You may think that they are two separate religions, beef_e, but it's just as The Last Heathen (and, originally, Anton LaVey) said earlier:

The Ninth Satanic Statement:
Satan is the best friend the Church has ever had, as He has kept it in business all these years!

Satanists (at least those who follow the theory of LaVey) view the Almighty Adversary as a metaphor, the same way that they do God. The Christian Church would NEVER, under any circumstances, have survived without an evil entity that they could frighten people into conviction with. Satanists who follow LaVey view themselves as their own God, which in all honesty, THEY ARE-- as I said before, "God" is simply a metaphor-- an externalization of one's carnal ego. I often like to think back to the movie "Romero", and never hesitate to let myself remember that, "The Church is a whore-- She'll spread Her legs to the highest bidder."

~*Rayn Nocturna*~