this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2026
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Yes, and that's plain old recrutiment/advertising of their cause. Proselytization refers to trying to convert someone to a religion, which they don't do.
Correct.
Yes, so an NGO. Where did I say they are a non-profit?
They do claim it's a religion. It is legally a religion. When they are recruiting, it is proselytism. Also, proselytism is part of the definition of a church in most countries, that is why, for instance, the Church of Satan is not legally a church in the US, because they do not proselytize. By their own saying and by the government, TST is a religion and they do proselytize.
You said it is just an NGO. I mean, yeah, but you could say that about pretty much anything. But clearly there is something more to it than the average NGO, with them being both a church and a couple for-profit organizations.
I've never heard of TST proselytizing. When and where have you seen this?
Please post evidence for this.
The US government is pretty hands-off when it comes to deciding what is and isn't a religion. It's that whole First Amendment thing.
Here is the CRA rule and the IRS one
Both state that "advancement of religion" is a requirement, which is quite close to proselytizing (promoting and manifesting religious belief).
The thing is that both countries were funded by christian people, so their definition of religion is biased towards it, so you can't really have an individualistic religion like satanism be recognized.
The CRA doesn't use the word "and". It's "or".
Meaning it's optional. Also, "promoting" is quite vague. TST doesn't qualify in any case, though, because what are they "manifesting, promoting, sustaining, or increasing belief" of?
So yeah. Non-theistic Satanism doesn't apply. We have reverence, we have doctrines and observances...we do not have a Supreme anything.
TST primarily operates in the USA, so the IRS code is much more relevant. Let's see which part of this applies:
That's it? "Advancement" is even more vague than "promoting"! I can do a lot of things that "advance" my religion without trying to recruit people. Adding more programs to my congregation, for example. Hey, now we have a book club! Satanism has been advanced.
In fact, I think that most Satanists would say that trying to recruit wouldn't be advancement at all...it would be a big step backwards.