Secret society

[[File:New Britain- Duk-Duk dancers, Gazelle Peninsula.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Membership has its [[privilege]]s. Dancers of the {{wpl|Duk-Duk}} secret society of New Britain, [[Papua New Guinea]].]]
{{Conspiracy}}
A '''secret society''' is a society whose membership, proceedings, or teachings are secret: concealed from non-members or otherwise not open to the general public.

Secret societies typically accept new members only by initiation rituals, which frequently bind the initiate by various oaths not to reveal the secrets of the society to non-members.  The initiations are sometimes multiplied, so that there are a variety of degrees or additional credentials that the members can achieve or progress through; these may take the form of an inner circle, group of adepts or the elect, sharing further secrets that are not communicated to other members. Secret handshakes, passwords, and other symbols are taught to the initiates, to enable them to be recognized by others without giving away the secret.

The secrecy aspect of the societies is overrated because the secrets are often known, or at least similar to, other known secret societies. This is especially true for the many organizations ([[Freemason#Appendant Bodies|Appendant Bodies]] and [[College fraternity|college fraternities]]) that are derivative of Freemasons, whose rites are well-documented.<ref name=syrett2>''The Company he Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities'' by Nicholas L. Syrett (2009) Chapel Hill University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 0807832537.</ref>{{rp|33}} College fraternities actually need to have a large degree of non-secrecy because they compete with each other for new members.<ref name=syrett2/>{{rp|33}}

Secret societies also frequently feature [[social networking]], and membership in the society acts as a recommendation to members, and may cause the members to be preferred over non-members in employment opportunities and appointed positions.  Because of these features, secret societies often figure in [[conspiracy theory|conspiracy theories]].  

[[Organized crime]] associations such as the [[Mafia]] and Mexican Cartels sometimes operate as secret societies.  

==Mystery schools==
A variety of mystery religions existed in the ancient world, such as the mysteries of [[Goddess movement|Demeter]] at Eleusis, of Mithras, and of Orpheus.  Initiates underwent a number of secret rituals to join these [[cults]], swearing terrible oaths to keep the proceedings secret and inviolate, and as a result the substance of their beliefs and the nature of their ritual has been almost entirely lost. The gap in knowledge generates [[crank magnetism|a great deal of speculation]]. Early [[Christianity]], with its initiatory ritual of [[baptism]], resembled these ancient mystery religions in some ways; in which case it is the only widespread survivor.<ref>[[Martin Luther King, Jr.|King, M. L. Jr.]] [http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/index.php/kingpapers/article/volume_i_29_november_1949_to_15_february_1950g/ The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity] (1949 - 1950), University of Stanford</ref>

==Examples==
===Actual secret societies===
{{collist|2|
*The historical Assassins
*[[Bohemian Grove]]
*[[College fraternity|College fraternities]]
*[[Freemasonry]]
*Hellfire Club
*[[Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn]]
*[[Knights Templar]]
*[[Ku Klux Klan]]
*[[Opus Dei]]
*Order of Chaeronea
*Order of the Solar Temple
*[[Organized crime]]
*[[Scientology]]
*[[Skull and Bones]]
*The historical Thugs
*Triads
*Vehmic courts
}}

===Alleged secret societies===
{{collist|2|
*The [[Brotherhood of the Snake]]
*Committee of 300
*The [[Great White Brotherhood]]
*[[Illuminati]]
*The [[New World Order]]
*Occulta Claves Decussatae Societatis<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hgYSo0uZ2A Otherwise known as…]</ref>
*[[Priory of Sion]]
*[[Rosicrucian]]s
*The [[Trilateral Commission]]
}}

==Further reading==
*Hodapp, Christopher; Von Kannon, Alice, ''Conspiracy Theories and Secret Societies For Dummies''. (Wiley, 2008; ISBN 0-470-18408-6).
*Stevens, Alfred C.,  ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=l-KEAAAAIAAJ The cyclopedia of fraternities]'' (Hamilton, 1899)

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Culture]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, Culture