Freemasonry and Satanism Wikipedia pages

This is a good article. Click here for more information.

Freemasonry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Jump to:  navigation , search

"Freemasons" redirects here. For other uses, see Freemasons (disambiguation).
"Masonic" redirects here. For the ghost town in California, see Masonic, California.

Standard image of masonic square and compasses

 The Masonic Square and Compasses.
 (Found with or without the letter G)
Part of a series on
Freemasonry
Square compasses.svg

Core articles[hide]
Freemasonry ·
 Grand Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge Officers ·
 Grand Master ·
 Prince Hall Freemasonry ·
 Regular Masonic jurisdictions ·
 Continental Freemasonry
 

History[hide]
History of Freemasonry ·
 Liberté chérie ·
 Masonic manuscripts
 

Masonic bodies[show]
































Views of Masonry[show]










People and places[show]




















Other related articles[show]













By country[show]
























v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that traces its origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of masons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of freemasonry, its gradal system, retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, journeyman or fellow (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason. These are the degrees offered by craft, or blue lodge Freemasonry. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, and are now administered by different bodies than the craft degrees.
The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the lodge. The lodges are usually supervised and governed at the regional level (usually coterminous with either a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, world-wide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry. Each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.


Contents  [hide]
1 Organisation, structure and beliefs 1.1 Masonic Lodge
1.2 Ritual and symbolism
1.3 Organisations of lodges 1.3.1 Recognition, amity and regularity 1.3.1.1 Exclusive Jurisdiction
1.3.1.2 Regularity

1.4 Other degrees, orders and bodies
1.5 Joining a lodge
2 History 2.1 Origins
2.2 North America 2.2.1 Prince Hall Freemasonry
2.3 Emergence of Continental Freemasonry 2.3.1 Schism
2.4 Freemasonry and women
3 Anti-Masonry 3.1 Religious opposition 3.1.1 Christianity and Freemasonry
3.1.2 Islam and Freemasonry
3.2 Political opposition 3.2.1 The Holocaust

4 See also
5 Footnotes
6 External links

Organisation, structure and beliefs
Masonic Lodge

Italian lodge at Palazzo Roffia, Florence

 Lodge in Palazzo Roffia, Florence set out for French (Moderns) ritual
Main article: Masonic Lodge
The Masonic Lodge is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. The lodge meets regularly to conduct the usual formal business of any small organisation (pay bills, organise social and charitable events, elect new members, etc.). In addition to business, the meeting may perform a ceremony to confer a Masonic degree[1] or receive a lecture, which is usually on some aspect of Masonic history or ritual.[2] At the conclusion of the meeting, the lodge might adjourn for a formal dinner, or festive board, sometimes involving toasting and song.[3]
The bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies. Candidates for Freemasonry are progressively initiated into Freemasonry, first in the degree of Entered Apprentice. Some time later, in a separate ceremony, they will be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft, and finally they will be raised to the degree of Master Mason. In all of these ceremonies, the candidate is entrusted with passwords, signs and grips peculiar to his new rank.[4] Another ceremony is the annual installation of the Master and officers of the lodge.[1] In some jurisdictions Installed Master is valued as a separate rank, with its own secrets to distinguish its members.[5] In other jurisdictions, the grade is not recognised, and no inner ceremony conveys new secrets during the installation of a new Master of the lodge.[6]
Most lodges have some sort of social calendar, allowing Masons and their partners to meet in a less ritualised environment.[7] Often coupled with these events is the obligation placed on every Mason to contribute to charity. This occurs at both lodge and Grand Lodge level. Masonic charities contribute to many fields from education to disaster relief.[8][9]
These private local lodges form the backbone of Freemasonry, and a Freemason will necessarily have been initiated into one of these. There also exist specialist lodges where Masons meet to celebrate anything from sport to Masonic research. The rank of Master Mason also entitles a Freemason to explore Masonry further through other degrees, administered separately from the craft, or "blue lodge" degrees described here, but having a similar format to their meetings.[10]
There is very little consistency in Freemasonry. Because each Masonic jurisdiction is independent, each sets its own procedures. The wording of the ritual, the number of officers present, the layout of the meeting room, etc. varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.[10][11]
The officers of the lodge are elected or appointed annually. Every Masonic Lodge has a Master, two Wardens, a secretary and a treasurer. There is also a Tyler, or outer guard, who is always present outside the door of a working lodge. Other offices vary between jurisdictions.[10]
Each Masonic lodge exists and operates according to a set of ancient principles known as the Landmarks of Freemasonry. These principles have thus far eluded any universally accepted definition.[12]
Ritual and symbolism
Main article: Masonic ritual and symbolism
Freemasonry describes itself as a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.[13] The symbolism is mainly, but not exclusively, drawn from the manual tools of stonemasons - the square and compasses, the level and plumb rule, the trowel, among others. A moral lesson is attached to each of these tools, although the assignment is by no means consistent. The meaning of the symbolism is taught and explored through ritual.[10]
All Freemasons begin their journey in the "craft" by being progressively initiated, passed and raised into the three degrees of craft, or blue lodge Masonry. During these three rituals, the candidate is progressively taught the meanings of the lodge symbols, and entrusted with grips, signs and words to signify to other Masons that he has been so initiated. The initiations are part allegory and part lecture, and revolve around the construction of the Temple of Solomon, and the artistry and death of his chief architect, Hiram Abiff. The degrees are those of Entered apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. While many different versions of these rituals exist, with two different lodge layouts and versions of the Hiram myth, each version is recognisable to any Freemason from any jurisdiction.[10]
In some jurisdictions the main themes of each degree are illustrated by tracing boards. These painted depictions of Masonic themes are exhibited in the lodge according to which degree is being worked, and are explained to the candidate to illustrate the legend and symbolism of each degree.[14]
The idea of Masonic brotherhood probably descends from a 16th-century legal definition of a brother as one who has taken an oath of mutual support to another. Accordingly, Masons swear at each degree to keep the contents of that degree secret, and to support and protect their brethren unless they have broken the law.[15] In most lodges the oath or obligation is taken on a Volume of Sacred Law, whichever book of divine revelation is appropriate to the religious beliefs of the individual brother (usually the Bible in the Anglo-American tradition). In Progressive continental Freemasonry, books other than scripture are permissible, a cause of rupture between Grand lodges.[16]
Organisations of lodges

