JULIUS RUIZ
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780199281831
- eISBN:
- 9780191712999
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199281831.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter considers the Law of the Repression of Freemasonry and Communism. It considers the question of why this law was needed at all, because the other repressions already facilitated the ...
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This chapter considers the Law of the Repression of Freemasonry and Communism. It considers the question of why this law was needed at all, because the other repressions already facilitated the punishment of Freemasons and Communists. The answer lies in the regime's fear of the nebulous power of the ‘Judaeo–Masonic–Communist’ world conspiracy. The regime not only believed that this conspiracy had helped cause the ‘rebellion’ but that it continued to threaten Spain even after victory in 1939. However, the chapter reveals that the LRFC dealt almost exclusively with Freemasons; LRFC investigators paid considerable attention to Madrid as it was the home of the second largest Masonic community in Spain after Andalucia before the civil war.Less
This chapter considers the Law of the Repression of Freemasonry and Communism. It considers the question of why this law was needed at all, because the other repressions already facilitated the punishment of Freemasons and Communists. The answer lies in the regime's fear of the nebulous power of the ‘Judaeo–Masonic–Communist’ world conspiracy. The regime not only believed that this conspiracy had helped cause the ‘rebellion’ but that it continued to threaten Spain even after victory in 1939. However, the chapter reveals that the LRFC dealt almost exclusively with Freemasons; LRFC investigators paid considerable attention to Madrid as it was the home of the second largest Masonic community in Spain after Andalucia before the civil war.
J. P. DAUGHTON
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195305302
- eISBN:
- 9780199866991
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195305302.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This chapter describes that the new hope brought by Paul Doumer's government to the region only reignited internecine fighting among Frenchmen of differing religious and political orientations. It ...
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This chapter describes that the new hope brought by Paul Doumer's government to the region only reignited internecine fighting among Frenchmen of differing religious and political orientations. It adds that at the center of these conflicts, again, were the Catholic missionaries. It also talks about the Dreyfus affair in the empire, exposing a deep rift in French society. It notes that catholic missionaries identified Freemasonry as posing the greatest threat to their work. It also tells that Freemasonry had a profound connection with republican politics throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. It clarifies that in most of their accounts, Freemasons wanted to show that missionary misdeeds stemmed from intolerance.Less
This chapter describes that the new hope brought by Paul Doumer's government to the region only reignited internecine fighting among Frenchmen of differing religious and political orientations. It adds that at the center of these conflicts, again, were the Catholic missionaries. It also talks about the Dreyfus affair in the empire, exposing a deep rift in French society. It notes that catholic missionaries identified Freemasonry as posing the greatest threat to their work. It also tells that Freemasonry had a profound connection with republican politics throughout the second half of the nineteenth century. It clarifies that in most of their accounts, Freemasons wanted to show that missionary misdeeds stemmed from intolerance.
James Sidbury
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195320107
- eISBN:
- 9780199789009
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320107.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, American History: early to 18th Century
This chapter traces the rise of the African Baptist Church of Savannah, Georgia, one of the early churches to describe itself as “African”, and the progenitor of black Baptist churches in Canada, ...
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This chapter traces the rise of the African Baptist Church of Savannah, Georgia, one of the early churches to describe itself as “African”, and the progenitor of black Baptist churches in Canada, Sierra Leone, and much of the British Caribbean. The chapter then considers two institutions founded by black New Englanders at roughly the same time — African Freemasonry and the African Union Societies of Newport and Providence, Rhode Island — and traces their distinct but parallel efforts to build “African” institutions and identities. Leaders of these institutions sought to reconcile their deep faith in a Christian God with the prevalence of “paganism” in Africa, reaching toward a belief that American slavery represented God's plan for bringing the light of true religion to the Dark Continent. This conviction gave all three groups a shared stake in the efforts of those Black Loyalists who would move to Sierra Leone in 1792.Less
This chapter traces the rise of the African Baptist Church of Savannah, Georgia, one of the early churches to describe itself as “African”, and the progenitor of black Baptist churches in Canada, Sierra Leone, and much of the British Caribbean. The chapter then considers two institutions founded by black New Englanders at roughly the same time — African Freemasonry and the African Union Societies of Newport and Providence, Rhode Island — and traces their distinct but parallel efforts to build “African” institutions and identities. Leaders of these institutions sought to reconcile their deep faith in a Christian God with the prevalence of “paganism” in Africa, reaching toward a belief that American slavery represented God's plan for bringing the light of true religion to the Dark Continent. This conviction gave all three groups a shared stake in the efforts of those Black Loyalists who would move to Sierra Leone in 1792.
