Table Of Content

Cover page Page: i Halftitle page Page: i Series page Page: ii Title page Page: xi Copyright page Page: xii Contents Page: xiii Acknowledgements Page: xv List of illustrations Page: xvii List of abbreviations Page: xix 1 Two approaches to freemasonry Page: 1 Idealization Page: 1 Distrust Page: 4 Striking a balance Page: 6 Freemasonry—a short overview Page: 8 Terminology Page: 13 2 Three centuries of freemasonry Page: 14 The 18th century Page: 14 The 19th century Page: 17 The 20th century Page: 25 The 21st century Page: 30 3 Historical legacies Page: 34 Guild traditions Page: 37 Knighthood imagined Page: 39 Hieroglyphs, emblems, and vision: the Renaissance heritage Page: 43 4 Enlightenment foundations Page: 46 The ideas of modern freemasonry: the 1723 Constitutions Page: 47 Secrecy and society Page: 55 Philanthropy, charity, and cosmopolitanism Page: 59 5 From darkness to light Page: 63 The craft degrees of freemasonry Page: 68 Development and motives of higher degrees Page: 74 Masonic rites between inclusion, delimitation, and authority Page: 77 Purpose of rituals Page: 79 6 Organizational culture Page: 81 Regularity and recognition Page: 83 A culture of self-governance Page: 88 Lodge organization, numbers, and names Page: 90 7 Brotherhood challenged Page: 93 Organization and development of female freemasonry Page: 94 The female adoption ritual Page: 99 8 Perceptions, prejudices, and persecutions Page: 105 Freemasonry and the press—topics and trends Page: 106 Regulation and suppression Page: 110 The modern conspiracy myth Page: 114 Freemasonry and anti-Semitism Page: 115 References to the masonic conspiracy myth in pop culture Page: 118 The attractiveness of the myth Page: 120 Timeline Page: 125 Further reading Page: 127 Index Page: 133 Social Media Page: 138 Online Catalogue Page: 139 Globalization Page: 140

Description:

Freemasonry is one of the oldest and most widespread voluntary organisations in the world. Over the course of three centuries men (and women) have organized themselves socially and voluntarily under its name. With a strong sense of liberation, moral enlightenment, cosmopolitan openness and forward-looking philanthropy, freemasonry has attracted some of the sharpest minds in history and has created a strong platform for nascent civil societies across the globe. With the secrecy of internally communicated knowledge, the clandestine character of organization, and the enactment of rituals and the elaborate use of symbols, freemasonry has also opened up feelings of distrust, as well as allegations of secretiveness and conspiracy. This Very Short Introduction introduces the inner activities of freemasonry, and the rituals, symbols and practices. Looking at the development of the organizational structure of masonry from the local to the global level, Andreas Önnerfors considers perceptions of freemasonry from the outside world, and navigates through the prevalent fictions and conspiracy theories. He also discusses how freemasonry has from its outset struggled with issues of exclusion based upon gender, race and religion, despite promoting tolerant openness and inclusion. Finally Önnerfors shines a light on the rarely discussed but highly compelling history of female agency in masonic and para-masonic orders. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.