Secret Societies

Abstract

Secret societies are predominantly the province of adults, but children too have their own secret gatherings. It would be fair to speculate that many are attracted to secret societies because of their allure and dangerous possibilities. Bok makes a similar point: ‘Few human activities convey the allure and the dangers of secrecy as vividly as do the secret societies that have sprung up in so many parts of the world’ (Bok 1989: 45). Despite the different kinds of secret societies that have existed throughout time, Bok suggests that the one unifying element that they all share is secrecy itself: ‘secrecy of purpose, belief, methods, often membership’ (46). Ironically, the existence of many secret societies is known to outsiders, but only insiders know the rituals, codes and practices, and even then, knowledge of the internal secrecy of the society may be only gradually revealed. There are other societies, however, which remain a complete secret. To be a member of a secret society holds attraction because of the status it offers: its separatism from the outside world, and the feeling of privilege or exclusiveness of membership.KeywordsFamily BusinessEmphasis OriginalHate SpeechSecret SocietySwan LakeThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.