Nevill Drury
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199750993
- eISBN:
- 9780199894871
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199750993.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Twentieth-century Western magic has been shaped by many diverse influences, including Gnosticism and the Hermetica, the medieval Kabbalah, Tarot, and Alchemy, and more recently, Rosicrucianism and ...
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Twentieth-century Western magic has been shaped by many diverse influences, including Gnosticism and the Hermetica, the medieval Kabbalah, Tarot, and Alchemy, and more recently, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry. It also draws on Classical Graeco-Roman mythology, Celtic cosmology, Kundalini yoga, Tantra, shamanism, Chaos theory, and the various spiritual traditions associated in many different cultures with the Universal Goddess. This book traces the rise of various forms of magical belief and practice from the influential late nineteenth-century Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through to the emergence in more recent times of Wicca and Goddess worship as expressions of contemporary feminine spirituality. It also explores Chaos Magick and the occult practices of the so-called Left-Hand Path, as well as tenty-first-century magical forays into cyberspace. Key figures profiled here include Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Austin Osman Spare, Rosaleen Norton, Gerald Gardner, Starhawk, Z. Budapest, Anton LaVey, Michael Aquino, Michael Bertiaux, H.R. Giger, Carlos Castaneda, Michael Harner, Peter J. Carroll, and Terence McKenna; all have contributed in different ways to the increasing fascination with mythic consciousness and archaic spirituality.Less
Twentieth-century Western magic has been shaped by many diverse influences, including Gnosticism and the Hermetica, the medieval Kabbalah, Tarot, and Alchemy, and more recently, Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry. It also draws on Classical Graeco-Roman mythology, Celtic cosmology, Kundalini yoga, Tantra, shamanism, Chaos theory, and the various spiritual traditions associated in many different cultures with the Universal Goddess. This book traces the rise of various forms of magical belief and practice from the influential late nineteenth-century Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn through to the emergence in more recent times of Wicca and Goddess worship as expressions of contemporary feminine spirituality. It also explores Chaos Magick and the occult practices of the so-called Left-Hand Path, as well as tenty-first-century magical forays into cyberspace. Key figures profiled here include Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Austin Osman Spare, Rosaleen Norton, Gerald Gardner, Starhawk, Z. Budapest, Anton LaVey, Michael Aquino, Michael Bertiaux, H.R. Giger, Carlos Castaneda, Michael Harner, Peter J. Carroll, and Terence McKenna; all have contributed in different ways to the increasing fascination with mythic consciousness and archaic spirituality.
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195320992
- eISBN:
- 9780199852062
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320992.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
Western esotericism combines spirituality with an empirical observation of the natural world while also relating humanity to the universe through a harmonious celestial order. This introduction to ...
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Western esotericism combines spirituality with an empirical observation of the natural world while also relating humanity to the universe through a harmonious celestial order. This introduction to the Western esoteric traditions offers a concise overview of their historical development. It explores these traditions, from their roots in Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, and Gnosticism in the early Christian era up to their reverberations in today's scientific paradigms. While the study of Western esotericism is usually confined to the history of ideas, the book examines the phenomenon much more broadly. It demonstrates that, far from being a strictly intellectual movement, the spread of esotericism owes a great deal to geopolitics and globalization. In Hellenistic culture, for example, the empire of Alexander the Great, which stretched across Egypt and Western Asia to provinces in India, facilitated a mixing of Eastern and Western cultures. As the Greeks absorbed ideas from Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, they gave rise to the first esoteric movements. From the late 16th to the 18th centuries, post-Reformation spirituality found expression in theosophy, Rosicrucianism, and Freemasonry. Similarly, in the modern era, dissatisfaction with the hegemony of science in Western culture and a lack of faith in traditional Christianity led thinkers like Madame Blavatsky to look east for spiritual inspiration. The book further examines Modern esoteric thought in the light of new scientific and medical paradigms along with the analytical psychology of Carl Gustav Jung.Less
Western esotericism combines spirituality with an empirical observation of the natural world while also relating humanity to the universe through a harmonious celestial order. This introduction to the Western esoteric traditions offers a concise overview of their historical development. It explores these traditions, from their roots in Hermeticism, Neo-Platonism, and Gnosticism in the early Christian era up to their reverberations in today's scientific paradigms. While the study of Western esotericism is usually confined to the history of ideas, the book examines the phenomenon much more broadly. It demonstrates that, far from being a strictly intellectual movement, the spread of esotericism owes a great deal to geopolitics and globalization. In Hellenistic culture, for example, the empire of Alexander the Great, which stretched across Egypt and Western Asia to provinces in India, facilitated a mixing of Eastern and Western cultures. As the Greeks absorbed ideas from Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, and Persia, they gave rise to the first esoteric movements. From the late 16th to the 18th centuries, post-Reformation spirituality found expression in theosophy, Rosicrucianism, and Freemasonry. Similarly, in the modern era, dissatisfaction with the hegemony of science in Western culture and a lack of faith in traditional Christianity led thinkers like Madame Blavatsky to look east for spiritual inspiration. The book further examines Modern esoteric thought in the light of new scientific and medical paradigms along with the analytical psychology of Carl Gustav Jung.
