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			{{Short description\|Organization hiding details from non-members}}
	{{Otheruses\|Secret society (disambiguation)}}
			{{Other uses\|Secret society (disambiguation)}}
	{{worldview}}
			{{shortlead\|date=June 2024}}
			{{Use dmy dates\|date=January 2020}}
			]" by ] {{circa\|1880}}. Pictured are: ] (''Beta chapter)'', 120 High Street. Left center: ] (Russell Trust Association), 64 High Street. Right center: ] (''Phi chapter''), east side of York Street, south of Elm Street. Bottom: ] (Kingsley Trust SSS Nonse Association), 490 College Street.]]
			A '''secret society''' is an ] about which the activities, events, inner functioning, or membership are concealed. The ] may or may not attempt to conceal its existence. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as ] or ] insurgencies, that hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book\|last=Daraul\|first=Arkon\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aEdvCwAAQBAJ\|title=A History Of Secret Societies\|date=2015-11-06\|publisher=Pickle Partners Publishing\|isbn=978-1-78625-613-3\|language=en}}</ref>
			] were a secret society<ref name=":2" /> of ] ] in ], ], in the 9th or 10th century CE.]]

			==Definitions==
	{{Refimprove\|date=May 2009}}
			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 ], 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{{clarify\|date=May 2023}} members of the ].
	{{Citation style\|date=May 2009}}
	'''Secret society''' is a term used to describe clubs or fraternal organisations in which secrecy about the activities and inner functioning of those societies is demanded of members. The term usually excludes covert groups, such as ] or guerrilla insurgencies, which hide their activities and memberships but maintain a public presence. The exact qualifications for labeling a group as a secret society are disputed, but definitions generally rely on the degree to which the organization insists on ], and might involve the retention and transmission of ], denial of membership in 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 members of the group. Examples of historical and existing secret societies include ], the ], the ], ], the ] and the ].

			] and ], secret societies have been deeply interlinked with the concept of the ], the all-male "warrior-band" or "warrior-society" of pre-modern cultures (see H. Schurtz, ''Alterklassen und Männerbünde'', Berlin, 1902; ], ''The Rites of Passage'', Chicago, 1960).
	== Definition ==
	Several definitions for the term have been put forward. The term "secret society" is used to describe ]s that may have secret ceremonies and means of identification and communication, ranging from (]) to organizations described in ] as immensely powerful, with self-serving financial or ], global reach, and often ] beliefs.{{Citation needed\|date=May 2009}}

	A purported "family tree of secret societies" has been proposed, although it may not be comprehensive.<ref>Stevens (~~1907~~), p. vi.</ref>		A purported "] of secret societies" has been proposed, although it may not be comprehensive.<ref>Stevens (1899), p. vii.</ref>

			], author of the ''International ] of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'',<ref>Checkmark Books (1998), {{ISBN\|0816038716}}</ref> defines a secret society as an organization that:
	Application of the term is often hotly disputed, as it can be seen as pejorative.{{Citation needed\|date=May 2009}}

	Therefore, the criteria that can be adopted as a definition for the term are important for which organizations any one definition would include or exclude.{{Citation needed\|date=October 2008}}

	Alan Axelrod, author of the ''International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders'', defines a secret society as an organization that:
	* is exclusive		* is exclusive
	* claims to own special secrets		* claims to own special secrets
	* shows a strong inclination to favor its ~~own~~		* shows a strong inclination to favor its members.

			Historian ]<ref>Spence, Richard B. ''The Real History of Secret Societies'' (2019), ]</ref> of the ] offered a similar three-pronged definition:
	David V. Barrett, author of ''Secret Societies: From the Ancient and Arcane to the Modern and Clandestine'', uses slightly different terms to define what does and does not qualify as a secret society. He defines it as any group that possesses the following characteristics:
			* 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.
	* It has "carefully graded and progressed teachings"
			* The group promises superior status or knowledge to members.
	* Teachings are "available only to selected individuals"
			* The group's membership is in some way restrictive, such as by ], ], ], or ] only.
	* Teachings lead to "hidden (and 'unique') truths"
			Spence also proposes a sub-category of "] Secret Societies" (composed of high-income or socially ] people) and notes that secret societies have a frequent if not universal tendency towards ], ], and claiming origins older than can be reliably documented. Spence's definition includes groups traditionally thought of as secret societies (] and ]) and other groups not so traditionally classified such as certain organized crime cabals (]), religious groups (] and ]) and political movements (]s and ]).
	* Truths bring "personal benefits beyond the reach and even the understanding of the uninitiated."

			Historian ] says that ] is "the world's most powerful secret Society".<ref>{{cite book\|author=Jasper Ridley\|title=The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7q3VIZCiwQC\|year=2011\|publisher=Arcade\|isbn=978-1-61145-010-1}} see also Jeffers, H. Paul. ''Freemasons: A History and Exploration of the World's Oldest Secret Society.'' (Citadel Press, 2005).</ref>
	Barrett goes on to say that "a further characteristic common to most of them is the practice of rituals which non-members are not permitted to observe, or even to know the existence of." Barrett's definition would rule out many organizations called secret societies; graded teaching are not part of the ], the ], or the ]s.{{Citation needed\|date=May 2009}}

