Secret society
A
secret society is an
organization that requires its members to conceal certain activities—such as
rites of initiation—from outsiders. Members may be required to conceal or deny their membership, and are often sworn to hold the society's
secrets by an oath. The term "secret society" is often used to describe
fraternal organizations (e.g.
Freemasonry) that may have secret ceremonies, but is also commonly applied to organizations ranging from the common and innocuous (
collegiate fraternities) to mythical organizations described in
conspiracy theories as immensely powerful, with self-serving financial or
political agendas, global reach, and sometimes
satanic beliefs.
Like the most successful
forgeries, it is conceivable that the most effective secret societies are unknown beyond their adherents.
Historically, secret societies are often the subject of suspicion and speculation from non-members; and as such have aroused nervousness from outsiders since the time of the ancient Greeks, when meetings were held "sub rosa" (Latin, "under the rose") to signify the secrecy and silence of the Hellenistic god Harpocrates.
For this reason, secret societies are illegal in several countries. In the
European Union,
Poland has made the ban of secret political parties and political organizations a part of its constitution. Article 13 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland states:
"Political parties and other organizations whose programmes are based upon totalitarian methods and the modes of activity of nazism, fascism and communism, as well as those whose programmes 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."Some secret organizations exploit secrecy as a means to further
political or
criminal agendas, including such historical examples as the
Know Nothing party in the United States, and the
Mafia, respectively.
Many student societies established on university campuses [
1] have been considered secret societies. Some collegiate secret societies are the
Flat Hat Club (1750) and
Phi Beta Kappa (1776), both founded at
William & Mary. The most famous member of the FHC was
Thomas Jefferson, the third
President of the United States. In correspondence, Jefferson noted that the Flat Hat Club served "no useful object." Others are the
Order of the Bull's Blood (1834) at
Rutgers University, the
Bishop James Madison Society (1812) at
The College of William & Mary, and the
Seven Society at the
University of Virginia. The most famous collegiate secret society is the
Skull and Bones (1832) at
Yale University. See
List of collegiate secret societies.
While not self-styled as secret societies, these groups are often discussed in that context.
*
Bilderberg Group *
Club of Rome*
Council on Foreign Relations*
Neurocam International*
Rhodes-Milner Round Table Groups*
Royal Institute of International Affairs (also known as
Chatham House)
*
Trilateral CommissionFraternal organizations
*
Freemasonry *
Order of DeMolay*
Order of the Eastern Star*
AMORC (
Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis)
*
Confraternity of the Rose Cross*
Fraternitatis Rosicruciana*
FUDOFSI*
FUDOSI*
Order Militia Crucifera Evangelica*
Rosicrucians*
Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (
SRIA)
*
Compagnie du saint sacrement*
Order of the Solar Temple*
Ordo Templi Orientis*
Odin Brotherhood*
Bwiti*
Knights of ColumbusOther
*
Bohemian Club*
P2*
Seven Sages*
P.E.O. Sisterhood* The
Veiled Prophet Organization in
St. Louis,
Missouri. [
2]
Criminal organizations
*
Al Qaeda*
Bloods*
Camorra*
Crips*
Ku Klux Klan*
Mafia (also known as "
Cosa Nostra")
*
MS-13*
'Ndrangheta*
Sacra Corona Unita*
Thuggee*
Tong*
Triad*
Yakuza*
Assassins*
Beati paoli*
Gladio*
Illuminati*
Kizilbash*
Knights of the Golden Circle*
Know-Nothings*
Krypteia*
Molly Maguires*
Society of the Elect*
SPK*
Thule Society*
Tiandihui*
Skull and Bones*
Black Hand*
Carbonari*
Communist League (US)*
Fenian Brotherhood*
Germanenorden*
Katipunan*
Mau Mau*
Muslim Brotherhood*
Narodnik*
Righteous Harmony Society*
Sons of Liberty*
Tongmenghui*
Vihan Veljet*
Walhalla-orden*
White Rose SocietyAlleged secret societies
Either the existence of these, or their status, is subject to significant doubt. See also
Secret societies in popular culture *
Angelic Society*
Majestic 12*
Priory of Sion*
The Elders of Zion*
Vril Society*
*{{cite book
last = Axelrod | first = Alan | year = 1997 | title = The international encyclopedia of secret societies and fraternal orders | publisher = Facts on File | location = New York | id = ISBN 0816023077
*{{cite book | last = Roberts | first = J. M. (John Morris) | year = 1972 | title = The mythology of the secret societies | publisher = Scribner | location = New York | id = ISBN 0684129043
*{{cite book | last = Robbins | first = Alexandra | year = 2004 | title = Pledged: the secret life of sororities | publisher = Hyperion | location = New York | id = ISBN 0786888598*Secret societies in popular culture
*List of Masonic organizations
*List of Japanese nationalist movements and parties
*Secret societies in Singapore*"Secret Societies" — rotten dot com
| 