Kenneth Loiselle
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452437
- eISBN:
- 9780801454875
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452437.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
Friendship, an acquired relationship primarily based on choice rather than birth, lay at the heart of Enlightenment preoccupations with sociability and the formation of the private sphere. This book ...
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Friendship, an acquired relationship primarily based on choice rather than birth, lay at the heart of Enlightenment preoccupations with sociability and the formation of the private sphere. This book argues that Freemasonry is an ideal arena in which to explore the changing nature of male friendship in Enlightenment France. Freemasonry was the largest and most diverse voluntary organization in the decades before the French Revolution. At least 50,000 Frenchmen joined lodges, the memberships of which ranged across the social spectrum from skilled artisans to the highest ranks of the nobility. The book argues that men were attracted to Freemasonry because it enabled them to cultivate enduring friendships that were egalitarian and grounded in emotion. Drawing on scores of archives, including private letters, rituals, the minutes of lodge meetings, and the speeches of many Freemasons, the book reveals the thought processes of the visionaries who founded this movement, the ways in which its members maintained friendships both within and beyond the lodge, and the seemingly paradoxical place women occupied within this friendship community. Masonic friendship endured into the tumultuous revolutionary era, although the revolutionary leadership suppressed most of the lodges by 1794. The book not only examines the place of friendship in eighteenth-century society and culture but also contributes to the history of emotions and masculinity, and the essential debate over the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.Less
Friendship, an acquired relationship primarily based on choice rather than birth, lay at the heart of Enlightenment preoccupations with sociability and the formation of the private sphere. This book argues that Freemasonry is an ideal arena in which to explore the changing nature of male friendship in Enlightenment France. Freemasonry was the largest and most diverse voluntary organization in the decades before the French Revolution. At least 50,000 Frenchmen joined lodges, the memberships of which ranged across the social spectrum from skilled artisans to the highest ranks of the nobility. The book argues that men were attracted to Freemasonry because it enabled them to cultivate enduring friendships that were egalitarian and grounded in emotion. Drawing on scores of archives, including private letters, rituals, the minutes of lodge meetings, and the speeches of many Freemasons, the book reveals the thought processes of the visionaries who founded this movement, the ways in which its members maintained friendships both within and beyond the lodge, and the seemingly paradoxical place women occupied within this friendship community. Masonic friendship endured into the tumultuous revolutionary era, although the revolutionary leadership suppressed most of the lodges by 1794. The book not only examines the place of friendship in eighteenth-century society and culture but also contributes to the history of emotions and masculinity, and the essential debate over the relationship between the Enlightenment and the French Revolution.
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195320992
- eISBN:
- 9780199852062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320992.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter examines 18th-century Freemasonry and illuminism and its influence on the history of Western esotericism. After Rosicrucianism supplied the myth of a secret society cultivating hermetic ...
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This chapter examines 18th-century Freemasonry and illuminism and its influence on the history of Western esotericism. After Rosicrucianism supplied the myth of a secret society cultivating hermetic sciences, Freemasonry provided a vehicle for the historical transmission of theosophical and alchemical traditions. The Illuminist societies were high-grade varieties of Freemasonry and they were overtly esoteric in their ideas and practices.Less
This chapter examines 18th-century Freemasonry and illuminism and its influence on the history of Western esotericism. After Rosicrucianism supplied the myth of a secret society cultivating hermetic sciences, Freemasonry provided a vehicle for the historical transmission of theosophical and alchemical traditions. The Illuminist societies were high-grade varieties of Freemasonry and they were overtly esoteric in their ideas and practices.