			The organization "]" (] for "Work of ]") is portrayed as a "secret society"<ref>{{Cite book\|last=Walsh\|first=Michael\|title=OPUS DEI: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling for Power within the Roman Catholic Church}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=Secret Society: Opus Dei - Catholicism's Secret Sect}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|title=Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei}}</ref> of the ]. Critics such as the ] ] sometimes refer to Opus Dei as a Catholic (or ] or "]") form of ].<ref>{{Cite web\|title=Beyond the Threshold\|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/tapia-threshold.html\|access-date=30 March 2018\|website=archive.nytimes.com\|archive-date=13 August 2018\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813044440/https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/t/tapia-threshold.html\|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|author=Preston, Paul\|title=The triumph of democracy in Spain\|date=1986\|publisher=Methuen\|isbn=9780416900101\|location=London\|pages=28\|oclc=14586560}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book\|author=Harding, Nick\|title=Secret societies\|date=2005\|publisher=Chartwell Books, Inc\|isbn=9780785821700\|location=Edison, N.J.\|pages=107\|oclc=78244509}}</ref><ref>{{citation\|title=Geheimbünde Freimaurer und Illuminaten, Opus Dei und Schwarze Hand\|date=2015\|page=54\|location=Reinbek\|publisher=Rowohlt Taschenbuch\|language=de\|isbn=9783499630491\|surname1=Hesse, Alexander}}</ref><ref>{{citation\|title=Die Geheimnisse des Vatikan : Eine andere Geschichte der Papststadt\|date=2012\|page=415\|edition=1., neue Ausg\|location=München\|publisher=Beck, C H\|language=de\|isbn=9783406630927\|last=Augias\|first=Corrado\|author-link=Corrado Augias}}</ref> Other critics label Opus Dei as "Holy Mafia"<ref name="Pilapil 1971 211–221">{{Cite journal\|last=Pilapil\|first=Vicente R.\|date=1971\|title=Opus Dei in Spain\|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40394504\|journal=The World Today\|volume=27\|issue=5\|pages=211–221\|jstor=40394504\|issn=0043-9134\|access-date=22 July 2021\|archive-date=28 June 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628041648/https://www.jstor.org/stable/40394504\|url-status=live}}</ref> or "Santa Mafia"<ref>{{Cite news\|last=SPIEGEL\|first=Peter Hertel, DER\|title=Vatikan intern: Der Aufstieg der Santa Mafia\|url=https://www.spiegel.de/spiegelspecial/a-350114.html\|access-date=2021-06-16\|newspaper=Der Spiegel\|date=7 April 2005\|language=de\|archive-date=22 July 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210722060951/https://www.spiegel.de/spiegelspecial/a-350114.html\|url-status=live}}</ref>
	=== Oath taking ===
	Many organizations require members to take an oath at membership, not just secret societies. Such oaths often include promises to keep certain things about the organization secret.

			The ] (1868–1983) is an example of an organization opposed to secret societies.<ref name="Fuerbringer1927">{{cite book \|last1=Fuerbringer \|first1=Ludwig \|title=The Concordia Cyclopedia: A Handbook of Religious Information, with Special Reference to the History, Doctrine, Work, and Usages of the Lutheran Church \|date=1927 \|publisher=Concordia Publishing House \|location=St. Louis, Missouri \|pages=532–33 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nH5OAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA532 \|access-date=11 October 2024 \|language=en}} {{Source-attribution}}</ref>
	=== Politics ===
	Since some secret societies have political aims, they are illegal in several countries. ], for example, has included a ban of secret political parties and political organizations in its constitution.<ref>{{citation\|title=The Constitution of the Republic of Poland\|date=1997-04-02\|url=http://sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm\|quote=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.}}</ref> Not all secret societies are perceived as a threat by the existing political establishment.{{Citation needed\|date=May 2009}}

			== Realms ==
	=== Colleges and universities ===
	Many student societies established on university campuses in the United States have been considered secret societies. Perhaps one of the most famous secret college societies is the ] at ]. Secret societies are disallowed in a few colleges. ] has rules that no cadet may join a secret society<ref> REGULATIONS FOR THE VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE, PART II, Revised 5 December 2008, 12-16(b) http://www.vmi.edu/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=13639</ref>, and secret societies have been banned at ] since the beginning of the 20th century. British Universities, too, have a long history of secret societies in universities with a focus on aristocracy or privilege such as the ] at ], ] at ], and the ] at the ].

	==~~Disputed groups~~==		===Politics===
			Because some secret societies have ] aims, they are illegal in several countries. Italy (]) and ],<ref>{{cite web\|title=The Constitution of the Republic of Poland\|date=2 April 1997\|url=http://sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm\|quote=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.\|access-date=3 November 2009\|archive-date=20 April 2020\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200420173446/http://www.sejm.gov.pl/prawo/konst/angielski/kon1.htm\|url-status=live}}</ref> for example, ban secret political parties and ] in their ].
	The term "secret societies" could include ]s, such as the ], ] or the ] organizations.{{Citation needed\|date=May 2009}}

			===Colleges and universities===
	The United States of America's ] has been described as a secret society since its very existence was, for many years, a secret.{{Citation needed\|date=January 2010}} People (such as ], in ''],'' 1982) used to say that the letters ''NSA'' stood for "No Such Agency" or "Never Say Anything"; and, in the early 1990s, the ] had a website but the NSA did not. This has changed: the NSA has had a website for several years, and its activities are debated in Congress and the press. Its activities are authorized and are paid for, although the size of its budget and details of those activities are secrets.{{Citation needed\|date=May 2009}}
			{{See also\|Collegiate secret societies in North America}}
			Many ] established on university campuses in the United States have been considered secret societies. Perhaps one of the most famous secret collegiate societies is ] at ].<ref>{{cite web \|title=Skull And Bones \|url=http://thesecretbookgarden.com/skull-and-bones/ \|url-status=dead \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200419013022/http://thesecretbookgarden.com/skull-and-bones/ \|archive-date=19 April 2020 \|access-date=11 May 2012 \|work=The Secret Society Manual \|publisher=thesecretbookgarden.com}}</ref> The influence of undergraduate secret societies at colleges such as ], ], ], ], ], the ],<ref>{{cite journal \|title=To The Members of the University of Chicago \|journal=The University of Chicago Magazine \|date=July 1913 \|volume=5 \|issue=9 \|page=298 \|url=https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=rGw9AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1 \|access-date=8 May 2017 \|archive-date=30 September 2021 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210930191457/https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=rGw9AAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&output=reader&hl=en&pg=GBS.PP1 \|url-status=live }}</ref> the ], ], ],<ref>{{cite web \|title= Edgar Allan Poe in Greenwich Village \|url= https://greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/edgar-allan-poe-in-greenwich-village/ \|work= Researching Greenwich Village History \|publisher= greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com \|access-date= 11 May 2012 \|author= Megan Findling \|format= article \|date= 3 November 2011 \|archive-date= 20 February 2016 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160220081502/https://greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/edgar-allan-poe-in-greenwich-village/ \|url-status= live }}</ref> and ] has been publicly acknowledged, if anonymously and circumspectly, since the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite web\|url=https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1885/11/5/secret-societies-notable-among-the-features/\|title=Secret Societies. \| News \| The Harvard Crimson\|website=www.thecrimson.com\|access-date=18 September 2021\|archive-date=18 September 2021\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210918170558/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1885/11/5/secret-societies-notable-among-the-features/\|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|title= Student Government at Wellesley and How It Makes for Loyalty among the College Girls and Faculty \|newspaper= The New York Times \|date= 12 February 1912 \|url= https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40712FD385E13738DDDAC0A94DA405B828DF1D3 \|access-date= 12 February 2017 \|archive-date= 11 November 2012 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20121111123737/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40712FD385E13738DDDAC0A94DA405B828DF1D3 \|url-status= live }}</ref>

