This show is sponsored
by Better Help Online Therapy. Visit betterhelp.com/padilla
because sometimes existing is exhausting. My name's Anthony Padilla and today I'll be spending a day
with Satanists to learn the truth about this highly controversial religion and belief system with members assumed to partake in extreme rituals
and sacrifices. By the end of the video we'll witness what Satanist rituals really look like and why Satanism
is so highly controversial. Are Satanists people who use the idea
of Satan to celebrate free will, self-empowerment, and rebellion
against traditional religion, or are they really the worst
of what people assume them to be, devil worshipers who derive pleasure
from harming others? Hello, Mikayla. -Hi. -Jex. -Hi. -Reverend Richard-Lael Lillard. -Hello, Anthony Padilla. How are you? -How long have you been Satanists? -Four years. -17 years. -20 years. -When many people think of Satanism, they imagine naked people performing a ritual around a fir,
chanting in tongues, sacrificing an animal while making a blood oath to Satan. How accurate is that image to what you do? -We only do some of those kinds of things. Nudity, dancing around a fire,
dancing naked outside, orgies but no sacrifice; no human sacrifice, no animal sacrifice, nothing like that. -Honestly, what you're describing sounds like a death metal concert, not Satanism. -I love dancing naked around a fire. Who doesn't? -If you're brave enough to try it. What do you think is the biggest misconception
about Satanism? -They think that Satanists wear red shoes because we kill babies
to stay looking young. I will tell you this, I love children. I can just never finish
a whole one by myself. [laughter] -So many people are offended, but I'm not. -No, I'm just kidding. I was kidding. Satanists do not eat babies,
atheists don't eat babies, witches don't eat babies. We don't eat babies. -Can you define what Satanism is to you? -The value of Satanism that I identify with centers
on rethinking and rebellion. Even in a biblical sense,
Satan presented himself as a snake to Eve and offered the fruit of knowledge or the ability to be human instead of strictly enslaved to God
in this kind of bliss. It's interesting we have put in the framework of being a negative, but I think it's actually been something that has been quite liberating. It's very natural to desire things
that bring us pleasure. The idea that we should refrain from that certainly should be up
to us to decide. -It is an atheistic religion where we don't believe in God
or gods or demons or angels. For the most part, there are some who do, but for the most part, we do not. We do, however, view ourselves as a god. In our own world,
we are the creator of our own by nature of things, been given the ability to create
and to think for ourselves. Then therefore
we become our own deity, our own god. If everyone views themselves
as their own god, then yes, it's selfish to an extent,
but then everyone takes care of everybody else
because we are all our own god. -They treat themselves with the respect of a god while also treating everyone around them with the respect
of a god as well. -When they deserve it. That's the caveat. -How do they decide who deserves it? -There are sets of ideals. Basically,
it is, if you've ever read the tenets of Satanism, it's very humanistic. It's basically if I could boil them down,
don't be an ass*. -I feel like I've been living by that, the idea my whole life,
have I been a Satanist, don't be an ass*. -That's kind of the thing. Even religious people when you ask them,
do you agree with this? Do you agree with this? They'll go. "Yes, actually that makes perfect sense. Yes, that makes great sense. Yes, I agree with that." Congratulations. You agree with the tenets of Satanism. -We're just going to throw them up
on the screen right now. Just do a little quiz and let us know
how many of these you agree with. Is Satanism a religion
or an anti-religion? -It has all the defining
features of a religion. It has a set of shared ritual practices. It's a community, an aesthetic,
certainly a very long history. It's all of those things
minus the God element, minus the supernatural element. -Satan means opponent of. Even up into the New Testament if someone was called Satan
it meant you're my opponent. Is Satanism an anti-religion at its core? Absolutely