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195320992
- eISBN:
- 9780199852062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320992.003.0011
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter examines ritual magic from 1850 to the present. The modern occult revival of the 19th century was a complex phenomenon with widespread causes. Romanticism stimulated interest in the ...
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This chapter examines ritual magic from 1850 to the present. The modern occult revival of the 19th century was a complex phenomenon with widespread causes. Romanticism stimulated interest in the mysterious and the unknown, which in turn created a cultural receptivity to Mesmerism, Spiritualism, and magic. Freemasonry also served as an important factor in the occult revival by serving as a channel of Hermetic wisdom. The growth of fringe Masonry also reflected the contemporary revival of ritualism in the Anglican Church and this movement significantly influenced the restoration of sacramental worship to Anglican devotion and the revival of religious orders.Less
This chapter examines ritual magic from 1850 to the present. The modern occult revival of the 19th century was a complex phenomenon with widespread causes. Romanticism stimulated interest in the mysterious and the unknown, which in turn created a cultural receptivity to Mesmerism, Spiritualism, and magic. Freemasonry also served as an important factor in the occult revival by serving as a channel of Hermetic wisdom. The growth of fringe Masonry also reflected the contemporary revival of ritualism in the Anglican Church and this movement significantly influenced the restoration of sacramental worship to Anglican devotion and the revival of religious orders.
Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195320992
- eISBN:
- 9780199852062
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195320992.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, World Religions
This chapter examines the influence of the theosophy works of Helena Blavatsky on the revival of Western esotericism in the modern era. The Theosophical Society founded in New York in 1875 by ...
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This chapter examines the influence of the theosophy works of Helena Blavatsky on the revival of Western esotericism in the modern era. The Theosophical Society founded in New York in 1875 by Blavatsky played a vital role in propagating esotericism in the modern era. Theosophy was a major factor in the revival of the indigenous Western esoteric tradition and Blavatsky's writings presented the idea of an ancient wisdom handed down from prehistoric times by combining Neoplatonism, Renaissance magic, Kabbalah, Freemasonry, Greco-Roman mythology, religion, and Eastern religious doctrines.Less
This chapter examines the influence of the theosophy works of Helena Blavatsky on the revival of Western esotericism in the modern era. The Theosophical Society founded in New York in 1875 by Blavatsky played a vital role in propagating esotericism in the modern era. Theosophy was a major factor in the revival of the indigenous Western esoteric tradition and Blavatsky's writings presented the idea of an ancient wisdom handed down from prehistoric times by combining Neoplatonism, Renaissance magic, Kabbalah, Freemasonry, Greco-Roman mythology, religion, and Eastern religious doctrines.
GILLIAN RUSSELL
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198122630
- eISBN:
- 9780191671500
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198122630.003.0005
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama
John Philip Kemble, the manager-proprietor of the Covent Garden Theatre, made plans to rebuild the theatre after it had been destroyed by fire. These plans included the staging of a public ceremonial ...
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John Philip Kemble, the manager-proprietor of the Covent Garden Theatre, made plans to rebuild the theatre after it had been destroyed by fire. These plans included the staging of a public ceremonial for establishing the corner-stone of the new building. To confuse spectators, Life Guards surrounded the site while infantry detachments were deployed. As this event involved several prominent figures and was celebrated extravagantly, it is important to note that this event accounts for a symbolic enactment of how the theatre was perceived as a masonic-military domain. The said event was graced by the presence of the Freemasonry and the officer class. The procession, the crowd regulation, the firing of the salute, and other such elements of the event demonstrated the cultural and physical space occupied by the theatre. In this chapter, we look into the reflexivity of wars within and outside the theatre, concentrating particularly on the army and the navy.Less
John Philip Kemble, the manager-proprietor of the Covent Garden Theatre, made plans to rebuild the theatre after it had been destroyed by fire. These plans included the staging of a public ceremonial for establishing the corner-stone of the new building. To confuse spectators, Life Guards surrounded the site while infantry detachments were deployed. As this event involved several prominent figures and was celebrated extravagantly, it is important to note that this event accounts for a symbolic enactment of how the theatre was perceived as a masonic-military domain. The said event was graced by the presence of the Freemasonry and the officer class. The procession, the crowd regulation, the firing of the salute, and other such elements of the event demonstrated the cultural and physical space occupied by the theatre. In this chapter, we look into the reflexivity of wars within and outside the theatre, concentrating particularly on the army and the navy.
