Satanic Panic: Moral Turmoil in the United States, 1960-1999
Format
Oral Presentation (Research Day, April 30)
Faculty Mentor Name
Jennifer Helgren
Faculty Mentor Department
History
Abstract/Artist Statement
This research paper is looking at Satanic panic from the 1960's-1990's and moral turmoil in the United States. Satanic panic is a moral panic, where a society experiences a panic fearing their morals are threatened. The purpose is to show the social and cultural impacts, and negative and positive impacts it had on the United States. The research collected for this paper came from online archival resources, digital libraries, history and religion professors at the University of the Pacific, and discussions with a ranking member of a Satanic organization. It answers what fueled satanic panic, which was the popularization of Satanism through prominent satanist Anton LaVey, media coverage, and different art forms. It discusses that anything that went against the conservative culture at the time, like social/political movements or obscene music, were considered Satanic. And it shows that the understanding of Satanism shifted from a practiced religion to the corruption of a “morally correct” nation. The ultimate ramifications of this panic left a divide between those who worry about keeping a “morally correct society” and those who do not fit into that “morally correct” mold.
Location
Yosemite Learning Lab, William Knox Holt Memorial Library and Learning Center
Start Date
30-4-2022 1:20 PM
End Date
30-4-2022 1:39 PM
Satanic Panic: Moral Turmoil in the United States, 1960-1999
Yosemite Learning Lab, William Knox Holt Memorial Library and Learning Center
This research paper is looking at Satanic panic from the 1960's-1990's and moral turmoil in the United States. Satanic panic is a moral panic, where a society experiences a panic fearing their morals are threatened. The purpose is to show the social and cultural impacts, and negative and positive impacts it had on the United States. The research collected for this paper came from online archival resources, digital libraries, history and religion professors at the University of the Pacific, and discussions with a ranking member of a Satanic organization. It answers what fueled satanic panic, which was the popularization of Satanism through prominent satanist Anton LaVey, media coverage, and different art forms. It discusses that anything that went against the conservative culture at the time, like social/political movements or obscene music, were considered Satanic. And it shows that the understanding of Satanism shifted from a practiced religion to the corruption of a “morally correct” nation. The ultimate ramifications of this panic left a divide between those who worry about keeping a “morally correct society” and those who do not fit into that “morally correct” mold.