“Ultimately, it seems these current references, particularly in these Netflix and FX shows, are the price we pay for being prominent in contemporary media. The shows’ producers can easily claim these are parodies. Their dialogue establishes that none of this is meant to be taken seriously, that these are over-the-top exaggerations for what are meant to be entertaining programs…

…However, these recent efforts fulfill the sort of Christian fantasies about Satanism that were rampant during The Satanic Panic. While the demographics suggest that the viewership of AHS and Sabrina likely won’t confuse these mockeries of Satanism with our legally recognized iconoclastic religion, I wouldn’t be surprised if less sophisticated viewers might take these as somehow being accurate and thereby feel they need to direct hostility towards actual Satanists who are “out” to society.

“ —Magus Peter H. Gilmore

The Rise of “The Satanic Unease”