Ronald Hutton
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207443
- eISBN:
- 9780191677670
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207443.003.0011
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter focuses on Gerald Brosseau Gardner, the person most prominently associated with the appearance of modern pagan witchcraft. Gardner had a keen interest in the supernatural, which led him ...
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This chapter focuses on Gerald Brosseau Gardner, the person most prominently associated with the appearance of modern pagan witchcraft. Gardner had a keen interest in the supernatural, which led him to read widely about religion and the occult and to discuss them repeatedly with like-minded people, and to gain first-hand experience of Freemasonry, spiritualism, Buddhism, and tribal magical practices. He also had an equally active antiquarianism, which propelled him to become a pioneer of Malay archaeology, numismatics, maritime history and folklore. He also became an author of respected monographs in these fields.Less
This chapter focuses on Gerald Brosseau Gardner, the person most prominently associated with the appearance of modern pagan witchcraft. Gardner had a keen interest in the supernatural, which led him to read widely about religion and the occult and to discuss them repeatedly with like-minded people, and to gain first-hand experience of Freemasonry, spiritualism, Buddhism, and tribal magical practices. He also had an equally active antiquarianism, which propelled him to become a pioneer of Malay archaeology, numismatics, maritime history and folklore. He also became an author of respected monographs in these fields.
Ronald Hutton
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198207443
- eISBN:
- 9780191677670
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198207443.003.0004
- Subject:
- History, History of Religion
This chapter traces the widespread growth of secret societies in Europe from the 18th century onwards. Members were initiated into these societies upon an oath to observe confidentiality of ...
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This chapter traces the widespread growth of secret societies in Europe from the 18th century onwards. Members were initiated into these societies upon an oath to observe confidentiality of proceedings, and which contained a strong ceremonial element. The source, and thereafter the main tradition, of these was Freemasonry. By the opening of the 20th century, millions of British men, and hundreds of women, were accustomed to working within closed groups which initiated newcomers through a process that involved blindfolding, a series of challenges and responses, admission to a ritual space, the taking of an oath of secrecy, and the passage of an ordeal. All imparted arcane knowledge to those who were accepted, and all claimed to represent an immemorial body of wisdom and practice — commonly called ‘craft’ — which had been handed down in private, through initiation and training, from the beginning of recorded time. All had incorporated actual historical figures and events into their own mythological past.Less
This chapter traces the widespread growth of secret societies in Europe from the 18th century onwards. Members were initiated into these societies upon an oath to observe confidentiality of proceedings, and which contained a strong ceremonial element. The source, and thereafter the main tradition, of these was Freemasonry. By the opening of the 20th century, millions of British men, and hundreds of women, were accustomed to working within closed groups which initiated newcomers through a process that involved blindfolding, a series of challenges and responses, admission to a ritual space, the taking of an oath of secrecy, and the passage of an ordeal. All imparted arcane knowledge to those who were accepted, and all claimed to represent an immemorial body of wisdom and practice — commonly called ‘craft’ — which had been handed down in private, through initiation and training, from the beginning of recorded time. All had incorporated actual historical figures and events into their own mythological past.
Mark A. Lause
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- April 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780252036552
- eISBN:
- 9780252093593
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of Illinois Press
- DOI:
- 10.5406/illinois/9780252036552.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, American History: Civil War
This history of the Civil War considers the impact of nineteenth-century American secret societies on the path to as well as the course of the war. Beginning with the European secret societies that ...
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This history of the Civil War considers the impact of nineteenth-century American secret societies on the path to as well as the course of the war. Beginning with the European secret societies that laid the groundwork for Freemasonry in the United States, the book analyzes how the Old World's traditions influenced various underground groups and movements in America, particularly George Lippard's Brotherhood of the Union, an American attempt to replicate the political secret societies that influenced the European Revolutions of 1848. The book traces the Brotherhood's various manifestations, including the Knights of the Golden Circle (out of which developed the Ku Klux Klan), and the Confederate secret groups through which John Wilkes Booth and others attempted to undermine the Union. It shows how, in the years leading up to the Civil War, these clandestine organizations exacerbated existing sectional tensions and may have played a part in key events such as John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Lincoln's election, and the Southern secession process of 1860–1861.Less
This history of the Civil War considers the impact of nineteenth-century American secret societies on the path to as well as the course of the war. Beginning with the European secret societies that laid the groundwork for Freemasonry in the United States, the book analyzes how the Old World's traditions influenced various underground groups and movements in America, particularly George Lippard's Brotherhood of the Union, an American attempt to replicate the political secret societies that influenced the European Revolutions of 1848. The book traces the Brotherhood's various manifestations, including the Knights of the Golden Circle (out of which developed the Ku Klux Klan), and the Confederate secret groups through which John Wilkes Booth and others attempted to undermine the Union. It shows how, in the years leading up to the Civil War, these clandestine organizations exacerbated existing sectional tensions and may have played a part in key events such as John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, Lincoln's election, and the Southern secession process of 1860–1861.
