Talk:Satanic ritual abuse

"Some observers"

It really isn't very helpful to add two consecutive footnotes to "some observers", with only references to apparently hard-copy books from non-academic sources, to a verifiable online press release. The additional citations, with no description of the authors or their credentials, does not add information or substantiation to the press release.

At the very least, explain who these people may be, and why they are qualified as independent supporters of the online press release, accusing Wikipedia of pedophilia. I had not explicitly said the press release was from Neil Brick's organization, to avoid the appearance of "persecution". Nevertheless, is there now a conflict of interest/Topic Informant situation here when the author of a press release, without adding his connection, starts adding sources, not easily verifiable, to support his position? Howard C. Berkowitz 19:19, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

The press release was not added by me. I have no problem if it is deleted. Neil Brick 19:22, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

Oh, but I do have a problem of the press release being deleted. It is a public document by a contributor to the topic, which indicates a personal position on the subject. If I write an article on some subject, and I have presented, in public, an opinion on that subject, I believe it only fair that any Citizen be free to cite that information in that article.Howard C. Berkowitz 20:04, 21 March 2009 (UTC)

The sources are adequately described and verifiable. I can find journal articles to replace them. The sources in my edit were meant to verify "is of very serious concern to some observers" and not to verify the newly added part of the sentence to where they were moved.Neil Brick 02:17, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

Adequately described? There is no description at all. The place to which they were moved was entirely accurate: they were not writing in peer-reviewed publications, books from well-known publisher, or even sources verifiable online. If, incidentally, either are so definitive, why must there be two in a row? You will note that I use one citation for each point; if it made a better argument, I could be repetitive and redundant again.

CZ: Neutrality Policy is going to show, at least, that there are diametrically opposed views. In keeping with neutrality policy, the mainstream view is going to get relatively more emphasis. Again, I suggest you read homeopathy and look at how a minority position is described accurately. Incidentally, it might be logical to define Satan and Satanism first, assuming that there is a correlation between them and the ritual abuse theory. Howard C. Berkowitz 03:25, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

(undent) I have attempt to clarify the text, separating the sections out. Also, most of the sources were skeptical ones, so I attempted to add some balance by adding journal articles and other sources (neutrality). I was unable to find any evidence that IPT was peer reviewed. Robinson's page is definitely not peer reviewed. BTW, I did not write the press release.Neil Brick 21:04, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

The authoritative Victor publication was Sociological Perspectives (University of California Press), 41(3): 541-565 (1998). [1] An academic Citizen was able to provide the PDF from JSTOR, which I am now reading and trying to find the relationship of the IPT piece, which looks like a precursor. I'm certainly willing to try to find the exact provenance of the IPT piece; as I scan through the 1998 article, there is very similar text that I'm willing to substitute, with the caveat that it's more lengthy.

As far as the press release, I am perfectly willing to hear that someone else wrote it. Nevertheless, it appears on the S.M.A.R.T. site, where the "Debating The Non-Believers: Getting equal time for Survivors’ Views" page [[2]] states

Neil Brick is a survivor of alleged Masonic Ritual Abuse and MK-ULTRA. He is the editor of S.M.A.R.T. - A Ritual Abuse Newsletter. He has published many articles on ritual abuse

There seems to be no disclaimer of the press release being an individual opinion, and the release is from S.M.A.R.T. Howard C. Berkowitz 21:40, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

I would disagree with making the quote "more lengthy." It is already fairly long. It would be better to have a peer reviewed source in its place.

I believe that any Citizen should be able to support their opinion on topics in Citizendium with appropriate sourcing, whether they have made their opinion public or not. My sources were good ones and now they are even better. If one looks at the style of writing of the press release, it is clearly different from mine here.Neil Brick 03:18, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

All right. For the record, the IPT citation, which I am replacing, is [

http://www.ipt-forensics.com/journal/volume3/j3_3_1.htm]. Howard C. Berkowitz 03:34, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Questionable reference; problem of conflating sadism and Satanism

This article is titled "Satanic ritual abuse", so it would seem the I have moved the two references out of the text, as they are example of a continuing problem in which terms such as "sadism", "ritual abuse" and "Satanism" seem to be used interchangeably. The only way we will achieve any precision is to be precise with terminology. Conflating various undefined terms is no way to be precise.