Freemason's Hall, London

Freemasons Hall, London, home of the United Grand Lodge of England
Main article: Grand Lodge
Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent and sovereign bodies that govern Masonry in a given country, state, or geographical area (termed a jurisdiction). There is no single overarching governing body that presides over worldwide Freemasonry; connections between different jurisdictions depend solely on mutual recognition.[17][18]
Freemasonry, as it exists in various forms all over the world, has a membership estimated by the United Grand Lodge of England at around six million worldwide.[1] The fraternity is administratively organised into independent Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients), each of which governs its own Masonic jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. The largest single jurisdiction, in terms of membership, is the United Grand Lodge of England (with a membership estimated at around a quarter million). The Grand Lodge of Scotland and Grand Lodge of Ireland (taken together) have approximately 150,000 members.[1] In the United States total membership is just under two million.[19]
Recognition, amity and regularity
Relations between Grand Lodges are determined by the concept of Recognition. Each Grand Lodge maintains a list of other Grand Lodges that it recognises.[20] When two Grand Lodges recognise and are in Masonic communication with each other, they are said to be in amity, and the brethren of each may visit each other's lodges and interact Masonically. When two Grand Lodges are not in amity, inter-visitation is not allowed. There are many reasons why one Grand Lodge will withhold or withdraw recognition from another, but the two most common are Exclusive Jurisdiction and Regularity.[21]
Exclusive Jurisdiction
Exclusive Jurisdiction is a concept whereby only one Grand Lodge will be recognised in any geographical area. If two Grand Lodges claim jurisdiction over the same area, the other Grand Lodges will have to choose between them, and they may not all decide to recognise the same one. (In 1849, for example, the Grand Lodge of New York split into two rival factions, each claiming to be the legitimate Grand Lodge. Other Grand Lodges had to choose between them until the schism was healed.[22]) Exclusive Jurisdiction can be waived when the two over-lapping Grand Lodges are themselves in Amity and agree to share jurisdiction (for example, since the Grand Lodge of Connecticut is in Amity with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Connecticut, the principle of Exclusive Jurisdiction does not apply, and other Grand Lodges may recognise both).[23]
Regularity
Regularity is a concept based on adherence to Masonic Landmarks, the basic membership requirements, tenets and rituals of the craft. Each Grand Lodge sets its own definition of what these landmarks are, and thus what is Regular and what is Irregular (and the definitions do not necessarily agree between Grand Lodges). Essentially, every Grand Lodge will hold that its landmarks (its requirements, tenets and rituals) are Regular, and judge other Grand Lodges based on those. If the differences are significant, one Grand Lodge may declare the other "Irregular" and withdraw or withhold recognition.[24][25]

