The weekend of Walpurgisnacht 2015 marked the beginning of the 50th year of the founding of the Church of Satan in 1966 C.E. (Year 1, Anno Satanas).[1] To commemorate the event, a conclave was held in a secret location somewhere in the United States, and I was in attendance. The Church of Satan celebrates itself according to its prime tenet: Life is the Great Indulgence: Death the Great Abstinence. What better way to rejoice life than a bacchanalia of food, music, booze, and burlesque?

On this rare occasion of being among Satanists, the topic of whether or not you are “out of the broom closet” came up over the course of the long weekend in multiple conversations. Risks and benefits, safety and precautions, and family and career, are all weighed and judged in order for each Satanist to make that informed choice. In this technological age, having that information public is not something to be taken lightly. Beyond the potential professional implications, there are always unstable individuals who would do you or your loved-ones harm for being a Satanist. This is not hyperbole.

By and large, most members are not openly affiliated. It is a mistake to assume that because a handful of members divulge their Satanic identities online that it is indicative of the body of the Church of Satan as a whole. The administrative authorities do not release their numbers. Even active members of the Church of Satan would not know the entirety of its membership beyond their limited first-hand experience. There are members who never attend events, rarely socialize with other members, do not hint or imply their religion in any social media platform, and even keep their membership hidden from other members until trust is established, and even then. For some members, the repercussions would be too great.

As for myself, my membership in the Church of Satan is an open secret. I do not divulge it publicly, but my family and close friends are aware, as are my supervisors, and the faculty of my department. If a student of mine were to ask me directly I would simply state that I keep my religion personal. Because I teach on topics ranging a wide spectrum of religious practice and theory, I want my students to focus on the ideas and themes of the course, not my personal religion.

I am not so foolish as to assume that students have not heard rumours (as unreliable as those are) but I take a small pleasure in knowing that if a student took my class thinking it would be an easy A because I am “alternative” that they will be quickly disillusioned. I am as quick to address the anti-religious bias, as I am the religious bias. Painting any religion as one big Truth is as equal to painting them all as one big Lie. True scholarship lies in being uncomfortable, in considering viewpoints drastically different from our own. The challenge is to be critical without criticizing, to analyze without witnessing. In a Western context, challenging Christian paradigms embedded in our legal, academic, and social institutions is not the same thing as disparaging Christianity itself. I never ask my students to agree with the religions we discuss (and some of them are gloriously bizarre). I do ask them to consider the entirety of the poli-socio-historical context. True objectivity does not exist, but a keen critical eye certainly does.

I mention my professional stance because it relates to my membership in the Church of Satan: anyone considering being open about their Satanic religion must demonstrate their integrity by their actions. Over the past decade I have volunteered at events, sat on committees, organized conferences, supported student initiatives, and became involved with various projects (that is in addition to maintaining my grades, teaching to the best of my ability, and pursuing my research). The supplementary effort was not an afterthought, but a calculated strategy to demonstrate that I am dependable, hard working, resourceful, and trustworthy. Non-Satanic readers may, possibly, read this admission and consider it manipulative on my part, a ruse to deceive those that placed their trust in me. On the contrary, I have done these things without shame or duplicity. I consider it an act of mutual support with a department and faculty and that has encouraged me and my fringe research, and allowed the pursuit an often-overlooked area of scholarship. I take pride in the time I invested in my department because it is an investment in my own reputation. Everybody gains. The kids call that a win-win. If someone’s negative feelings about Satanism outweigh a decade of consistent contribution and accomplishment, that is their failing, not mine.

If I have any advice for those anywhere along the spectrum of being out or not, it is to be proactive. Do not wait for someone else to gain control over this potentially dangerous bit of information. Anticipate as best you can, then act accordingly. That is Satanism in action.

[1] The Satanic calendar marks the beginning of the year as January 1st. The years are marked at the beginning (1966 C.E. is year 1 A.S.; 2015 is year 50, etc.) of a year, not the culmination. However, the Church of Satan was founded on April 30th in 1966, which LaVey named Year 1, Anno Satanas. Hence, while January 1st is the date of the new year, April 30th is the date the founding of the CoS is commemorated.