Western Influence Blamed for Spread of Satanism

Satan-worshipping groups in the Christian-majority Indian state of Mizoram are waging an anti-Christian campaign by burning Bibles, vandalizing churches and defiling cemeteries.

One such group entered a church after midnight on July 24 and burned Bibles, urinated on the pulpit and tore up pictures of the Virgin Mary and Jesus.

"It appears they sacrificed an animal on the pulpit and splattered its blood on the altar and chair of the worship leader," said the Rev. B. Sangthanga, the head pastor of the church in the Kolasib district of the northeastern Indian state.

"Last year, some young men of our village confessed to worshipping Satan. Our investigation has found that the same group is behind this attack on the church."

Mr. Sangthanga said the acts of vandalism "carry signatures of the Mizo Satan followers. ... Now their attack on our church proves that the number of Satanists is growing across the state with village youths joining them."

The villagers did not report the attack to the police, choosing instead to pray for "God's intervention to help the misguided youths return to the right path."

But other recent incidents have led to the arrests of young Satan worshippers on charges of vandalism at religious places.

Most were briefly detained and released with a scolding. The youths -- most in their late teens or early 20s -- tend to be high-school dropouts and often are drug users, a police investigation found.

One study found there were as many as 95 Satan-worshipping groups in Mizoram. More than 50 cases have been reported in which the groups vandalized churches, burned Bibles or defiled cemeteries.

Some of them conduct midnight gatherings at isolated cemeteries, where they are reported to dance naked, slash their wrists in ritual blood offerings and chant invocations to Satan. They sometimes write graffiti in their blood, leaving messages such as "dog si nataS" -- the reverse of "Satan is god."

Mizoram church leaders blame bad Western influences for the growth of the groups.

"When, three years ago, a girl-only [satanic group] was caught by village elders while performing some bizarre rituals, the girls, who were all high-school dropouts, admitted that [they had been] influenced by the Hollywood movie 'The Craft,'" said a church leader in the Aizawl district.