• "Ritual Abuse Frequently Asked Questions" [3] defines ritual abuse as "generally used to mean prolonged, extreme, sadistic abuse, especially of children, within a group setting. The group's ideology is used to justify the abuse, and abuse is used to teach the group's ideology. The activities are kept secret from society at large, as they violate norms and laws."

The article, however, is not entitled "ritual abuse".

• Goodwin, G. (1991). "Sadistic abuse: definition, recognition, and treatment." Dissociation 6 (2/3): 181-187. only mentions "Satan" in one table and one footnote.

The title term is "sadistic abuse", not Satanic abuse, so it hardly is authoritative on Satanism ritual abuse. It's just fine in an article on sadistic abuse.

Howard C. Berkowitz 03:50, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Along similar lines, I've been wondering about the following sentence in the first paragraph: "The same source refers to it as synonymous for cult related abuse, ritual abuse, ritualized abuse, sadistic ritual abuse and organized sadistic abuse[1]" This does not sound right, surely there is non-satanic versions of ritual abuse? If so, Satanic riual abuse cannot be synonymous with ritual abuse. Similarly, surely there are cults that are not satanists? Chris Day 04:00, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Now I see that the second paragraph addresses this. So who are the authors of this definitive source, how could they be sloppy with terminology this way? Is it a reliable source? Or is the terminology really this garbbled in the field? Chris Day 04:05, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Unfortunately, the terminology is really this garbled. In a way, that reflects contemporary usage, lower-case "satanic" is widely used as a deprecatory adjective. While I understand that the etymology of Satan is from the Hebrew for "adversary", it is also my understanding of a personified Satan is more of a medieval Christian idea. Nevertheless, when jihadists refer to the Great Satan or Lesser Satan, they are not referring to a red being with a forked tail.

Nevertheless, I see no alternative, in encyclopedic writing, to insist on using "Satanic" precisely. While abuse is culturally defined, with global attempts such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there are things, such as female genital mutilation, which are widely considered abusive — but use no Satanic symbolism or belief system. While I am not taking any position on religious male circumcision in Judaism or Islam, those are clearly ritual that in no way invokes Satan. If this sort of ritual is abuse, it's ritual abuse, but not Satanic ritual abuse.

To make it even more complex, look at recent Christian exorcisms where a child died of injuries from "beating out the Devil." The persons performing those rituals would, I have no fear of suggesting, vehemently deny they are Satanic rituals — yet they intimately involve a belief system. Are they Satanic rituals? In the straightforward usage, I would say no.

As far as "cult ritual abuse", we first have to have an accepted definition of "cult," not an easy task. Did the Romans regard a rabbi and twelve friends a "cult"? It was Clemenceau, I believe, that called a language a "dialect with an army." Personally, in this area, I'd focus more on "ritual" and avoid the slippery term "cult." By doing so, ritual abuse could then include activities that may be associated with mainstream cultures, but are considered abusive by outside observers. Howard C. Berkowitz 14:09, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Religion, Law or Anthropology Editor Assistance Requested

I request a ruling that an article dealing with "Satanic ritual abuse" certainly can use sources that specifically address Satanic belief systems or symbols, but that the term is not synonymous with generic ritual abuse. Howard C. Berkowitz 04:06, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

As has been discussed above, the terms are not well defined by some in the literature and definitions vary. And Satanic ritual abuse (SRA) has been considered a subset of ritual abuse (RA) itself by some, so what may apply to RA may apply to SRA and vice versa. So I believe that there should be no hard set rule on this, but decided on a case by case basis, determined by the source's writing and editors on the talk page.Neil Brick 17:56, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

I absolutely, totally disagree. This is an encyclopedia. It is intended to be precise. In many articles, poorly defined yet commonly used terms are made specific and used consistently.