First Freemason's Hall, 1809

 Freemasons' Hall, London, c. 1809
The most commonly shared rules for Recognition (based on Regularity) are those given by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1929:
The Grand Lodge should be established by an existing regular Grand Lodge, or by at least three regular lodges.
A belief in a supreme being and scripture is a condition of membership.
Initiates should take their vows on that scripture.
Only men can be admitted, and no relationship exists with mixed lodges.
The Grand Lodge has complete control over the first three degrees, and is not subject to another body.
All lodges shall display a volume of scripture with the square and compasses while in session.
There is no discussion of politics or religion.
"Antient landmarks, customs and usages" observed.[26]
Other degrees, orders and bodies
Main article: Masonic appendant bodies
Blue lodge Freemasonry offers only three traditional degrees, and in most jurisdictions, the rank of past or installed master. Master Masons are also able to extend their Masonic experience by taking further degrees, in appendant bodies approved by their own Grand Lodge.[27]
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a system of 33 degrees (including the three blue lodge degrees) administered by a local or national Supreme Council. This system is popular in North America and in Continental Europe. The York Rite, with a similar range, administers three orders of Masonry, namely the Royal Arch, Cryptic Masonry and Knights Templar.[28]
In Britain, separate bodies administer each order. Freemasons are encouraged to join the Holy Royal Arch, which is linked to Mark Masonry in Scotland and Ireland, but separate in England. Templar and Cryptic Masonry also exist.[29]
In the Nordic countries the Swedish Rite is dominant; a variation of it is also used in parts of Germany.
Joining a lodge

Worshipful Master George Washington

 Print from 1870 portraying George Washington as Master of his lodge
Candidates for Freemasonry will have met most active members of the lodge they are joining before they are initiated. The process varies between jurisdictions, but the candidate will typically have been introduced by a friend at a lodge social function, or at some form of open evening in the lodge. In modern times, interested people often track down a local lodge through the Internet. The onus is on candidates to ask to join; while candidates may be encouraged to ask, they are never invited. Once the initial inquiry is made, an interview usually follows to determine the candidate's suitability. If the candidate decides to proceed from here, the lodge ballots on the application before he (or she, depending on the Masonic Jurisdiction) can be accepted.[30]
The absolute minimum requirement of any body of Freemasons is that the candidate must be free, and considered to be of good character.[31] There is usually an age requirement, varying greatly between Grand Lodges, and (in some jurisdictions) capable of being overridden by a dispensation from the Grand Lodge. The underlying assumption is that the candidate should be a mature adult.[30]
In addition, most Grand Lodges require the candidate to declare a belief in a Supreme Being. In a few cases, the candidate may be required to be of a specific religion. The form of Freemasonry most common in Scandinavia (known as the Swedish Rite), for example, accepts only Christians.[32] At the other end of the spectrum, "Liberal" or Continental Freemasonry, exemplified by the Grand Orient de France, does not require a declaration of belief in any deity, and accepts atheists (a cause of discord with the rest of Freemasonry).[33][34]
During the ceremony of initiation, the candidate is expected to swear (usually on a volume of sacred text appropriate to his personal religious faith) to fulfil certain obligations as a Mason. In the course of three degrees, new masons will promise to keep the secrets of their degree from lower degrees and outsiders, and to support a fellow Mason in distress (as far as practicality and the law permit).[10] There is instruction as to the duties of a Freemason, but on the whole, Freemasons are left to explore the craft in the manner they find most satisfying. Some will further explore the ritual and symbolism of the craft, others will focus their involvement on the social side of the lodge, while still others will concentrate on the charitable functions of the lodge.[35][36]
History
Main article: History of Freemasonry
Origins

Goose and Gridiron

 Goose and Gridiron, where the Grand Lodge of England was founded
Since the middle of the 19th century, Masonic historians have sought the origins of the movement in a series of similar documents known as the Old Charges, dating from the Regius Poem in about 1425[37] to the beginning of the 18th century. Alluding to the membership of a lodge of operative masons, they relate a mythologised history of the craft, the duties of its grades, and the manner in which oaths of fidelity are to be taken on joining.[38] The fifteenth century also sees the first evidence of ceremonial regalia.[39]
There is no clear mechanism by which these local trade organisations became today's Masonic lodges, but the earliest rituals and passwords known, from operative lodges around the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, show continuity with the rituals developed in the later 18th century by accepted or speculative Masons, as those members who did not practice the physical craft came to be known.[40] The minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland show a continuity from an operative lodge in 1598 to a modern speculative lodge.[41] It is reputed to be the oldest Masonic lodge in the world.[42]