			] have a long history of secret societies or quasi-secret clubs, such as ] at ],<ref name="varsity">{{Cite news \|first= Mary \|last= Bowers \|title= Pitt Club under pressure from Council \|url= http://www.varsity.co.uk/archive/647.pdf \|work= Varsity \|page= 5 \|date= 17 November 2006 \|access-date= 20 August 2009 \|archive-date= 26 September 2007 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070926121512/http://www.varsity.co.uk/archive/647.pdf \|url-status= live }}</ref><ref name="bully"/> ] at ],<ref name="bully">{{Cite news \|first=Kirsty \|last=Gray \|title=Oxford's Bully-ingdon Club faces more scandal \|url=http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/3318 \|newspaper=Varsity \|date=11 February 2011 \|access-date=25 June 2011 \|archive-date=27 January 2012 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127175121/http://www.varsity.co.uk/news/3318 \|url-status=live }}</ref> the ], ] and the ] at the ], and the ] at ].<ref>D.T.W. Price. ''A History of Saint David's University College, Lampeter''. University of Wales Press, Cardiff. Volume One, to 1898 ({{ISBN\|0-7083-0606-3}})</ref> Another British secret society is the ], founded as an essay and debating society in 1820. Not all British universities host solely academic secret societies; both ] and ] require both brains and brawn.

			In ], ] is the secret society of the ].<ref>{{cite web \|url= http://www.espace-turing.fr/Naissance-de-Alexandre-Theophile.html \|title= Naissance de " Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde ", mathématicien français – Espace " Sciences du Numérique " Alan Turing (LJAD – CNRS/UNS) \|website= www.espace-turing.fr \|access-date= 20 August 2017 \|archive-date= 17 October 2017 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171017021353/http://www.espace-turing.fr/Naissance-de-Alexandre-Theophile.html \|url-status= live }}</ref>

			Notable examples in ] include ] at the ]'s ], and the ] at the ].{{citation needed\|date=January 2015}}

			Secret societies are disallowed in a few colleges. The ] has rules that no cadet may join a secret society,<ref>{{cite web \|title= Regulations for the Virginia Military Institute, Part II, Revised 5 December 2008, 12–16(b) \|url= http://www.vmi.edu/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=13639 \|publisher= vmi.edu }}</ref> and secret societies have been banned at ] from 1847<ref>{{cite book \|last= Fletcher \|first= Robert Samuel \|title= A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundation Through the Civil War \|publisher= Oberlin College \|year= 1943 \|url= http://www.gospeltruth.net/oberlinhistory.htm#41 \|access-date= 10 April 2012 \|archive-date= 14 August 2019 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190814192255/http://www.gospeltruth.net/oberlinhistory.htm#41 \|url-status= live }} "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>{{cite book \|url=http://new.oberlin.edu/students/policies/2011-2012/0-OberlinRulesRegs2011_12.pdf \|title=Student Regulations, Policies, and Procedures, Oberlin College 2011–2012 \|date=2011 \|work= \|publisher=Oberlin College \|year=2011 \|page=34 \|language=e \|access-date=10 April 2012 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326214411/http://new.oberlin.edu/students/policies/2011-2012/0-OberlinRulesRegs2011_12.pdf \|archive-date=26 March 2013 \|url-status=dead}} "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 ] since the beginning of the 20th century.

			] are secret-society-like student groups within ], some of which have histories of violence and ]. 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> {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611185212/http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=33251 \|date=11 June 2011 }}, '']'', 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> {{Webarchive\|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081021130746/http://www.economist.com/world/mideast-africa/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11849078 \|date=21 October 2008 }}, '']'', 31 July 2008</ref>

			The Mandatory Monday Association is thought to operate out of a variety of ] universities including the ]. The Association has numerous chapters that meet only on Mondays to discuss business and carry out rituals.<ref>{{Citation\|chapter=IV. The Secret Societies\|date=31 December 1969\|pages=58–132\|publisher=Columbia University Press\|isbn=9780231887458\|doi=10.7312/fort92186-004\|title=Omaha Secret Societies}}</ref>

			The only secret society abolished and then legalized is that of The ],<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===
			While their existence had been speculated for years, ]-based secret societies first became known to the public in 2012 when ] began recruiting from the public via Internet-based puzzles.<ref>{{cite news \|last1=Bell \|first1=Chris \|title= The internet mystery that has the world baffled \|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html \|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/internet/10468112/The-internet-mystery-that-has-the-world-baffled.html \|archive-date=12 January 2022 \|url-access=subscription \|url-status=live \|access-date= 23 July 2014 \|newspaper= Daily Telegraph \|date= 25 November 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news \|last1= Ernst \|first1= Douglas \|title= Secret society seeks world's brightest: Recruits navigate 'darknet' filled with terrorism, drugs \|url= http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/26/secret-society-seeks-worlds-smartest-cicada-3301-r/ \|access-date= 23 July 2014 \|newspaper= The Washington Times \|date= 26 November 2013 \|archive-date= 25 September 2015 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150925204905/http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/26/secret-society-seeks-worlds-smartest-cicada-3301-r/ \|url-status= live }}</ref> The goals of the society remain unknown, but it is believed to be involved in ].<ref>{{cite news \|author= NPR staff \|title= The Internet's Cicada: A Mystery without an Answer \|url= https://www.npr.org/2014/01/05/259959632/the-internets-cicada-a-mystery-without-an-answer \|access-date= 13 May 2014 \|newspaper= All Things Considered, National Public Radio \|date= 5 January 2014 \|archive-date= 27 June 2018 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180627144945/https://www.npr.org/2014/01/05/259959632/the-internets-cicada-a-mystery-without-an-answer \|url-status= live }}</ref><ref name=metro>{{cite news \|last= Scott \|first= Sam \|title= Cicada 3301: The most elaborate and mysterious puzzle of the internet age \|url= http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/16/cicada-3301-the-most-elaborate-and-mysterious-puzzle-of-the-internet-age-4229892/ \|access-date= 16 December 2013 \|newspaper= Metro \|date= 16 December 2013 \|archive-date= 12 June 2018 \|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162252/https://metro.co.uk/2013/12/16/cicada-3301-the-most-elaborate-and-mysterious-puzzle-of-the-internet-age-4229892/ \|url-status= live }}</ref>

			==Around the world==

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

			===Africa===

			==== Cameroon ====
			* ]

			==== Ghana ====
			* ]

			==== Guinea ====
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Ivory Coast ====
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Liberia ====
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Mali ====
			* ]

			==== Nigeria ====
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Sierra Leone ====
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== South Africa ====
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Zimbabwe ====
			* ]

