The Satanic panic is a moral panic consisting of over 12, unsubstantiated cases of Satanic ritual abuse SRA , sometimes known as ritual abuse , ritualistic abuse , organized abuse , or sadistic ritual abuse starting in the United States in the s, spreading throughout many parts of the world by the late s, and persisting today.
The panic originated in with the publication of Michelle Remembers , a book co-written by Canadian psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder and his patient and future wife , Michelle Smith, which used the controversial and now discredited practice of recovered-memory therapy to make claims about satanic ritual abuse involving Smith.
The allegations, which arose afterward throughout much of the United States, involved reports of physical and sexual abuse of people in the context of occult or Satanic rituals. Some allegations involve a conspiracy of a global Satanic cult that includes the wealthy and elite in which children are abducted or bred for human sacrifice , pornography , and prostitution.
Nearly every aspect of the ritual abuse is controversial, including its definition, the source of the allegations and proof thereof, testimonies of alleged victims, and court cases involving the allegations and criminal investigations. The panic affected lawyers, therapists, and social workers who handled allegations of child sexual abuse. Allegations initially brought together widely dissimilar groups, including religious fundamentalists, police investigators, child advocates, therapists, and clients in psychotherapy.
The term satanic abuse was more common early on; this later became satanic ritual abuse and further secularized into simply ritual abuse.