it is an anti-religion religion. -Do you believe in a literal Satan, the guy, with the horns, with the wings, that's buff and red or more
so what Satan represents? -I worship the idea
of what Satan represents. I don't believe that there's a big guy with like red skin and wings
and all of that, no. Satanism really just says, hey, do whatever you want
as long as you're not harming anyone. -I do not believe in a literal Satan. Now there are people
who claim to be Satanists that worship a literal devil. I believe that if you worship
a literal devil that you are literally a devil worshiper, not a Satanist because you don't follow
the tenets of Satan. -I don't believe that I worship anything. I worship myself. -As we all should, baby, come on. I would define myself as a Jex worshipper. -You're not on your knees worshiping
a statue of Satan saying, "I will do anything for you, master"? -No, I'm more like on my knees masturbating
in front of the mirror, getting high around candles, and listening to metallica's first record
very loud. That's my church. -Just sounds like a good Friday night. -Hell yes. -Does Satanism have any connection
to the supernatural? No, I don't believe
that there is a supernatural element. However, I believe that supernaturalism was invented by the ruling class
to impose control. -To implant this idea
that you are constantly being tempted by evil and constantly
being judged by good? -Who's defining what's good and bad, and I think that that shows the power
that these people have over us. That they are able to act
without consequence simply because they do it in the name of goodness
or in the name of God. -Is there a literal physical church or temple that Satanists congregate in? -There are places where Satanists meet. I have been host to, probably at this point,
hundreds of Satanic gatherings. Satanism is still a very taboo and scary subculture to many people so it's something
that we very much have to do in secret. -When you meet up with other Satanists, is it someone standing
in front of a large group of others saying, this is what you need to do, this is good, this is bad,
don't do this but do do this. If you do this beg for forgiveness,
that kind of thing? -No. Nobody is standing over us
telling us to do. I think that that is actually atypical to the actual practice of Satanism. Where's the justice there? Where is the checking of power? We have to be able to think for ourselves and think critically instead of taking
the word of people who literally profit off of the acceptance of their beliefs
and definitions. -Do you remember the moment
when you officially decided that you were going to become a Satanist? -I came back from a doctor's appointment. I had found out
that if I had tried to conceive kids that there was an 80% chance
that I could die from it. At the time there was a lot of stuff being thrown around about how Roe V. Wade was going to end up
getting overturned. I really was like I was looking
at my options like what if- -If you were to get pregnant
and go through childbirth, that could lead to complications
or even death? -Yes. It was a little bit of a wake-up call for me especially since I was so young. I remember how big of an activist group
the Satanic Temple was, and I really was like, "You know what, that's probably going
to be my best option here." -I was a member of a Wesleyan Church and I grew up within a Lutheran Church. It was sinful to have thoughts of lust or envy and I just remember feeling oh, so awful about myself and being like,
"Why do I have no self-control?" The reason why those kinds of guidelines are there is so that you do feel ashamed and that you do act in accordance to those who you must seek forgiveness from. That started to not sit with me very well. -I had been reading the bible
and held on to it, and I was like, "But it doesn't make sense,
and I don't believe like this." I went, "You know what,
I don't believe in the Bible and I'm more than just-- I'm not atheist,
I am an extreme anti-theist. I'm a Satanist." At the time,
my boyfriend who was a Buddhist said, "No you're not, you couldn't handle it," and I said, "I absolutely am a Satanist", and he says, "No, you're not", and I said, "Then you're not a Buddhist." He said, "Yes, I am," and I said, "Then I'm a Satanist."