Chernoh M. Sesay
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9781781381724
- eISBN:
- 9781781382257
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Liverpool University Press
- DOI:
- 10.5949/liverpool/9781781381724.003.0003
- Subject:
- Literature, Criticism/Theory
This chapter traces the discourses of African Lodge No. 459, the first Black Masonic lodge in the US. It argues that as part of the ‘first generation of Black leadership’ in the post ...
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This chapter traces the discourses of African Lodge No. 459, the first Black Masonic lodge in the US. It argues that as part of the ‘first generation of Black leadership’ in the post American-Revolution US republic, Black Freemasons took up a ‘paradoxical and pivotal epistemological question’: how Black Americans should argue ‘not just for freedom but also their humanity’. The chapter illustrates how this question was framed by the denial of ‘equal’ incorporation of Black Americans as both ‘free’ members and ‘full’ citizens of the post American-Revolutionary US republic and by the correlated exclusion of early Black Freemasons from an already established and mainstream tradition of ‘White’ US Freemasonry. It shows how this founding generation of Black Freemasons were compelled to challenge not only these institutional exclusions, but also the correlated epistemic dehumanizations/exclusions derived from the dominant religio-secular narratives of the Western/US Enlightenment. It reveals the way this formative generation borrowed from, adapted, and/or re-imagined these dominant religio-secular narratives on behalf of both their ‘public culture’ struggles/mobilizations against their population's enslavement and overall subjugation/condemnation during the post-Revolutionary period, as well as within their related ‘private’ struggles/mobilizations against the already-established tradition of ‘White’ US Freemasonry.Less
This chapter traces the discourses of African Lodge No. 459, the first Black Masonic lodge in the US. It argues that as part of the ‘first generation of Black leadership’ in the post American-Revolution US republic, Black Freemasons took up a ‘paradoxical and pivotal epistemological question’: how Black Americans should argue ‘not just for freedom but also their humanity’. The chapter illustrates how this question was framed by the denial of ‘equal’ incorporation of Black Americans as both ‘free’ members and ‘full’ citizens of the post American-Revolutionary US republic and by the correlated exclusion of early Black Freemasons from an already established and mainstream tradition of ‘White’ US Freemasonry. It shows how this founding generation of Black Freemasons were compelled to challenge not only these institutional exclusions, but also the correlated epistemic dehumanizations/exclusions derived from the dominant religio-secular narratives of the Western/US Enlightenment. It reveals the way this formative generation borrowed from, adapted, and/or re-imagined these dominant religio-secular narratives on behalf of both their ‘public culture’ struggles/mobilizations against their population's enslavement and overall subjugation/condemnation during the post-Revolutionary period, as well as within their related ‘private’ struggles/mobilizations against the already-established tradition of ‘White’ US Freemasonry.
Porter-Szücs Brian
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780195399059
- eISBN:
- 9780199896844
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195399059.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
A rhetorical militancy has long been a component of Catholic rhetoric, but in different contexts the martial allusions surrounding the concept of the “Ecclesia Milatans” have had different ...