			=== Asia ===

			==== China ====
			Secret societies played a major role in Chinese affairs for centuries. They were a key aspect of the ]s 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 ] during the 1950s.<ref>{{cite journal \| doi=10.1080/03068374.2019.1636515 \| title=Patriotic Chinese Triads and Secret Societies: From the Imperial Dynasties, to Nationalism, and Communism \| year=2019 \| last1=Purbrick \| first1=Martin \| journal=Asian Affairs \| volume=50 \| issue=3 \| pages=305–322 \| s2cid=199953554 \| doi-access=free }}</ref> Examples of Chinese secret societies include:

			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ], Society of the Heaven and the Earth
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== India ====
			Secret societies in ] include:

			* ]
			* ]

			==== Japan ====
			Secret societies in ] include:
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Malaysia ====
			Secret societies in ] include:

			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Philippines ====
			Secret societies in the ] include:
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Singapore ====
			{{Main\|Secret societies in Singapore\|Secret societies in colonial Singapore}}

			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			=== Australia ===
			Secret societies in Australia include:

			* ]<ref name=":0">{{Cite web \|title=Mateship & Fraternal Secret Societies in Australia \|url=https://www.fraternalsecrets.org/ \|access-date=2023-02-08 \|website=Fraternal Secrets \|language=en-US \|archive-date=8 February 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208152018/https://www.fraternalsecrets.org/ \|url-status=live }}</ref>
			* ]<ref name=":0" />
			* ]<ref name=":0" />
			* ]

			=== Europe ===
			Several secret societies existing across Europe, including:
			* ] (''Freischmiede'')
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			Other organizations are listed by country.

			==== Albania ====

			* ]
			* ]

			==== Bulgaria ====

			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Finland ====

	== See also ==
	* ]
	* ]		* ]
			* ]
	* ]
			* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]
	* ]

	==~~References~~==		==== France ====

	{{No footnotes\|date=April 2009}}
			* ]
	{{reflist}}
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			====Germany====

			* ]
			* ]
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			==== Greece ====

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			==== Ireland ====
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			==== Italy ====

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			==== 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 ===
			{{Main\|Collegiate secret societies in North America\|}}

			==== Canada ====
			Secret societies in Canada that are non-collegiate include:

			* ]s
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web \|title=Secret Societies in Canada {{!}} The Canadian Encyclopedia \|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/secret-societies \|access-date=2023-02-08 \|website=www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca \|archive-date=8 February 2023 \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208152017/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/secret-societies \|url-status=live }}</ref>
			* ]<ref name=":1" />
			* ]
			* {{Interlanguage link\|Ordre de Jacques-Cartier\|fr\|Ordre de Jacques-Cartier}}<ref name=":1" />
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			==== Cuba ====

			* ]

			==== United States ====
			Secret societies in the United States that are non-collegiate include:
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]s
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]
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			" ]

			==== Mexico ====
			* ]
			* ]

			=== South America ===

			==== Brazil ====
			* ]

			==Opposition==
			{{See also\|Anti-Masonry}}
			The ] strongly opposed secret societies, especially ]. It did relent somewhat ] and allowed membership in ] and the ], 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 ]s continue to forbid their members from joining secret societies in the 21st century, such as the ] and ]. <ref name="AWMC2014">{{cite book\|title=The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference)\|year=2014\|publisher=]\|location=]\|language=en\|pages=20–21}}</ref><ref>Ellen G. White, ''"Selected Messages Book 2"'', Chapter 13. (1958)</ref>

			== See also ==
			* ]
			* ]
			* ]

			== References ==
			{{Reflist}}

	==Further reading==		==Further reading==
	* {{~~cite~~ book		* {{Cite book
	\| last = Heckethorn
	\| first = Charles William
	\| year = 1997
	\| title = The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, Embracing the Mysteries of Ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, Early Christians, Heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and Inquisition, Mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Freemasons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, Nihilists, and Other Sects
	\| publisher = Kessinger Publishing
	\| isbn = 1-56459-296-0
	}}
	* {{cite book
	\| last = Whalen
	\| first = William Joseph
	\| year = 1966
	\| title = Handbook of Secret Organizations
	\| publisher = Bruce Pub. Co
	\| location = Milwaukee
	\| id = {{LCCN\|66\|\|026658}}
	}}
	* {{cite book
	\| last = Axelrod		\| last = Axelrod
	\| first = Alan		\| first = Alan
Line 80:		Line 375:
	\| publisher = Facts on File		\| publisher = Facts on File
	\| location = New York		\| location = New York
	\| isbn = ~~0-8160-2307-7~~		\| isbn = 0816023077
			\| url = https://archive.org/details/internationalenc00axel
	}}
			}}
	* {{cite book
			* Dickie, John. ''The Craft: How the Freemasons Made the Modern World'' (PublicAffairs, 2020). ; scholarly history.
			* Dumenil, Lynn. ''Freemasonry and American Culture: 1880-1930'' (Princeton UP, 1984), major scholarly survey.
			* Gist, Noel P. ''Secret Societies: A Cultural Study of Fraternalism in the United States'' (1941)
			* Harwood, W. S. (May 1897). '']'', vol. 164, no. 486. {{JSTOR\|25118819}}.
			* {{Cite book \| last=Heckethorn \|first=Charles William \|year=1886 \|title= The Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, Embracing the Mysteries of Ancient India, China, Japan, Egypt, Mexico, Peru, Greece, and Scandinavia, the Cabbalists, Early Christians, Heretics, Assassins, Thugs, Templars, the Vehm and Inquisition, Mystics, Rosicrucians, Illuminati, Freemasons, Skopzi, Camorristi, Carbonari, Nihilists, and Other Sects \|publisher=Forgotten Books \|edition=2nd \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wfyoQW1haRAC&q=Secret \|isbn=978-1-4400-8999-2}}
			* {{Cite book \|last=Jacob \|first=Frank \|year=2012 \|title=Geheimgesellschaften: Kulturhistorische Sozialstudien: Secret Societies: Comparative Studies in Culture, Society and History \|publisher=Königshausen & Neumann \|location=Würzburg \|isbn=978-3826049088}}
			* Klimczuk, Stephen, and ] (2009). '']''. New York: ].
			* {{cite book \| title= Secret Societies \| author= Kloosterman, Jaap\| publisher=] (IEG) \| year=2013\| url= http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0159-2013061019 }}
			* Ownby, David, and Mary F. Somers Heidhues, eds. ''Secret Societies Reconsidered: Perspectives on the Social History of Early Modern South China and Southeast Asia'' (Routledge, 2016)
			* {{cite book\|author=Ridley, Jasper \|title=The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h7q3VIZCiwQC\|year=2011\|publisher=Arcade\|isbn=978-1-61145-010-1}}
			* {{Cite book
	\| last = Roberts		\| last = Roberts
	\| first = J. M. (John Morris)		\| first = J. M. (John Morris)
Line 89:		Line 395:
	\| publisher = Scribner		\| publisher = Scribner
	\| location = New York		\| location = New York
	\| isbn = 0-684-12904-3		\| isbn = 0-684-12904-3}}
			* {{Cite book \|last=Robbins \|first=Alexandra \|year=2004 \|title=Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities \|publisher=Hyperion \|location=New York \|url=https://archive.org/details/pledgedsecretlif00robb \|url-access=registration \|isbn=0-7868-8859-8}}
	}}
			* Simmel, Georg. "The Sociology of Secrecy and of Secret Societies" '' The American Journal of Sociology'' (1906) 11#4 pp. 441–498 a famous classic by ],
	* {{cite book
			* {{Cite book \|last=Stevens \|first= Albert Clark \|year=1899 \|title=The Cyclopædia of Fraternities \|publisher=Hamilton Printing & Publishing Company \|location=New York \|url=https://archive.org/details/cyclopaediaoffra00stev}}
	\| last = Robbins
			* {{Cite book
	\| first = Alexandra
	\| ~~year~~ = ~~2004~~		\| last = Whalen
			\| first = William Joseph
	\| title = Pledged: The Secret Life of Sororities
	\| ~~publisher~~ = ~~Hyperion~~		\| year = 1966
			\| title = Handbook of Secret Organizations
	\| location = New York
	\| ~~isbn~~ = ~~0-7868-8859-8~~		\| publisher = Bruce Pub. Co
			\| location = Milwaukee
	}}
			\| lccn = 66026658
	* {{cite book
	\| last = Stevens
	\| first = Albert Clark
	\| year = 1907
	\| title = The Cyclopædia of Fraternities
	\| publisher = E.B. Treat and Company
	\| location = New York
	\| edition = 2nd
	}}		}}