The word "satanic" is used both in lower-case and upper-case forms in English. Allowing any form of abuse to be described as "satanic" is saying no more, and no less, than "bad! evil!". Precisely because there are two English usages, we should be precise whenever using it in CZ. Using the generic, epithet form is vague, emotional, and has no place in article titles or in definitions. When the literature is vague, it needs to be clarified. When cited articles are titled "sadistic ritual abuse" and make only a passing reference to Satanism, they are appropriate references for articles on sadistic ritual abuse.

For example, the Horned God is sometimes evoked, by Wiccans, as the "defender against rape", hardly what one would associate with ritual abuse. Yet because "the devil has horns", neopagans may find themselves labeled "satanist".Howard C. Berkowitz 18:16, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

An encyclopedia should represent the research as accurately as possible. To make arbitrary decisions on the field of SRA and how it is defined would be inaccurately representing the field. We should state that the term SRA is defined in different ways by different sources. And decide on a case by case basis if needed when a source may fit the page. Neil Brick 02:34, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Assorted questions

"Gould"? "Young"? "Victor"? These are used without first names, and also without the sources in which the quotations appear, which makes this read like notes for an article, as opposed to a live article. Who cares what these different people say? Context must be provided so we can understand why we should care.

The Gould quote does not mention Satanic ritual abuse.

"One article has termed the Wikipedia article on the subject a promotion of pedophilia"--who cares either about what "one article" says, or about the Wikipedia article? This is taken completely out of context.

Meanwhile, virtually nothing is said here about what Satanic ritual abuse is alleged to be.

Please make an effort to construct a narrative, as opposed to collecting what appear to be quotations that might be used in the writing of a later draft. --Larry Sanger 04:30, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

I agree. It appears that some of my transition statements to add context for the sources are being deleted and replaced by quotes.Neil Brick 04:39, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Maybe it's a science style, it's pretty common to cite with only last names in the text. Chris Day 04:47, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Yes, Chris, that was the reason I used the names; it's quite common practice in engineering and science publication.

When the transition statement draws conclusions not supported by the source reference, such as claiming that a paper supports Satanic abuse when it is about ritual or sadistic abuse, mentioning Satanism only in passing, yes, I believe it is important to point that out. Further, when significant quotes worthy of counterargument or elucidation are relegated to footnotes, good editing means they need to move to a more prominent place.

Larry, there were a great many redlinks to satanic ritual abuse, which made me decide that I should make a best attempt to add content about it. I would be delighted to see an narrative on Satanic ritual abuse, but I really can't find any specifics that seem authoritative. It is possible to find writings by self-identified Satanists such as Anton Levey, but that do not seem to provide a theological basis for child abuse.

Now, I'm quite willing to agree that some individuals and groups may use Satanic symbolism in various acts — one need only look as far as counterculture teenagers. The existence of large-scale groups that abuse great numbers of people in a serious way, however, calls for a more serious standard of evidence.

I have, however, seen a good number of papers, academic and official, questioning its existence. Articles such as Hell Minus One assert its existence, but neutrality would seem to require noting the amount of counterarguments — the majority position is that it doesn't exist.

