A secret society is an organization about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The society may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as intelligence agencies or guerrilla warfare insurgencies, that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence. [1]
The exact qualifications for labeling a group a secret society are disputed, but definitions generally rely on the degree to which the organization insists on secrecy, and might involve the retention and transmission of secret knowledge, the denial of membership or knowledge of the group, the creation of personal bonds between members of the organization, and the use of secret rites or rituals which solidify[ clarification needed ] members of the group.
Anthropologically and historically, secret societies have been deeply interlinked with the concept of the Männerbund, the all-male "warrior-band" or "warrior-society" of pre-modern cultures (see H. Schurtz, Alterklassen und Männerbünde, Berlin, 1902; A. Van Gennep, The Rites of Passage, Chicago, 1960).
A purported "family tree of secret societies" has been proposed, although it may not be comprehensive. [2]
Alan Axelrod, author of the International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders, [3] defines a secret society as an organization that:
Historian Richard B. Spence [4] of the University of Idaho offered a similar three-pronged definition:
Spence also proposes a sub-category of "Elite Secret Societies" (composed of high-income or socially influential people) and notes that secret societies have a frequent if not universal tendency towards factionalism, infighting, and claiming origins older than can be reliably documented. Spence's definition includes groups traditionally thought of as secret societies (Freemasons and Rosicrucians) and other groups not so traditionally classified such as certain organized crime cabals (the Mafia), religious groups (Order of Assassins and Thelema) and political movements (Bolsheviks and Black Dragon Society).
Historian Jasper Ridley argues that Freemasonry is, "the world's most powerful secret Society". [5]
The organization "Opus Dei" (Latin for "Work of God") is portrayed as a "secret society" [6] [7] [8] of the Catholic Church. Critics such as the Jesuit Wladimir Ledóchowski sometimes refer to Opus Dei as a Catholic (or Christian or "white") form of Freemasonry. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] Other critics label Opus Dei as "Holy Mafia" [14] or "Santa Mafia" [15]
The National Christian Association (1868–1983) is an example of an organization opposed to secret societies. [16]
Because some secret societies have political aims, they are illegal in several countries. Italy (Constitution of Italy, Section 2, Articles 13–28) and Poland, [17] for example, ban secret political parties and political organizations in their constitutions.
Many student societies established on university campuses in the United States have been considered secret societies. Perhaps one of the most famous secret collegiate societies is Skull and Bones at Yale University. [18] The influence of undergraduate secret societies at colleges such as Harvard College, Cornell University, Florida State University, Dartmouth College, Emory University, the University of Chicago, [19] the University of Virginia, Georgetown University, New York University, [20] and Wellesley College has been publicly acknowledged, if anonymously and circumspectly, since the 19th century. [21] [22]
British universities have a long history of secret societies or quasi-secret clubs, such as The Pitt Club at Cambridge University, [23] [24] Bullingdon Club at Oxford University, [24] the Kate Kennedy Club, The Kensington Club and the Praetorian Club at the University of St Andrews, and the 16' Club at St David's College. [25] Another British secret society is the Cambridge Apostles, founded as an essay and debating society in 1820. Not all British universities host solely academic secret societies; both The Night Climbers of Cambridge and The Night Climbers of Oxford require both brains and brawn.
In France, Vandermonde is the secret society of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. [26]
Notable examples in Canada include Episkopon at the University of Toronto's Trinity College, and the Society of Thoth at the University of British Columbia.[ citation needed ]
Secret societies are disallowed in a few colleges. The Virginia Military Institute has rules that no cadet may join a secret society, [27] and secret societies have been banned at Oberlin College from 1847 [28] to the present, [29] and at Princeton University since the beginning of the 20th century.
Confraternities in Nigeria are secret-society-like student groups within higher education, some of which have histories of violence and organized crime. The exact death toll from confraternity activities is unclear. One estimate in 2002 was that 250 people had been killed in campus cult-related murders in the previous decade, [30] while the Exam Ethics Project lobby group estimated that 115 students and teachers had been killed between 1993 and 2003. [31]
The Mandatory Monday Association is thought to operate out of a variety of Australian universities including the Australian Defence Force Academy. The Association has numerous chapters that meet only on Mondays to discuss business and carry out rituals. [32]
The only secret society abolished and then legalized is that of The Philomaths, [33] which is now a legitimate academic association founded on a strict selection of its members.
While their existence had been speculated for years, Internet-based secret societies first became known to the public in 2012 when Cicada 3301 began recruiting from the public via Internet-based puzzles. [34] [35] The goals of the society remain unknown, but it is believed to be involved in cryptography. [36] [37]
The following contemporary and historic secret societies formed in Africa, by country:
Secret societies played a major role in Chinese affairs for centuries. They were a key aspect of the Anti-Qing sentiments of the 20th century. After the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, they were tacitly supported by and actively collaborated with the Nationalist government. Having played prominent roles in history, they were targeted by the anti-secret society campaigns of the newly established government of the People's Republic of China during the 1950s. [38] Examples of Chinese secret societies include:
Secret societies in India include:
Secret societies in Japan include:
Secret societies in Malaysia include:
Secret societies in the Philippines include:
Secret societies in Australia include:
Several secret societies existing across Europe, including:
Other organizations are listed by country.
Secret societies in Canada that are non-collegiate include:
Secret societies in the United States that are non-collegiate include:
The Catholic Church strongly opposed secret societies, especially the Freemasons. It did relent somewhat in the United States and allowed membership in labour unions and the Knights of Columbus, but not the Masons. [41] [42] Some Christian denominations continue to forbid their members from joining secret societies in the 21st century. For example, the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and Seventh-day Adventists. [43] [44]
Freemasonry, sometimes spelled Free-Masonry or simply Masonry from 'freestone mason', includes various fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 14th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. Freemasonry is the oldest fraternity in the world and among the oldest continued organizations in history.