	==External links==		==External links==
			{{wiktionary}}
	<!-- All links to commercial sites will be deleted, please do not waste your time and ours. Thank you. -->
			{{commons category\|Secret societies}}
	* — Documents and illustrations of ], ], ], ], ] and other putative secret societies and clandestine organizations
			* – Documents of ], ], ], ], ] and other organizations
	* Stevens, . A comprehensive, though dated, review of the subject.
			* Stevens, . A dated review of the subject.

			{{Fraternities and sororities}}
	{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret Society}}
			{{Odd Fellows}}
	]
			{{Conspiracy theories}}
			{{Phaleristics}}

			{{Authority control}}
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Latest revision as of 21:47, 11 January 2025

Organization hiding details from non-members For other uses, see Secret society (disambiguation).

This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (June 2024)

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.

Definitions

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 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.

Alan Axelrod, author of the International Encyclopedia of Secret Societies and Fraternal Orders, 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 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".

The organization "Opus Dei" (Latin for "Work of God") is portrayed as a "secret society" 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. Other critics label Opus Dei as "Holy Mafia" or "Santa Mafia"

The National Christian Association (1868–1983) is an example of an organization opposed to secret societies.

Realms

Politics

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

Colleges and universities

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. 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, the University of Virginia, Georgetown University, New York University, and Wellesley College has been publicly acknowledged, if anonymously and circumspectly, since the 19th century.

British universities have a long history of secret societies or quasi-secret clubs, such as The Pitt Club at Cambridge University, Bullingdon Club at Oxford University, 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. 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.

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.

Secret societies are disallowed in a few colleges. The Virginia Military Institute has rules that no cadet may join a secret society, and secret societies have been banned at Oberlin College from 1847 to the present, 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, while the Exam Ethics Project lobby group estimated that 115 students and teachers had been killed between 1993 and 2003.

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.

The only secret society abolished and then legalized is that of The Philomaths, which is now a legitimate academic association founded on a strict selection of its members.

Internet

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. The goals of the society remain unknown, but it is believed to be involved in cryptography.

Around the world

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

Africa

Cameroon

Ekpe

Ghana

Simo

Guinea

Ivory Coast

Liberia

Mali

Simo

Nigeria

Sierra Leone

South Africa

Zimbabwe

Nyau

Asia

China

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. Examples of Chinese secret societies include:

Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists
Hai San Secret Society
Red Lanterns
Red Spear Society
Tiandihui, Society of the Heaven and the Earth
Yellow Sand Society
White Lotus
Heavenly Kingdom of Everlasting Satisfaction

India

Secret societies in India include:

Japan

Secret societies in Japan include:

Malaysia

Secret societies in Malaysia include:

Philippines

Secret societies in the Philippines include:

Singapore

Main articles: Secret societies in Singapore and Secret societies in colonial Singapore

Australia

Secret societies in Australia include:

Europe

Several secret societies existing across Europe, including:

Ancient Order of Freesmiths (Freischmiede)
Freemasonry
Templars of Honor and Temperance
Rosicrucianism

Other organizations are listed by country.

Albania

Bulgaria

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Spain

United Kingdom

North America

Main article: Collegiate secret societies in North America

Canada

Secret societies in Canada that are non-collegiate include:

