How often have you heard some variation of this cliche? "We Satanists are law-abiding folks..."

What people usually mean when they say this is something like, "We don't go around murdering people. We don't perform human sacrifice. We don't commit ritualistic abuse or molest children." In other words: "Satanists are moral, socially responsible people."

But to say "law-abiding" when you mean "moral" or "responsible" is to imply that legality is the same as morality. Satanists should be willing to think for themselves and challenge dogma and authority, including the authority of the law to arbitrate what is "moral." Not to mention that laws depend on jurisdiction, so saying Satanists as a whole are "law-abiding" doesn't make much sense without specifying which laws you're referring to. Some laws exist for good reasons. Others don't. And even justifiable laws can be disproportionately enforced against marginalized groups while others get away with breaking them.

In reality, it's likely that the majority of people reading this have broken the law at least one in their lives. The following is a rather US-centric list as I live in the US. If you live in a country with more restrictive laws, you may have broken many more.

Have you ever pirated media? That's illegal. Some "law-abiding" Satanists clearly have no problem with illegal plagiarism of copyrighted material. Have you ever run a red light, or failed to come to a complete stop at a stop sign? Those are illegal traffic violations, even if no other cars were around. Have you sold something without a permit? Have you ever smoked marijuana in a state where it was illegal? Did you drink alcohol before you were legal drinking age? Are you gay or transgender - both illegal in some places?

And perhaps the most important question: If so-called "law-abiding Satanists" lived in a country with blasphemy laws where being a Satanist is itself illegal, would they still be "law-abiding"?

Obeying the law - even when you don't agree with it - for your own safety is an understandable choice. But never confuse "law-abiding" with "moral."