(undent) The transition statements did not draw conclusions not supported by the sources. Both papers also discussed Satanic Ritual Abuse and were relevant as sources. Some articles have questioned its existence and others have stated otherwise. Both need to be in the article. Neil Brick 04:59, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

I disagree. The transitional statements tended to conflate several kinds of abuse discussion, and, if Satanism were briefly mentioned in a paper, that isn't enough to say it's a source that describes or supports the existence of specifically Satanist ritual abuse. Gould's paper, for example, is titled "Denying Ritual Abuse of Children". If this article were entitled ritual abuse, it would be reasonable to cite, especially her statement "Unfortunately, these statistics tell us little about the actual prevalence of child ritual abuse. Much more telling are the data these researchers have collected regarding the effects of ritual abuse on child victims. "

In no way do I deny there are many reports of abuse, nor that child abuse is a real problem. "Prevalence" is an epidemiological term that is normally used to refer to objectively validated observations. A worthwhile analogy here might be that reports are to symptoms as prevalence is to sign (medical). Subjective reports are important, but they may not be literally accurate.

We need Editor involvement here, including someone to read these sources that Mr. Brick and I seem to interpret quite differently. Howard C. Berkowitz 05:14, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

Excessive quote

I pared down a quote from Victor because it was way too long and instead of this being discussed on the talk page it was simply restored to the page as a revert. I am moving the entire quote to the talk page for discussion, so we can all agree on an appropriate length.

Victor observed "The rapid rise and decline of SRA accusations gives evidence to the volatility of a moral panic. Claims about ritual child abuse by satanic cults began to appear rather suddenly. The oldest known satanic cult "survivor" account was published in 1980 in the book, Michelle Remembers. SRA testimonials, accusations and rumors spread rapidly thereafter in the United States during the early 1980s and then declined rapidly during the early 1990s."

Victor states:

So far, no law enforcement agency or research

study has found the kind of physical evidence needed to support accounts of SRA. No one has turned up written or electronic communications, bank account records, meetings in process, members who can identify leaders, or any of the vast number of bodies of people supposed murdered by satanic cults. Official government reports from several countries could find no such evidence to support

claims about SRA.

The government reports cited by Victor were from the:

• Department of Health of the United Kingdom
• Netherlands Ministry of Justice
• Behavioral Science Unit of the FBI
• Michigan State Police
• Virginia State Crime Commission Task Force
• Washington state (Parr 1996).

The only social phenomena that exists which bares any resemblance to SRA claims are teenage delinquents and mentally disordered killers who call themselves "satanists". However, these deviants do not constitute an organization, a criminal network or a religious cult.

Neil Brick 04:43, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

I object, strenuously. Previously, Mr. Brick objected because the Victor material had referred to studies needing their own citations. Very deliberately, I removed the Victor text about the countries involved, and substituted a bulleted list of countries with citations — I discovered this move when I was coming back with more data. When possible, I will try to obtain interlibrary loan copies of the information not online.

The blockquote following the bulleted list is extremely important, as it offers an explanation for certain behavior alleged to be Satanic. Not less important are the analysis of Satanic ritual as a moral panic, discussed in a separate article, and in his analysis, supported by the bulleted list, that there is little objective evidence to the prevalence of "SRA" as opposed to reporting of SRA.

In other words, I cut back an earlier, lengthier quote to something that I consider entirely appropriate. Howard C. Berkowitz 05:36, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

I believe it is way too long for one source and one person's opinion on the topic. The whole section could easily be pared down to two or three lines. This would make the article more easily readable and fairer in terms of weight.

It could be pared down to this - Victor believes that the rapid rise and fall of SRA claims gives evidence to the theory that these claims were part of a moral panic. He believes that "no law enforcement agency or research study has found the kind of physical evidence needed to support accounts of SRA." He states that official government reports did not find "such evidence to support claims about SRA."Neil Brick 17:56, 23 March 2009 (UTC)

If that sort of paring is reasonable, than the vague Gould reference to Satanist ritual abuse should go completely. SRA, precisely because it cannot be disambiguated as sadistic, satanist, sexual, or Satanist, should be banned from the article.

I emphatically disagree with this paring, which is quite fair in weight: the mainstream does not believe Satanic ritual abuse is a widespread or even real phenomenon, as distinct from the random use of symbols that may be associated with Satanism. Howard C. Berkowitz 18:21, 23 March 2009 (UTC)