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A rhetorical militancy has long been a component of Catholic rhetoric, but in different contexts the martial allusions surrounding the concept of the “Ecclesia Milatans” have had different consequences and meanings. The 19th-century Polish Church was hardly militant in the colloquial sense, and as the battles fought at the time were usually against generic sources of temptation rather than specific earthly foes. But with the rise of Catholic social activism and with the gradual rapprochement between the Church and the nationalist right, metaphors drawn from more earthly forms of warfare proliferated, even in sermons and devotional publications. The Second Vatican Council tried to pull Catholics away from this vocabulary, preferring to talk about the People of God rather than the Ecclesia Militans, but in Poland the old rhetoric persisted. At times the battles were discussed with aggressive rhetoric about seizing the initiative and vanquishing the opponents of God; at other times Catholic authors preferred defensive images of encirclement or siege. Either way, the Polish Church was at war.Less
A rhetorical militancy has long been a component of Catholic rhetoric, but in different contexts the martial allusions surrounding the concept of the “Ecclesia Milatans” have had different consequences and meanings. The 19th-century Polish Church was hardly militant in the colloquial sense, and as the battles fought at the time were usually against generic sources of temptation rather than specific earthly foes. But with the rise of Catholic social activism and with the gradual rapprochement between the Church and the nationalist right, metaphors drawn from more earthly forms of warfare proliferated, even in sermons and devotional publications. The Second Vatican Council tried to pull Catholics away from this vocabulary, preferring to talk about the People of God rather than the Ecclesia Militans, but in Poland the old rhetoric persisted. At times the battles were discussed with aggressive rhetoric about seizing the initiative and vanquishing the opponents of God; at other times Catholic authors preferred defensive images of encirclement or siege. Either way, the Polish Church was at war.
George M. Young
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199892945
- eISBN:
- 9780199950577
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199892945.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
This chapter discusses elements from Russia’s esoteric tradition that reappear in new form in the writings of the Cosmists. Topics include the search for “Deep Wisdom” in medieval Russia; popular ...
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This chapter discusses elements from Russia’s esoteric tradition that reappear in new form in the writings of the Cosmists. Topics include the search for “Deep Wisdom” in medieval Russia; popular superstition and folk magic; alchemy, Freemasonry, and Rosicrucianism during and after the time of Peter the Great; Theosophy, Anthroposophy, and other nineteenth- and twentieth-century esoteric movements.Less
This chapter discusses elements from Russia’s esoteric tradition that reappear in new form in the writings of the Cosmists. Topics include the search for “Deep Wisdom” in medieval Russia; popular superstition and folk magic; alchemy, Freemasonry, and Rosicrucianism during and after the time of Peter the Great; Theosophy, Anthroposophy, and other nineteenth- and twentieth-century esoteric movements.
R. John Williams
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- August 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190221928
- eISBN:
- 9780190221959
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190221928.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature, Church History
A number of recent discussions of The Book of Mormon have attempted to push beyond the tired debates of apologists and critics by “bracketing” questions of the book’s ancient historicity. According ...
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A number of recent discussions of The Book of Mormon have attempted to push beyond the tired debates of apologists and critics by “bracketing” questions of the book’s ancient historicity. According to this approach, old efforts at affirming the text’s historicity only restrain and delimit our interpretive efforts by requiring in advance either dismissals of the volume’s sacred status (showing, for example, how many elements in the text have some correlative cultural referent in Joseph’s Smith’s New England religious environment; hence, fraud) or else faith-promoting reconstructions of its ancient historical origins (showing, by contrast, how many elements in the book can be explained only by transhistorical, angelic delivery; hence, Word of God). This essay argues that despite these pitfalls the narrative and structural realities of The Book of Mormon make all such attempts impossible. It is in this sense that the book provides a valuable case study in textual interpretation.Less
A number of recent discussions of The Book of Mormon have attempted to push beyond the tired debates of apologists and critics by “bracketing” questions of the book’s ancient historicity. According to this approach, old efforts at affirming the text’s historicity only restrain and delimit our interpretive efforts by requiring in advance either dismissals of the volume’s sacred status (showing, for example, how many elements in the text have some correlative cultural referent in Joseph’s Smith’s New England religious environment; hence, fraud) or else faith-promoting reconstructions of its ancient historical origins (showing, by contrast, how many elements in the book can be explained only by transhistorical, angelic delivery; hence, Word of God). This essay argues that despite these pitfalls the narrative and structural realities of The Book of Mormon make all such attempts impossible. It is in this sense that the book provides a valuable case study in textual interpretation.
Martin P. Starr
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199863075
- eISBN:
- 9780199979974
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199863075.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter considers Crowley's Masonic contacts. It tries to separate the facts from the numerous myths that surround Crowley and Freemasonry. In the next section, it studies Crowley's relationship ...
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This chapter considers Crowley's Masonic contacts. It tries to separate the facts from the numerous myths that surround Crowley and Freemasonry. In the next section, it studies Crowley's relationship with Freemasonry, which parallels his differing views of himself as the Great Wild Beast 666, the great magician and prophet, and the decent British gentleman. It also considers how Freemasonry allowed him to become a part of the respected establishment of British society.Less
This chapter considers Crowley's Masonic contacts. It tries to separate the facts from the numerous myths that surround Crowley and Freemasonry. In the next section, it studies Crowley's relationship with Freemasonry, which parallels his differing views of himself as the Great Wild Beast 666, the great magician and prophet, and the decent British gentleman. It also considers how Freemasonry allowed him to become a part of the respected establishment of British society.
