‘Satanic Panic’ on the rise in parts of Switzerland

SRF-SWI

Conspiracy theories around satanic ritual abuse are spreading in religious circles in Switzerland, according to Swiss public radio, SRF.

Evil forces, satanic ritual abuse and devil-worshipping brides: satanic conspiracy theories, a phenomenon known as “satanic panic” which started in the US in the 1980s and spread worldwide, still persists today. Now there are reports of “satanic panic” in Switzerland.

These satanic conspiracy theories have taken root in deeply religious circles, SRF reports. Evangelical Christians in particular believe in the existence of secret satanic cults in Switzerland where women are sexually abused in order to re-programme their minds and control them remotely. There is no evidence of the existence of such occurrences, SRF says.

The mountainous Bernese Oberland region in central Switzerland is cited as a hotspot. Several pastors, therapists and politicians, who believe in and spread such conspiracy theories, live and work here.

One pastor was willing to provide more information. Paul Veraguth was a pastor for 30 years at the Reformed Church in Wattenwil, a village in the Bernese Oberland. For several years, he has been working as a pastor, and has cared for alleged victims of satanic abuse. “I work with prayers and God,” he says.

Veraguth sees himself as a social worker who accompanies the alleged victims in their everyday lives and helps them to get away from the perpetrators. The priest says he has taken care of a dozen women so far.

US origins

So-called “Satanic Panic”, allegations of ritualistic abuse, both physical and sexual, first emerged in the US in the 1980s. Evidence of such rituals and cults has not been shown so far. SRF revealed back in December 2021 that similar conspiracy theories had started to spread in Switzerland.

These included claims that female patients in Switzerland had been treated in several psychiatric clinics for alleged mind control incidents – psychiatrists and psychologists had also been taken in by the conspiracy theories.

People like Paul Veraguth are convinced that the world is divided into good and evil. He believes that people serve Satan by abusing women in rituals and programming their minds, turning them into “devil brides”.

Alleged victims regularly meet at the priest’s house as part of a self-help group. He has contacts that stretch as far as the city of Winterthur in canton Zurich. There he works together with the association, Care About Ritual Abuse (CARA), which, among other things, trains experts on the issue of ritual violence. The association declined SRFs’ request for an interview.

Veraguth’s care has had certain consequences. For example, he helped a woman change her name because she was allegedly persecuted by Satan worshippers. This was made possible following a psychiatric report, which the authorities used to approve the name change.

Some experts are critical of such activities, however. According to forensic psychiatrist Thomas Knecht, this kind of care is of little help. “It can be beneficial if you feel released from personal responsibility to a certain extent. But it is not the same as problem-solving,” says Knecht.

The conspiracy theories are used as a kind of template to explain why someone is suffering psychologically, he goes on.

Most of the alleged victims had probably experienced actual sexual violence, but not by perpetrators who can “programme” their minds. “There is no evidence of that. I have not come across anyone in 40 years of work who has such abilities,” Knecht says.

For this reason, conspiracy theories should not be used to explain mental disorders or used in the care of mentally ill people: “Therapy should lead patients towards self-determination,” says Knecht.

Paul Veraguth rejects charges that he is harming women through his pastoral care. He refuses to answer a question about whether he is a conspiracy theorist. And whether you believe in “dark forces” and their work, is simply a question of individual ideology, says the pastor.

This text was first published in Swiss public radio, SRF, and is reproduced here with permission.