A magical organization or magical order is an organization or secret society created for the practice of initiation into ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. Magical organizations can include Hermetic orders, esoteric societies, arcane colleges, and other groups which may use different terminology and similar though diverse practices.
Ordo Templi Orientis is an occult secret society and hermetic magical organization founded at the beginning of the 20th century. The origins of O.T.O. can be traced back to the German-speaking occultists Carl Kellner, Theodor Reuss, Heinrich Klein, and Franz Hartmann. In its first incarnation, O.T.O. was intended to be modelled after and associated with European Freemasonry and as such in its early years only Freemasons could seek admittance.
Grady Louis McMurtry was an American ceremonial magician, student of occult writer Aleister Crowley, and an adherent of Thelema. He is best known for reviving the fraternal organization Ordo Templi Orientis, which he headed from 1971 until his death in 1985.
Ecclesia Gnostica Catholica (E.G.C.), or the Gnostic Catholic Church, is a Gnostic church organization. It is the ecclesiastical arm of Ordo Templi Orientis (O.T.O.), an international fraternal initiatory organization devoted to promulgating the Law of Thelema.
Carl Kellner was a chemist, inventor, and industrialist. Born in Vienna, Austria, he made significant improvements to the sulfite process and was co-inventor of the Castner-Kellner process.
Albert Karl Theodor Reuss also known by his neo-Gnostic bishop title of Carolus Albertus Theodorus Peregrinus was a German tantric occultist, freemason, journalist, singer and head of Ordo Templi Orientis.
Jahbulon or Jabulon or Jahbuhlun is a word which is allegedly used in some rituals of Royal Arch Masonry and derivations thereof.
There are Masonic degrees named after the Knights Templar but not all Knights Templar Orders are Masonic.
Marcelo Ramos Motta was a Brazilian writer, Thelemite, and member of the A∴A∴ occult society. Known for his work in the field of Thelema, he was a prominent figure in the Thelemic community and contributed significantly to its literature. Motta was also recognized by his magical names Parzival X° and Parzival XI°. His writings, which include translations of Aleister Crowley's works and original Thelemic texts, have had a lasting impact on the study and practice of Thelema in Brazil and beyond.
Karl Johannes Germer, also known as Frater Saturnus, was a German and American businessman and occultist. He served as the United States representative of Ordo Templi Orientis, and on the death of Aleister Crowley became his successor as the Outer Head of the Order (OHO) until his death in 1962. He founded the Thelema Publishing Company and published several of Crowley's books after his death. He was born in Elberfeld, Germany and died in West Point, California.
The Stella Matutina was an initiatory magical order dedicated to the dissemination of the traditional occult teachings of the earlier Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Originally, the outer order of the Stella Matutina was known as Mystic Rose or Order of the M.R. in the Outer. When occult writer Israel Regardie released documents of the Golden Dawn to the public it was the teachings of the Stella Matutina that he revealed, not those of the original order. The Stella Matutina was one of several daughter organisations into which the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn fragmented, including the Alpha et Omega led by John William Brodie-Innes and Macgregor Mathers, the Isis-Urania Temple led by A. E. Waite, and others.
Solar Lodge was an American chapter of Ordo Templi Orientis in California that was established in 1965, and withdrew from initiatory activity in 1972. It was based on ideas from the curriculum of the A.'.A.'. established by Aleister Crowley.
Christopher L. Hodapp is an American author and filmmaker, noted for his writings about Freemasonry, fraternalism, the Knights Templar, secret societies and conspiracy theories. He is the founding editor in chief of the Journal of The Masonic Society, the associate director of the Masonic Library and Museum of Indiana, and public relations director for the Grand Lodge of Indiana.
A fraternity or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in the Western concept developed in the Christian context, notably with the religious orders in the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages. The concept was eventually further extended with medieval confraternities and guilds. In the early modern era, these were followed by fraternal orders such as Freemasons, the Rosicrucian Society of England, and Odd Fellows, along with gentlemen's clubs, student fraternities, and fraternal service organizations. Members are occasionally referred to as a brother or – usually in a religious context – frater or friar.
The question of whether Freemasonry is anticlerical is the subject of debate. The Catholic Church has long been an outspoken critic of Freemasonry, and some scholars have often accused the fraternity of anticlericalism. The Catholic Church forbids its members to join any Masonic society under pain of interdiction. Freemasons usually take a diametrically opposite view, stating that there is nothing in Freemasonry that is in any way contrary to Catholicism or any other religious faith.
James Wasserman was an American writer and occultist. A member of Ordo Templi Orientis since 1976 and a book designer by trade, he wrote extensively on spiritual and political liberty.
Cecil Frederick Russell (1897–1987) was an American occultist and writer. Russell was a member of the A∴A∴ and Aleister Crowley's magical order, Ordo Templi Orientis. Russell later founded his own magical order, the Choronzon Club, which later changed its name to G.B.G..
Matthew McBlain Thomson was a Scottish-born convert to Mormonism, Freemason and a convicted fraudster.
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Article 13: Political parties and other organizations whose programs are based upon totalitarian methods and the modes of activity of nazism, fascism and communism, as well as those whose programs or activities sanction racial or national hatred, the application of violence for the purpose of obtaining power or to influence the State policy, or provide for the secrecy of their own structure or membership, shall be prohibited.
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ignored (help) D. Secret Societies: "No secret society is allowed at Oberlin, and no other societies or self-perpetuating organizations are allowed among students, except by permission of the faculty. This is to be understood to include social and rooming-house clubs."