And just like today’s networked radicals, much of their power was wrapped up in their ability to stay anonymous and keep their communications secret. It wasn’t an accident that Voltaire, George Washington, and Ben Franklin were all active members. They elected their own leaders and drew up constitutions to govern their operations. These societies were the incubators of democracy, modern science, and ecumenical religion. Back then, many of these societies served as safe spaces for open dialogue about everything from academia to religious discourse, removed from the restrictive eye of the church and state. The order is just one of many clandestine organizations that exist today, though the popularity of these secret clubs peaked in the 18th and 19th centuries, writes Noah Shachtman for Wired. After the organization denied membership to Nazis, notably military leader Hermann Goering, Hitler dissolved it, but the order reemerged after World War II, and an American chapter was founded in the late 1960s. Hubertus, was incorporated by Count Anton von Sporck in 1695 and was originally intended to gather “the greatest noble hunters of the 17th Century, particularly in Bohemia, Austria and countries of the Austro Hungarian Empire, ruled by the Habsburgs,” according to its official website. The fraternity in question, International Order of St.
When the Washington Post broke the story last month that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia spent his final hours in the company of members of a secret society for elite hunters, people instantly wanted to know more about the group. Roberts, The Mythology of the Secret Societies (1972).By their very name, secret societies inspire curiosity, fascination and distrust. Daraul, A History of Secret Societies (1962) J. Lepper, Famous Secret Societies (1932) A. Some secret societies, e.g., the Mafia and the Ku Klux Klan, under the guise of fraternal benevolence, have defended the interests of their members by violence. Some historic secret societies, such as the Bavarian Illuminati, have been the object of massive paranoid speculation, accused of conspiring for world political domination but the model of the secret society, with its emphasis on absolute commitment and secret truths that set the initiate apart, has been used to explain various political groups from terrorists to Cold Warriors. They usually offer various types of mutual aid for their members there are, for example, special obligations to members who are ill and to the families of deceased members. In modern civilizations secret societies such as Freemasonry are numerous. (A notable exception was the Hung Society of China, a secret society of women that lasted over 1,500 years.) The mysteries, or secret rites and doctrines, of the Egyptians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, and other ancient peoples were transmitted solely through secret societies.
Women have comparable societies, but theirs have never matched those of men in number. These initiations are reminiscent of coming-of-age ceremonies. Secret societies have served as schools in which the elders instruct the young men in the ways of their society. After the candidate has passed the prescribed tests, the secret knowledge is transmitted to him. A dominant theme in the initiation trials of most of these societies is the symbolism of death and rebirth. This is followed by tests of the candidate's worthiness, including physical courage and even painful mutilations. The ceremonies of initiation into such a society typically begin with an oath pledging secrecy as to all proceedings of the society, ascribing special obligations to its members, and assenting to penalties for violation of the oath. Human groups throughout history have maintained secret societies. Secret society, organization of initiated persons whose members, purposes, and rituals are kept secret.
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