Salamis in the fourth century CE accused the Gnostic sect of the Borborites of abortion and consuming the babies.
The earliest claims that organised groups systematically and repeatedly torture and kill others in the context of devil worship can be found in the European witch-panics. For instance, in 1334 there was a trial of 63 presumed witches in Toulouse, France, who were accused of worshipping Satan, eating infant flesh, engaging in sexual orgies with others and with Satan himself. Eight of them were burned and the rest imprisoned. Earlier witch panics are usually not well documented, especially when there was no official trial. Witchhunting in Europe reached a peak in the 16th and 17th centuries, when many mass trials against presumed worshippers of Satan took place.
Even though some religious fundamentalists continue to believe in the occult power of witchcraft, most religious leaders deny that actual magic exists and denounce these accusations. They typically characterize the accused to have been singled out for being mentally ill or otherwise different. The Roman Catholic Church continues to appoint exorcists and teach that Satan is "the prince of this world", and that the work of mediums and spiritualists, even when not ordered directly towards Satan, is opening the door to him. Prominent exorcists like Father Gabriele Amorth have claimed that witchcraft is the source of 90% of demonic afflictions.
Modern times
Contemporary reports of SRA began occurring as early as the 1960s (notably, this coincided with depictions of satanic cults in popular fictional media, such as the film Rosemary's Baby). Following the publication of books purportedly by survivors or perpetrators, concern over SRA became more prominent, and in the 1980s a "Satanic panic" appeared to descend on some American Christian communities. According to the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance, an "SRA industry" sprang up in this period, with self-appointed experts taking money to educate law enforcement and private citizens on the alleged threat.
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