Cuba

Abakuá

United States

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

" Skull and Bones

Mexico

South America

Brazil

Shindo Renmei

Opposition

References

^ Daraul, Arkon (6 November 2015). A History Of Secret Societies. Pickle Partners Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78625-613-3.
Stevens (1899), p. vii.
Checkmark Books (1998), ISBN 0816038716
Spence, Richard B. The Real History of Secret Societies (2019), The Great Courses
Jasper Ridley (2011). The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society. Arcade. ISBN 978-1-61145-010-1. see also Jeffers, H. Paul. Freemasons: A History and Exploration of the World's Oldest Secret Society. (Citadel Press, 2005).
Walsh, Michael. OPUS DEI: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling for Power within the Roman Catholic Church.
Secret Society: Opus Dei - Catholicism's Secret Sect.
Their Kingdom Come: Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei.
"Beyond the Threshold". archive.nytimes.com. Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
Preston, Paul (1986). The triumph of democracy in Spain. London: Methuen. p. 28. ISBN 9780416900101. OCLC 14586560.
Harding, Nick (2005). Secret societies. Edison, N.J.: Chartwell Books, Inc. p. 107. ISBN 9780785821700. OCLC 78244509.
Hesse, Alexander (2015), Geheimbünde Freimaurer und Illuminaten, Opus Dei und Schwarze Hand (in German), Reinbek: Rowohlt Taschenbuch, p. 54, ISBN 9783499630491
Augias, Corrado (2012), Die Geheimnisse des Vatikan : Eine andere Geschichte der Papststadt (in German) (1., neue Ausg ed.), München: Beck, C H, p. 415, ISBN 9783406630927
Pilapil, Vicente R. (1971). "Opus Dei in Spain". The World Today. 27 (5): 211–221. ISSN 0043-9134. JSTOR 40394504. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 22 July 2021.
SPIEGEL, Peter Hertel, DER (7 April 2005). "Vatikan intern: Der Aufstieg der Santa Mafia". Der Spiegel (in German). Archived from the original on 22 July 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Fuerbringer, Ludwig (1927). The Concordia Cyclopedia: A Handbook of Religious Information, with Special Reference to the History, Doctrine, Work, and Usages of the Lutheran Church. St. Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House. pp. 532–33. Retrieved 11 October 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
"The Constitution of the Republic of Poland". 2 April 1997. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 3 November 2009. 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.
"Skull And Bones". The Secret Society Manual. thesecretbookgarden.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
"To The Members of the University of Chicago". The University of Chicago Magazine. 5 (9): 298. July 1913. Archived from the original on 30 September 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
Megan Findling (3 November 2011). "Edgar Allan Poe in Greenwich Village" (article). Researching Greenwich Village History. greenwichvillagehistory.wordpress.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2012.
"Secret Societies. | News | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Archived from the original on 18 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2021.
"Student Government at Wellesley and How It Makes for Loyalty among the College Girls and Faculty". The New York Times. 12 February 1912. Archived from the original on 11 November 2012. Retrieved 12 February 2017.
Bowers, Mary (17 November 2006). "Pitt Club under pressure from Council" (PDF). Varsity. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
^ Gray, Kirsty (11 February 2011). "Oxford's Bully-ingdon Club faces more scandal". Varsity. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
D.T.W. Price. A History of Saint David's University College, Lampeter. University of Wales Press, Cardiff. Volume One, to 1898 (ISBN 0-7083-0606-3)
"Naissance de " Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde ", mathématicien français – Espace " Sciences du Numérique " Alan Turing (LJAD – CNRS/UNS)". www.espace-turing.fr. Archived from the original on 17 October 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
"Regulations for the Virginia Military Institute, Part II, Revised 5 December 2008, 12–16(b)". vmi.edu.
Fletcher, Robert Samuel (1943). A History of Oberlin College from Its Foundation Through the Civil War. Oberlin College. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 10 April 2012. "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.'"
Student Regulations, Policies, and Procedures, Oberlin College 2011–2012 (PDF) (in e). Oberlin College. 2011. p. 34. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 March 2013. Retrieved 10 April 2012.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) "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."
"NIGERIA: Focus on the menace of student cults" Archived 11 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, IRIN, 1 August 2002
"Cults of violence" Archived 21 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, The Economist, 31 July 2008
"IV. The Secret Societies", Omaha Secret Societies, Columbia University Press, 31 December 1969, pp. 58–132, doi:10.7312/fort92186-004, ISBN 9780231887458
Arthur Morius Francis. Secret Societies. Vol. 3: The Collegiate Secret Societies of America. 2015 (file pdf).
Bell, Chris (25 November 2013). "The internet mystery that has the world baffled". Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
Ernst, Douglas (26 November 2013). "Secret society seeks world's brightest: Recruits navigate 'darknet' filled with terrorism, drugs". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
NPR staff (5 January 2014). "The Internet's Cicada: A Mystery without an Answer". All Things Considered, National Public Radio. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
Scott, Sam (16 December 2013). "Cicada 3301: The most elaborate and mysterious puzzle of the internet age". Metro. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
Purbrick, Martin (2019). "Patriotic Chinese Triads and Secret Societies: From the Imperial Dynasties, to Nationalism, and Communism". Asian Affairs. 50 (3): 305–322. doi:10.1080/03068374.2019.1636515. S2CID 199953554.
^ "Mateship & Fraternal Secret Societies in Australia". Fraternal Secrets. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
^ "Secret Societies in Canada | The Canadian Encyclopedia". www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
Christopher J. Kauffman, Faith and Fraternalism: The History of the Knights of Columbus, 1882–1982 (1982) p. 8.
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.
The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference). Salem: Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection. 2014. pp. 20–21.
Ellen G. White, "Selected Messages Book 2", Chapter 13. (1958)

External links

Secret Societies: a very short history – Documents of Freemasons, Jesuits, Illuminati, Carbonari, Burschenschaften and other organizations
Stevens, The cyclopædia of fraternities (2nd ed.). A dated review of the subject.

