Christianity has spawned many offshoot religions and for the most part, they read the same Bible and worship a singular God. However, no faith stands in greater opposition to Christianity than Satanism. Satanism in concept has been around for centuries, however, the official Church of Satan was formed in 1966 by Anton LaVey. LaVey is widely considered the Father of Satanism, having published “The Satanic Bible” in 1969. In “The Satanic Bible,” LaVey outlined the ethics of the faith and the Nine Satanic Statements:

• Satan represents indulgence, instead of abstinence!

• Satan represents vital existence, instead of spiritual pipe dreams!

• Satan represents undefiled wisdom, instead of hypocritical self-deceit!

• Satan represents kindness to those who deserve it, instead of love wasted on ingrates!

• Satan represents vengeance, instead of turning the other cheek!

• Satan represents responsibility to the responsible, instead of concern for psychic vampires!

• Satan represents man as just another animal, sometimes better, more often worse than those that walk on all-fours, who, because of his “divine spiritual and intellectual development,” has become the most vicious animal of all!

• Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification!

• Satan has been the best friend the church has ever had, as he has kept it in business all these years!

Over the next few decades, Satanism continued to grow in popularity (alongside other New Age religions and practices), which eventually led to the Satanic Panic that boomed during the 1980s and 1990s. Today, there continues to be panic surrounding depictions of Satan in media, most recently in rapper Lil Nas X’s music video for his single “Montero (Call Me By Your Name)”—which sparked outrage amongst Christian influencers. It’s nothing new and likely, the Satanic Panic won’t be coming to an end any time soon. Luckily, most of the mainstream world are able to separate legitimate devil worship from artistic expression.

In honor of Satanism’s unique and fascinating history, take a peek at 66 tattoos depicting Satanic imagery. Then let us know your thoughts on this story in the comments section on social media.