The British Armed Forces has officially recognised its first registered Satanist, according to a newspaper report.
Naval technician Chris Cranmer, 24, has been allowed to register by the captain of HMS Cumberland.
The move will mean that he will now be allowed to perform Satanic rituals on board the vessel.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Cranmer realised he was a Satanist nine years ago.
At the time he stumbled across a copy of the Satanic Bible, written by Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey.
He said: "I then read more and more and came to realise I'd always been a Satanist, just simply never knew."
Mr Cranmer, who is from Edinburgh, is now lobbying the Ministry of Defence to make Satanism a registered religion in the armed forces.
A spokesman for the Royal Navy said: "We are an equal opportunities employer and we don't stop anybody from having their own religious values."
The Church of Satan was established in San Francisco in 1966.
LaVey was its high priest until his death in 1997.
Followers live by the Nine Satanic Statements, which include "Satan represents indulgence instead of abstinence", "Satan represents vengeance instead of turning the other cheek" and "Satan represents all of the so-called sins, as they all lead to physical, mental, or emotional gratification".
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