satanism?

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Is Satanism more popular among atheists or theists?

That depends which kind of Satanism we are talking about. LaVeyan Satanists are atheists, since they don't believe in a supernatural entity called Satan or in any other supernatural entity. As an atheist of the secular humanist variety I don't agree with their life philosophy, but they are atheists nonetheless.

Stereotypical devil worshippers, such as teenage kids who find it cool to celebrate black masses in cemeteries, are technically theists. Their Satan is a supernatural entity. I would even call the figure of Satan in the Christian mythology a deity, comparable to the Greek underworld god Hades.

I mean, Christianity has never been a monotheistic religion. There is Yahewh, Jesus, and a large number of angels. It doesn't matter if you call them Hermes or Gabriel, they are lesser supernatural beings in the same pantheon. According to some Christians, there is also a bunch of demons, as well as the virgin Mary and a ton of saints. It follows that Satan, the fallen angel and Christian equivalent of Prometheus, is a deity as well. People who worship a literal, supernatural Satan are therefore theists, unlike LaVeyan Satanists.

I'm not very fond of the Catholic Church and think that some of the leaders, including the pope, should be behind bars for hushing up and aiding in sexual child abuse. But even I don't believe that they are Satanists. That comparison might be offensive to actual Satanists.

It is entirely possible for people to worship the Christian god and nonetheless commit crimes against humanity. Just look at the history of the Christian religion. Making the biggest offenders out to be Satanists is intellectually dishonest, imho.

As for offending self-professed 'satanists' its just a word, a symbol; we almost certainly assign a very different meaning to it so its not something worth getting upset about. No-one has ownership of the word so arguing which group is using the correct definition would be a bit silly wouldnt it? as far as im concerned were just talking in a different dialect.

I have a specific concept in mind when i use the word, its not a definition i was taught or read in a book or occult publication; one day i looked at the world as a whole with fresh eyes and i 'got it'. Im not the first person to 'get it', many people have had the same realisation and so naturally it has a name, the word 'satan' just fits perfectly.

In the sense that i understand the concept of satan, the catholic church (in particular) is absolutely satanic; i believe it actively destroys the teachings of christ. (probably all organised religion destroys the teachings of christ to some degree) It could not be more satanic if it donned corpse-paint and formed a black metal quartet.

I agree that the Catholic Church doesn't act very Christian, if being Christian means to act like Jesus. You're probably coming at this from the "false prophets / wolves in sheep's clothing" angle. But if you apply that Christian-centric measuring stick, wouldn't non-Christian religions also be a form of Satanism? I mean, if you think that it's either god/Jesus or Satan, what about people who worship Vishnu?

Personally, I would call Catholics "Paulians" rather than Satanists. They clearly place more importance on Paul's writings than on the gospels. But in the end it's all the same to me. There are thousands of Christian denominations, and many of them have a Bible-based dogma that I consider very harmful to humanity (unlike the faith of very moderate Christians who focus entirely on the gospel content).