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Secret society

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File:Secret Society Buildings New Haven.jpg
"Secret Society Buildings at Yale College" by Alice Donlevy Template:Circa. Pictured are: Psi Upsilon (Beta chapter), 120 High Street. Left center: Skull and Bones (Russell Trust Association), 64 High Street. Right center: Delta Kappa Epsilon (Phi chapter), east side of York Street, south of Elm Street. Bottom: Scroll and Key (Kingsley Trust SSS Nonse Association), 490 College Street.

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.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite book</ref>

Secret societies may be community-based or associated with colleges and universities. These societies exist in countries around the world.

File:Double-leaf frontispiece from "The Epistles of the Brethren of Purity".jpg
The Brethren of Purity were a secret society<ref name=":2" /> of Muslim philosophers in Basra, Iraq, in the 9th or 10th century CE.

Definitions

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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.

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.<ref>Stevens (1899), p. vii.</ref>

Alan Axelrod, author of the International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders,<ref>Checkmark Books (1998), Template:ISBN</ref> defines a secret society as an organization that:

  • is exclusive
  • claims to own special secrets
  • shows a strong inclination to favor its members.

Historian Richard B. Spence<ref>Spence, Richard B. The Real History of Secret Societies (2019), The Great Courses</ref> of the University of Idaho offered a similar three-pronged definition:

  • The group's existence is usually not kept secret, but some beliefs or practices are concealed from the public and require an oath of secrecy and loyalty to learn.
  • The group promises superior status or knowledge to members.
  • The group's membership is in some way restrictive, such as by race, sex, religious affiliation, or invitation only.

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 says that Freemasonry is "the world's most powerful secret Society".<ref>Template:Cite book see also Jeffers, H. Paul. Freemasons: A History and Exploration of the World's Oldest Secret Society. (Citadel Press, 2005).</ref>

The organization "Opus Dei" (Latin for "Work of God") is portrayed as a "secret society"<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> Other critics label Opus Dei as "Holy Mafia"<ref name="Pilapil 1971 211–221">Template:Cite journal</ref> or "Santa Mafia"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The National Christian Association (1868–1983) is an example of an organization opposed to secret societies.<ref name="Fuerbringer1927">Template:Cite book Template:Source-attribution</ref>

Realms

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Politics

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Because some secret societies have political aims, they are illegal in several countries. Italy (Constitution of Italy, Section 2, Articles 13–28) and Poland,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> for example, ban secret political parties and political organizations in their constitutions.

Colleges and universities

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Template:See also 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> the University of Virginia, Georgetown University, New York University,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Wellesley College has been publicly acknowledged, if anonymously and circumspectly, since the 19th century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

British universities have a long history of secret societies or quasi-secret clubs, such as The Pitt Club at Cambridge University,<ref name="varsity">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="bully"/> Bullingdon Club at Oxford University,<ref name="bully">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>D.T.W. Price. A History of Saint David's University College, Lampeter. University of Wales Press, Cardiff. Volume One, to 1898 (Template:ISBN)</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Secret societies are disallowed in a few colleges. The Virginia Military Institute has rules that no cadet may join a secret society,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and secret societies have been banned at Oberlin College from 1847<ref>Template:Cite book "Revised codes were issued every few years, but not many important changes were made in them. Provisions with regard to the hours of 'athletic exercises and sport' were added in 1847. In the same revision, there appeared for the first time the 'peculiar' Oberlin rule against secret societies. 'No student,' it runs, 'is permitted to join any secret society or military company.'"</ref> to the present,<ref>Template:Cite book "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."</ref> 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,<ref name=irin>"NIGERIA: Focus on the menace of student cults" Template:Webarchive, IRIN, 1 August 2002</ref> while the Exam Ethics Project lobby group estimated that 115 students and teachers had been killed between 1993 and 2003.<ref name=cults>"Cults of violence" Template:Webarchive, The Economist, 31 July 2008</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

The only secret society abolished and then legalized is that of The Philomaths,<ref>Arthur Morius Francis. Secret Societies. Vol. 3: The Collegiate Secret Societies of America. 2015 (file pdf).</ref> which is now a legitimate academic association founded on a strict selection of its members.

Internet

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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.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The goals of the society remain unknown, but it is believed to be involved in cryptography.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=metro>Template:Cite news</ref>

Around the world

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The following contemporary and historic secret societies formed in Africa, by country:

Africa

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Cameroon

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Ghana

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Guinea

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Ivory Coast

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Liberia

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Mali

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Nigeria

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Sierra Leone

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South Africa

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Zimbabwe

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Asia

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China

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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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Examples of Chinese secret societies include:

India

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File:Thugs Strangling Traveller.jpg
A group of Thuggees strangling a traveller on a highway in India in the early 19th century.

Secret societies in India include:

Japan

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Secret societies in Japan include:

Malaysia

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Secret societies in Malaysia include:

Philippines

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Secret societies in the Philippines include:

Singapore

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Australia

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Secret societies in Australia include:

Europe

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Several secret societies existing across Europe, including:

Other organizations are listed by country.

Albania

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Bulgaria

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Finland

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France

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Germany

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Greece

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Ireland

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Italy

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• Sicilian Mafia

Poland

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Portugal

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Russia

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Serbia

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Spain

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United Kingdom

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North America

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Canada

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Secret societies in Canada that are non-collegiate include:

Cuba

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United States

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Secret societies in the United States that are non-collegiate include:

Mexico

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South America

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Brazil

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Opposition

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Template:See also 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.<ref>Christopher J. Kauffman, Faith and Fraternalism: The History of the Knights of Columbus, 1882–1982 (1982) p. 8.</ref><ref>Simon Sarlin and Dan Rouyer, "The Anti-Masonic Congress of Trento (1896): International Mobilization and the Circulation of Practices against Freemasonry." Contemporanea: Rivista di Storia dell'800 e del '900 (July-Sep 2021, 24#3, pp. 517-536.</ref> Some Christian denominations continue to forbid their members from joining secret societies in the 21st century, such as the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and Seventh-day Adventists.<ref name="AWMC2014">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Ellen G. White, "Selected Messages Book 2", Chapter 13. (1958)</ref>

See also

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References

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Further reading

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