v t e Fraternities and sororities
Academic fraternities originating from North America
General	Colony North American fraternity and sorority housing Stepping U.S. racism Hazing in Greek letter organizations U.S. deaths Philippines deaths Mother of Fraternities
History	Fraternities and sororities North America High school Professional Service Canada Lists by country/territory France Philippines Puerto Rico
Historically African-American	ΑΚΑ ΑΦΑ ΔΣΘ ΖΦΒ ΙΦΘ ΚΑΨ ΣΓΡ ΦΒΣ ΦΡΗ ΩΨΦ WΨΦ
Historically Asian/Pacific Islander-American	Alpha Iota Omicron αΚΔΦ ΑΦΓ ΒΧΘ ΔΕΨ ΔΚΔ ΔΦΩ ΙΝΔ ΚΦΛ ΛΦΕ ΠΑΦ ΠΔΨ ΣΒΡ ΣΟΠ ΣΨΖ ΣΦΩ XPO
Christian fraternities and sororities	ΑΔΓ ΑΔΧ ΑΓΩ ΑΛΩ ΒΕΓΓΑΡΣ ΒΣΨ ΒΥΧ ΣΑΩ ΣΘΕ ΣΦΛ ΦΒΧ ΧΑΩ
Historically Jewish	ΑΕΠ ΑΕΦ ΖΒΤ ΣΑΕΠ ΣΑΜ ΣΔΤ ΤΔΦ ΤΕΦ
Multicultural	ΔΞΝ ΔΞΦ ΓΗ ΖΣΧ ΖΦΡ ΖΧΦ ΘΝΞ ΛΤΩ ΛΨΔ ΜΣΥ ΣΛΓ ΣΘΨ ΤΦΣ ΨΣΦ ΩΔΦ ΩΦΧ Delphic
Historically Scout-affiliated	ΑΦΩ ΕΤΠ ΓΣΣ ΩΦΑ
LGBTQ	ΑΛΖ ΑΠΔ ΔΛΦ ΓΡΛ ΘΠΣ ΚΑΛ ΚΘΕ ΟΕΠ ΣΦΒ
Native American	ΑΠΩ ΦΣΝ ΣΟΕ
Latino and Puerto Rican	ΑΨΛ ΑΟΣ ΔΤΛ ΓΑΩ ΓΖΑ ΗΓΔ ΚΔΧ ΛΑΥ ΛΠΥ ΛΠΧ ΛΣΥ ΛΘΑ ΛΘΝ ΛΘΦ ΛΥΛ ΜΑΦ ΝΑΚ ΝΣΒ ΣΔΑ ΣΙΑ ΣΛΑ ΣΛΒ ΣΛΥ ΣΠΑ ΦΔΓ ΦΗΜ ΦΙΑ ΦΣΑ ΧΥΣ ΩΦΒ
Major specific	ΑΓΡ ΑΓΣ ΑΚΨ ΑΣΚ ΑΩΕ ΔΣΠ ΚΚΨ ΣΑΙ ΤΒΣ ΦΣΓ ΦΣΡ Ceres FarmHouse Triangle
Social sororities	ΑΓΔ ΑΔΠ ΑΕΦ ΑΞΔ ΑΟΠ ΑΣΑ ΑΣΤ ΑΦ ΑΧΩ ΓΦΒ ΔΔΔ ΔΓ ΔΖ ΔΦΕ ΖΤΑ ΘΦΑ ΚΑΘ ΚΒΓ ΚΔ ΚΚΓ ΠΒΦ ΣΔΤ ΣΚ ΣΣΣ ΣΨ ΦΜ ΦΣΣ ΧΩ Clovia
Social fraternities	ΑΔΦ ΑΚΛ ΑΣΦ ΑΤΩ ΑΦΔ ΑΧΑ ΑΧΡ ΒΘΠ ΔΚΕ ΔΣΦ ΔΤΔ ΔΥ ΔΦ ΔΧ ΖΨ ΘΔΧ ΘΞ ΘΧ ΚΑ Order ΚΑ Society ΚΔΡ ΚΔΦ ΚΛΨ ΚΣ ΛΧΑ OΚΕ ΠΚΑ ΠΚΦ ΠΛΦ ΣΑΕ ΣΔΑ ΣΘΠ ΣΝ ΣΠ ΣΤΓ ΣΦ ΣΦΔ ΣΦΕ ΣΧ ΤΚΕ ΦΓΔ ΦΔΘ ΦΔΨ ΦΚΘ ΦΚΣ ΦΚΤ ΦΚΨ ΦΛΧ ΦΜΑ Sinfonia ΦΜΔ ΦΣΚ ΦΣΦ ΧΓΕ ΧΦ ΧΨ ΨΥ Acacia
See also	Freemasonry Odd Fellows Gentlemen's club Secret society

v t e Odd Fellows
International fraternal orders originating in the United Kingdom in the 18th century
Governing bodies	Independent Order of Odd Fellows Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity Grand United Order of Oddfellows
Appendant bodies	International Association of Rebekah Assemblies Household of Ruth Ancient Mystic Order of Samaritans Ladies of the Orient
People	John Wilkes Sir George Savile, 8th Baronet Thomas Wildey Peter Ogden Schuyler Colfax James L. Ridgely
Buildings	List of Odd Fellows buildings
Financial services	Insignia Financial Manchester Unity Credit Union
Category:Odd Fellowship

Conspiracy theories

List of conspiracy theories

Overview

Core topics	Antiscience Cabals deep state éminence grise power behind the throne Civil / Criminal / Political conspiracies Conspiracy Crisis actors Deception Dystopia Espionage Global catastrophe scenarios Hidden message Pseudohistory Pseudoscience Secrecy Secret societies Urban legends and myths
Psychology	Attitude polarization Cognitive dissonance Communal reinforcement Confirmation bias Denialism Locus of control Manipulation Mass psychogenic illness moral panics Paranoia Psychological projection

Astronomy and outer space

UFOs

Hoaxes	Dundy County (1884) Maury Island (1947) Roswell (1947) Twin Falls (1947) Aztec, New Mexico (1949) Southern England (1967) Ilkley Moor (1987) Gulf Breeze (1987–88) Alien autopsy (1995) Morristown (2009)

Deaths and disappearances

Assassination / suicide theories	Zachary Taylor (1850) Louis Le Prince (1890) Lord Kitchener (1916) Tom Thomson (1917) Władysław Sikorski (1943) Benito Mussolini (1945) Adolf Hitler (1945) Subhas Chandra Bose (1945) Johnny Stompanato (1958) Marilyn Monroe (1962) John F. Kennedy (1963) Lee Harvey Oswald (1963) Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966) Harold Holt (1967) Martin Luther King Jr. (1968) Robert F. Kennedy (1968) Salvador Allende (1973) Aldo Moro (1978) Renny Ottolina (1978) Pope John Paul I (1978) Airey Neave (1979) Olof Palme (1986) Zia-ul-Haq (1988) GEC-Marconi scientists (1980s–90s) Turgut Özal (1993) Vince Foster (1993) Kurt Cobain (1994) Yitzhak Rabin (1995) Diana, Princess of Wales (1997) Alois Estermann (1998) Nepalese royal family (2001) Yasser Arafat (2004) Benazir Bhutto (2007) Osama bin Laden (2011) Hugo Chávez (2013) Seth Rich (2016) Alejandro Castro (2018) Jeffrey Epstein (2019) Chan Yin-lam (2019) Sushant Singh Rajput (2020) John McAfee (2021)
Accidents / disasters	Mary Celeste (1872) RMS Titanic (1912) Great Kantō earthquake (1923) Lynmouth Flood (1952) Dyatlov Pass (1959) Lost Cosmonauts (1950s–60s) JAT Flight 367 (1972) United Air Lines Flight 553 (1972) South African Airways Flight 295 (1987) Khamar-Daban (1993) MS Estonia (1994) TWA Flight 800 (1996) EgyptAir Flight 990 (1999) Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (2014)
Other cases	Joan of Arc (1431) Yemenite children (1948–54) Elvis Presley (1977) Jonestown (1978)
Body double hoax	Paul McCartney Avril Lavigne Vladimir Putin Melania Trump

