Africa Check(Africacheck.org), a non-profit fact checking organisation has revealed that the South African Satanic Church has been officially registered.
The church was launched in February 2020 and as of 26 May 2020, an article of its official registration has been by hundreds of thousands of people on Facebook.
However, Facebook’s fact-checking system flagged it as being false but it has now been confirmed as true, the church has been registered.
Many thought the church was a branch of the Church of Satan, or the Satanic Temple, both based in the US, however, they have clarified it saying they are on their own.
On its website, they have emphatically stated that its members do not “worship the ‘Devil’”, nor do they perform sacrifices, invoke spirits, or curse people.
They also claimed that the church is “NOT anti-God, anti-Allah or anti-Buddha”.
Additionally, they stated that;
“We do not believe in any external deity that could be worshipped”. Instead, members “revere Satan as an Archetype for our true nature”. Or as they put it: “Hail Yourself! Hail Satan!”
Speaking on the church’s registration, a co-founder identified as Riaan Swiegelaar, in a radio interview on Cape Talk on 21 May said;
“We are a registered religious organization as of February with the Department of Social Development.”
The church has been registered as they can be found on the CIPC database as “SA Satanic Church” with the registration number K2020075466.