It's that simple. -You don't have to be initiated
or anything like that, right? -Well, I'm going to tell you
about my initiation. I put on a long robe and I went into this dark room and I lit this candle and I raised the dagger to the sky
and then I put it down, and then I brought my computer closer and I went,
"Google, how do I become a Satanist?" Then I drink my wine. The basic thing about being a Satanist is if you adhere to the tenets of Satanism, if you decide you're a Satanist,
you are a Satanist. -Can anyone become a Satanist? -Yes, of course. Anyone from all walks of life, no matter who you are or what you are,
you can become a Satanist. -How does one do that? Do they just declare it? -Yes. It's not very sexy. Just believe it and you're good. That's it. -Some people, many watching right now, I'm sure, believe that Satanism is a cult. Do you find that to be true at all? Before we continue learning about
the world of Satanism- -He got angry one day and he drowned
my brother in the bathtub. -Oh my God. -I know you're tempted
to skip this message, but hear me out for just one second
because I want to acknowledge that so many of you found it impossible to understand the words
that were behind the heavy censorship. I spent the day with dominatrixes, which still ended up getting demonetized,
and age-gated, by the way. Did you know that YouTube literally makes you prove your age to watch the video by showing them your passport or your ID? That's real. I did not make that up. Anyway, that episode and all episodes
of the show now going forward are completely uncensored
on the podcast version of the show, with a link down in the description. If you want to hear me say [bleeps] butt-licking, [bleeps] you'll hear it all. Trust me. You're going to love it. I'd also like to thank Raycon for sponsoring this episode and supporting this series, which by the way,
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their Raycon order at buyraycon.com/spent. That's buyraycon.com/spent to save 15% on Raycon and to support this series. Now, back to the world of Satanism. Some people, many watching right now, I'm sure, believe that Satanism is a cult. Do you find that to be true? -Anything could be a cult. Has there been Satanic cults in the past? I don't know, maybe. There are defining features of a cult. It includes this charismatic leader
that everybody follows, a rejection of consequences unless that charismatic leader defines
what those are. There's a period of isolation. Satanism, intrinsically,
doesn't have those features. -I've spent a day with an ex-cult member, I've actually had two episodes
with ex-cult members, and one thing that has been defined
is this kind of othering. There's them, and then there's us,
and we are different, and maybe even we are better than,
and also the idea that if you were to leave,
there are consequences. That seems to be what defines
the cults in many ways. Is that true for Satanism? -No. That's not true for any Satanic groups
that I know about. -This is very voluntary for me. I've never been forced into this
or anything like that, and I can leave at any time
if I choose to. -So there's no punishment for leaving or changing your beliefs or learning about something else and realizing
that you align with something else more? -It's totally okay if you leave. It's not like you're losing
a part of you if you do. I don't feel like knowledge
in any way should be considered a sin. You shouldn't be exiled
for just wanting to learn about something. -How's your daily life as a Satanist different
from people who are not Satanists? -Besides the morning blood bath? -Yes, besides that. -I don't know that my life--
Is it any different? As a public Satanist, I receive a lot of death threats
on a constant basis. That's different, and certainly,
because I'm a Satanist. I don't think that it is different
in any other way. -Has Satanism affected any of your jobs
or relationships or schooling? I don't really talk to my family anymore. My father, I could never forgive him. He was a very cruel person. He got angry one day,
and he drowned my brother in the bathtub. -Oh my God. -When my mother came in,
he grabbed her and drowned her. He even grabbed my dog and drowned
that in the bathtub too. He was angry because we had not gone
to church that day. He was so angry that he decided
that he would drown my family. I'm actually lying about that
because I'm talking about if that were a true story you would not be expected
to forgive such a monster. You would not be expected to forgive.
-No. I'd say, "Did that man go to prison? Is that man serving life? Is that man being?" -That man is God. In the Old Testament as to God
not being able to find not one righteous person excepting
for Noah and his family, and so He decided to open up the windows of heaven and pour out and drown the entire Earth because he didn't like
what they were doing. He didn't like
that they weren't worshiping Him. -These are common beliefs that are so intrinsically woven
into the way that so many people think. These are beliefs that are held
as this symbol of what's good as God? The representation of all things good? -Exactly. God is love,
I hear that all the time. To me, love is not telling
your children to commit genocide. Love is not telling your children
to sacrifice their own children. The concept of hell did not exist prior
to the creation of Jesus. I do not like being threatened
with eternal damnation. I don't consider that love. If Jesus knows everything
and if Jesus knows who is going to be born and who is going to go to hell but chooses to send those people to hell, He chooses to allow them to be born, He is choosing to send them to hell to burn forever and that is not love. As far as relationships go, yes, sometimes I would start chatting with someone and then the words that would come out of their mouths
would be, "I believe in God. I worship God. I'm a Christian." Great, good for you. I'm glad that makes you happy. Have a nice life. [laughter] -I remember when it got announced on my school campus that Ted was coming in to allow us to do a Ted Talk event. I announced to the entire school that I was doing it on Satanism
and there was this audible gasp. I had people who were slipping notes
into my locker telling me that I was going to burn in hell
and that I was forever damned. They wanted me dead for what I was doing. -You were involved in the resurrection
of a Satanic monument. Can you explain what that was like? -That happened when I was working
with the Satanic Temple and it was a project that was developed in response to 10 commandment monuments at state capitals or at courthouses. The Satanic Temple came up
with an idea to build a Satanic monument and ask for it to be resurrected because of religious reasons
in the same way. Essentially, if you have a monument of Christ then you must also be able
to have a monument to Satan, to the flying spaghetti monster to anything else otherwise you are
in violation of the constitution. It has not yet to be approved to go into any-- to be installed anywhere
in any State property. I organized the original unveiling of the monument which happened in Detroit and there was massive protests. Literally, busloads of Christians from Detroit came and were singing hymns and praying outside of the building where we were trying
to just check people in. There was a downpour and the Christians were banging on all the windows and doors. I was trapped inside
with a couple of nude performers and people trying to check people
into this event. Then Lisa Ling,
this amazing reporter who's just like, "What the fuck is going on?"