Energy, environment

Agenda 21

California drought manipulation

False flag allegations

USS Maine (1898)
RMS Lusitania (1915)
Reichstag fire (1933)
Pearl Harbor (1941)
USS Liberty (1967)
Lufthansa Flight 615 (1972)
Widerøe Flight 933 (1982)
KAL Flight 007 (1983)
Mozambican presidential jet (1986)
Pan Am Flight 103 (1988)
Oklahoma City bombing (1995)
9/11 attacks (2001)
- advance knowledge
- WTC collapse
Madrid train bombing (2004)
London bombings (2005)
Smolensk air disaster (2010)
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (2014)
Denial of the 7 October attacks (2023)

Gender and sexuality
Alpha/beta males Anti-LGBTQ Anti-gender movement Chemicals Drag panic Gay agenda Gay Nazis myth HIV/AIDS stigma United States Homintern Lavender scare Recruitment Grooming Litter box hoax Transvestigation Finger pinching GamerGate Ideology in incel communities Larries / Gaylors Satanic panic Soy and masculinity

Health

5G misinformation
Anti-vaccination
Aspartame
Big Pharma
Chemtrails
COVID-19
- Ivermectin
- Lab leak
- Vaccines
- Turbo cancer
- In Canada / Philippines / United States
Ebola
Electronic harassment
Germ theory denialism
GMOs
HIV/AIDS denialism
- Origins theories
- Oral polio AIDS hypothesis
Lepers' plot
Medbeds
SARS (2003)
Water fluoridation
Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning

Race, religion and/or ethnicity

Bhagwa Love Trap
CERN ritual hoax
COVID-19 and xenophobia
Freemasons
- French Revolution [fr]
Gas chambers for Poles in Warsaw (1940s)
German POWs post-WWII
Priory of Sion
Product labeling
- Halal
- Kosher
Tartarian Empire
War against Islam
White genocide

Antisemitic	Andinia Plan Blood libel Cohen Plan Doctors' plot During the Black Death Epsilon Team George Soros Holocaust denial Trivialization International Jewish conspiracy Committee of 300 Cultural Bolshevism / Jewish Bolshevism Żydokomuna Judeo-Masonic plot The Protocols of the Elders of Zion World War II Z.O.G. Judeopolonia Killing of Jesus Kalergi Plan New World Order Rothschilds Stab-in-the-back myth
Christian / Anti-Christian	Anti-Catholic Jesuits Popish Plot Vatican Bible Giuseppe Siri
Islamophobic	Counter-jihad Bihar human sacrifice Eurabia Great Replacement Love jihad Proposed "Islamo-leftism" inquiry Trojan Horse scandal
Genocide denial / Denial of mass killings	Armenian Bangladesh Bosnian Cambodian The Holocaust Holodomor Nanjing Rwandan Sayfo Serbs during WWII

Regional

Asia

India
- Cow vigilante violence
- Greater Bangladesh
Pakistan
- Jinnahpur
Philippines
- Tallano gold
South Korea
- Finger-pinching
Thailand
- Finland Plot

Americas
(outside the United States)

Argentina
- Andinia Plan
Canada
- Avro Arrow cancellation
- Leuchter report
Peru
- Casa Matusita
Venezuela
- Daktari Ranch affair
- Golpe Azul

Middle East / North Africa

Russia

Turkey

Other European

Euromyth
Georgia
- Global War Party
Ireland
- German Plot
Italy
- Itavia Flight 870
Lithuania
- Statesmen
Roman Republic
- First Catilinarian conspiracy
Spain
- Mano Negra affair
Sweden
- Lilla Saltsjöbadsavtalet
UK

United States

Barack Obama
- Citizenship
- Religion
- Parentage
- "Obamagate" / Spygate
Biden–Ukraine
Black helicopters
CIA and JFK
CIA assistance to bin Laden
Clinton body count
Cultural Marxism
Election denial movement
FBI secret society
FEMA camps
Georgia Guidestones
Jade Helm 15
Montauk Project
Philadelphia Experiment
Pizzagate
The Plan
Project Azorian
QAnon
- Pastel
- Incidents
Saddam–al-Qaeda
Sandy Hook (2012)
Springfield pet-eating hoax
Trump–Ukraine
"Vast right-wing conspiracy"
Vietnam War
- POW/MIA issue / Stab-in-the-back myth

2020 election	Italygate "Pence Card" Maricopa County ballot audit Stop the Steal

Other

Pseudolaw	Admiralty law Freeman on the land movement Redemption movement Sovereign citizens Strawman theory Tax protesters
Satirical	Acre Bielefeld Birds Aren't Real Li's field Ted Cruz–Zodiac Killer meme

See also
Argument from ignorance Conspiracy Encyclopedia Conspiracy fiction Conspirituality Dogma pseudoskepticism Falsifiability Fringe science Historical negationism Online youth radicalization Paranormal Prejudice Hate speech Radicalization Science by press conference Superstition

Phaleristics

Auxiliary science of history and numismatics about orders, decorations, and medals

Distinctions
(Lists)

By conferee

Founts of honour*	States and their national/public/official authorities Dynasties heads of currently or formerly sovereign royal families
Private	Ecclesiastical Organisations Commercial (Self-styled order)

By type

Orders

Titles (Styles,
Post-nominal)

By function	Grand master Chancellor Treasurer Assessor Bailiff Prior Chaplain Master of ceremonies

Obedience

Society	Peace Intellectual freedom Human rights Law Humanitarianism Politics Volunteer
Culture	Architecture Art Film History Literature Music Philosophy Poetry Theatre

By insignia
(Named after
people)

For wearing
(decorations)

Formal	Collar Grand Cross/Grand Cordon with sash Medal Necklet Medal bar Medal ribbon
Other	Rosette Award pin Lapel pin Collar pin Tie pin Badge Heraldic Pilgrim Epaulette Ribbon Ring Button Campaign Service Shoulder mark

Prizes

Ceremonies
and events

Related
organisations

Related
concepts

* = Direct or indirect reference to fount of honour is the accepted criterion for official distinctions
Category:Orders, decorations, and medals
Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Orders, decorations, and medals
- Misplaced Pages:WikiProject Awards

Categories:

Latest revision as of 21:47, 11 January 2025

Definitions

Realms

Politics

Colleges and universities

Internet

Around the world

Africa

Cameroon

Ghana

Guinea

Ivory Coast

Liberia

Mali

Nigeria

Sierra Leone

South Africa

Zimbabwe

Asia

China

India

Japan

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

Australia

Europe

Albania

Bulgaria

Finland

France

Germany

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Poland

Portugal

Russia

Serbia

Spain

United Kingdom

North America

Canada

Cuba

United States

Mexico

South America

Brazil

Opposition

See also

References

Further reading

External links