David G. Hackett
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- September 2014
- ISBN:
- 9780520281677
- eISBN:
- 9780520957626
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520281677.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book weaves the story of Freemasonry into the narrative of American religious history. Coming to colonial America freighted with the mythical legacies of stonemasons’ guilds and the Newtonian ...
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This book weaves the story of Freemasonry into the narrative of American religious history. Coming to colonial America freighted with the mythical legacies of stonemasons’ guilds and the Newtonian revolution, English Freemasonry brought with it a vast array of cultural baggage that was drawn upon in different ways, added to, and transformed during the fraternity’s sojourn in American culture. This study argues that from the 1730s through the early twentieth century, the changing beliefs and initiatory practices of this all-male society were broadly appropriated by the religious worlds of an evolving social order. For much of American history, Freemasonry provided a counter and complement to Protestant churches and a site for collective action among African Americans, Native Americans, Jews, and Catholics outside the European American Protestant mainstream. Moreover, to differing degrees and at different times, the cultural template of Freemasonry gave shape and content to the American “public sphere.” By expanding and complicating the terrain of American religious history to include a group not usually seen to be a carrier of religious beliefs and rituals, the intention of this book is to show how Freemasonry’s American history contributes to a broader understanding of the multiple influences that have shaped religion in American culture.Less
This book weaves the story of Freemasonry into the narrative of American religious history. Coming to colonial America freighted with the mythical legacies of stonemasons’ guilds and the Newtonian revolution, English Freemasonry brought with it a vast array of cultural baggage that was drawn upon in different ways, added to, and transformed during the fraternity’s sojourn in American culture. This study argues that from the 1730s through the early twentieth century, the changing beliefs and initiatory practices of this all-male society were broadly appropriated by the religious worlds of an evolving social order. For much of American history, Freemasonry provided a counter and complement to Protestant churches and a site for collective action among African Americans, Native Americans, Jews, and Catholics outside the European American Protestant mainstream. Moreover, to differing degrees and at different times, the cultural template of Freemasonry gave shape and content to the American “public sphere.” By expanding and complicating the terrain of American religious history to include a group not usually seen to be a carrier of religious beliefs and rituals, the intention of this book is to show how Freemasonry’s American history contributes to a broader understanding of the multiple influences that have shaped religion in American culture.
Kenneth Loiselle
- Published in print:
- 2014
- Published Online:
- August 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780801452437
- eISBN:
- 9780801454875
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Cornell University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7591/cornell/9780801452437.003.0001
- Subject:
- History, European Modern History
This book examines how ordinary men conceived of and lived friendship in eighteenth-century France using Freemasonry as a prism. It argues that male friendship within Freemasonry was grounded in ...
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This book examines how ordinary men conceived of and lived friendship in eighteenth-century France using Freemasonry as a prism. It argues that male friendship within Freemasonry was grounded in great mutual affection and emotional investment by showing how men—through the conviviality of lodge activities, letter writing, or personal visits—created a set of private spaces where an egalitarian and affective ethos reigned. Focusing on the period from the appearance of the fraternity early in the reign of Louis XV to the Reign of Terror seventy years later, the book considers not only the normative ideals and actual behavior that reinforce masonic friendship but also the dynamic interplay and tensions between them. It explores the link between Freemasonry and the French Revolution as well as ways that brethren inside and outside lodges appropriated—and sometimes actively reshaped—Enlightenment thought.Less
This book examines how ordinary men conceived of and lived friendship in eighteenth-century France using Freemasonry as a prism. It argues that male friendship within Freemasonry was grounded in great mutual affection and emotional investment by showing how men—through the conviviality of lodge activities, letter writing, or personal visits—created a set of private spaces where an egalitarian and affective ethos reigned. Focusing on the period from the appearance of the fraternity early in the reign of Louis XV to the Reign of Terror seventy years later, the book considers not only the normative ideals and actual behavior that reinforce masonic friendship but also the dynamic interplay and tensions between them. It explores the link between Freemasonry and the French Revolution as well as ways that brethren inside and outside lodges appropriated—and sometimes actively reshaped—Enlightenment thought.