I'm like, "I do not know." Somebody rented U-Haul truck
and put the statue of I think David on the back of the U-Haul
with ratchet straps and was driving around the building
where we eventually had the unveiling. Fundamentally, what it shows is the amount of Christian privilege
that exists in our country. The idea that somebody just merely having an alternative interpretation or an alternative belief system
is an attack on someone who disagrees. -It is so wild that one symbol, a statue, all it is is a metal that was carved
and shaped to look a certain way, can incite such chaos and also
at the same time joy and so many different emotions when it's just one thing
representing one idea. -Anthony, you have no idea. [laughter] -Do you celebrate any traditional holidays
from other religions? -Christmas with my friends. Just the act of gift-giving
but not anything beyond that. -I do celebrate Xmas. I don't really enjoy it. Really though in Satanism,
the number one holiday that is supposed to be special is your birthday
because it's about the self but celebrating others, that's fine. You can celebrate Christmas and Easter. They all have pagan origins anyway. -It's not like Satanists are saying, "Don't celebrate Christmas
because it has to do with Christ." -If you want to celebrate holidays,
celebrate holidays. What we do is about the indulgence of the self, so if it gives you
pleasure, enjoy it. -I don't like to participate
in most religious holidays, although I do really enjoy practicing pre-Christian traditions to mark season. Ritual is something
that we've done as a species forever. -Every single human civilization who has ever existed ever has had
some kind of rituals. -A ritual can be like the commemoration
of a national tragedy or cyclical gatherings like holidays
or birthdays or religious rights. -It's literally a ritual to say good night to someone and have them say good night
back to you. -That's a beautiful ritual. If there's anyone watching
who is deeply offended by Satanism but is open to hearing
where you're coming from, what would you say to them? -Good. It's good to be offended,
because then it makes you think, and then you can start to read. Read everything. Read your holy books, read things on Satanism,
read things on atheism. Why not? What is it going to do? Yes, it can make you question your faith, but if you cannot answer as the Bible says to do, to answer and tell anyone
why you believe, then you are not following
the great commission. -All right, you've got five seconds to shoutout or promote anything
you want directly into camera. Go. -Follow me in Instagram at @castratedangel. -You can follow my work at jexblackmore.com or on any social media network
at @jexblackmore. -Thegentlemanpsychic.com. You can find me on Twitter, Instagram,
Facebook, YouTube under @richardlaellillard
or The Gentleman Psychic. -Don't be a dick and subscribe
to Anthony Padilla. -That should be my tagline. We're just going to take that. That's my tagline forever. Well, there you have it. I spent a day with Satanists. I feel like I understand the ideas and beliefs of Satanism a little more. It's clear that there's way more to Satanism than what's typically
portrayed in the media. While it's understandable to react
with fear or even anger, it's a nice reminder to remain
inquisitive rather than jumping to assumptions
that could be based on misconception. [music] -The ritual that I do
is I get in the shower. Then, after I get out of the shower, I get dressed and I put on a suit, and then I get in my Satan-mobile. [laughter] They're so offended that I chose to have some Satanic imagery on my car. "Oh, the Devil is going to get me. I can't park next to that." -So, often you get a spare parking spot
next to you? -Yes, usually. [laughter]
This was such a GOOD video. That´s how we combat misinformation.
This was a wonderful video, I wish people were not so close minded.
This video feels like "Disney present's a festival of satanists talking about being satanists.."
Cringe.......
God is dead?
aww man i love smosh