The United States of America has recognized Satanism as a religion. Well, the West's idea of secularism has always been different from India. In India, there has been communal violence, it is not that a particular religion hates the gods or God of the other religion, rather it springs out from the intolerance or hatred towards the community following that religion. Interestingly, when we talk about Satan worship or followers of Satan in Nagaland, the hate is for the god (Satan) they worship, not the followers. The followers are just considered as lost souls.
Covid 19 pandemic showed the lacuna in the medical facility across the world, poor infrastructure marked by unpreparedness. If Satanism blooms in Nagaland, does it reflect the weakness or inability of Church in bringing souls closer to Jesus? No!
Religion or preference to worship a particular god or goddess or deity, relies on an individual. It cannot be forced. How long can forced conversion or brainwashing work, after all, at the end of the day, it all comes down to personal experience.
For any religion to grow, the theoretical foundation should be strong. Nothing offers a bigger basis for understanding its epistemological framework than its holy book. The Satanic Bible in itself has faced lots of criticism. Founder of Satanism and author of Satanic Bible Anton LaVey has been criticized for plagiarizing sections, and there are various accusations that his philosophies are largely borrowed. Hence, I wonder why Naga youths would blindly follow Satan, when his foremost disciple could not even produce a standard piece of work.
Maybe, those youths who are fascinated by Satan must have been made to think that they will achieve greatness by believing in Satan. But the truth is, no matter whatever religion one follows, if one does not have the talent, perseverance, hard work or networking and a 'moment of opportunity meets preparedness', then greatness will remain just a word in their lives.
I am of the opinion that, the discussion surrounding satanic worship in Nagaland is just a mere paranoia and nothing to panic about. No doubt, the church should take measures, if only there is a growing prevalence. But the question should be not, 'What made you choose Satan as your God?' or 'Why did you choose Satan as your God?' or 'How did you end up choosing Satan?', the question should be, 'Where do you think, you are going to spend your eternity?' Because the answer to this question is marked by opposing views even among the Satanists.
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