Satan Wants You

So-called satanic cults in the U.S. are investigated in this survey by Lyons (The Second Coming: Satanism in America) who shows that many claims regarding Satanist conspiracies do not hold up to scrutiny. He documents the historical roots of devil worship in ``black Masses,'' sexual orgies and other rites and practices. He views contemporary charges of Satanism against such flamboyant groups as the Church of Satan, founded by self-proclaimed Satanic high priest LaVey, as evolving from media hype and hysteria. A theologian quoted here notes ``very little of what is currently being called Satanism is actually religious phenomena, let alone a religious movement.'' From his study of supposed satanic cults and their widely differing orientations, Lyons demonstrates only that people have emotional and psychological needs that provoke strange behaviors. (June)