Royal Arch Chapter in England, beginning of c20

 View of room at the Masonic Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, early 20th century, set up for a Holy Royal Arch convocation
The first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster (later called the Grand Lodge of England (GLE)), was founded on 24 June 1717, when four existing London lodges met for a joint dinner. Many English Lodges joined the new regulatory body, which itself entered a period of self-publicity and expansion. However, many lodges could not endorse changes which some lodges of the GLE made to the ritual (they came to be known as the Moderns), and a few of these formed a rival Grand Lodge on 17 July 1751, which is now known as the "Antient Grand Lodge of England." These two Grand Lodges vied for supremacy until the Moderns promised to return to the ancient ritual. They united on 25 November 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).[43][44]
The Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland were formed in 1725 and 1736 respectively, although neither persuaded all of the existing lodges in their countries to join for many years.[45][46]
North America
The earliest known American lodges were in Pennsylvania. The Collector for the port of Pennsylvania, John Moore, wrote of attending lodges there in 1715, two years before the formation of the first Grand Lodge in London. The Premier Grand Lodge of England appointed a Provincial Grand Master for North America in 1731, based in Pennsylvania.[47] Other lodges in the colony obtained authorisations from the later Antient Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which was particularly well represented in the travelling lodges of the British Army.[48][49] Many lodges came into existence with no warrant from any Grand Lodge, applying and paying for their authorisation only after they were confident of their own survival.[50]
After the American Revolution, independent U.S. Grand Lodges formed themselves within each state. Some thought was briefly given to organising an overarching "Grand Lodge of the United States," with George Washington (who was a member of a Virginian lodge) as the first Grand Master, but the idea was short-lived. The various state Grand Lodges did not wish to diminish their own authority by agreeing to such a body.[51]
Prince Hall Freemasonry
Main article: Prince Hall Freemasonry
Prince Hall Freemasonry exists because of the refusal of early American lodges to admit African-Americans. In 1775, an African-American named Prince Hall,[52] along with fourteen other African-Americans, was initiated into a British military lodge with a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Ireland, having failed to obtain admission from the other lodges in Boston. When the military Lodge left North America, those fifteen men were given the authority to meet as a Lodge, but not to initiate Masons. In 1784, these individuals obtained a Warrant from the Premier Grand Lodge of England (GLE) and formed African Lodge, Number 459. When the UGLE was formed in 1813, all U.S.-based Lodges were stricken from their rolls – due largely to the War of 1812. Thus, separated from both UGLE and any concordantly recognised U.S. Grand Lodge, African Lodge re-titled itself as the African Lodge, Number 1 – and became a de facto "Grand Lodge" (this Lodge is not to be confused with the various Grand Lodges on the Continent of Africa). As with the rest of U.S. Freemasonry, Prince Hall Freemasonry soon grew and organised on a Grand Lodge system for each state.[53]
Widespread segregation in 19th- and early 20th-century North America made it difficult for African-Americans to join Lodges outside of Prince Hall jurisdictions – and impossible for inter-jurisdiction recognition between the parallel U.S. Masonic authorities. By the 1980s such discrimination was a thing of the past, and today most U.S. Grand Lodges recognise their Prince Hall counterparts, and the authorities of both traditions are working towards full recognition.[54] The United Grand Lodge of England has no problem with recognising Prince Hall Grand Lodges.[55] While celebrating their heritage as lodges of black Americans, Prince Hall is open to all men regardless of race or religion.[56]
Emergence of Continental Freemasonry

Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745

 Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745
English Freemasonry spread to France in the 1720s, first as lodges of expatriates and exiled Jacobites, and then as distinctively French lodges which still follow the ritual of the Moderns. From France and England, Freemasonry spread to most of Continental Europe during the course of the 18th century. The Grande Loge de France formed under the Grand Mastership of the Duke of Clermont, who exercised only nominal authority. His successor, the Duke of Orléans, reconstituted the central body as the Grand Orient de France in 1773. Briefly eclipsed during the French Revolution, French Freemasonry continued to grow in the next century.[57]
Schism
The ritual form on which the Grand Orient of France was based was abolished in England in the events leading to the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. However the two jurisdictions continued in amity (mutual recognition) until events of the 1860s and 1870s drove a seemingly permanent wedge between them. In 1868 the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the State of Louisiana appeared in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, recognised by the Grand Orient de France, but regarded by the older body as an invasion of their jurisdiction. The new Scottish rite body admitted blacks, and the resolution of the Grand Orient the following year that neither colour, race, nor religion could disqualify a man from Masonry prompted the Grand Lodge to withdraw recognition, and it persuaded other American Grand Lodges to do the same.[58]
A dispute during the Lausanne Congress of Supreme Councils of 1875 prompted the Grand Orient de France to commission a report by a Protestant pastor which concluded that, as Freemasonry was not a religion, it should not require a religious belief. The new constitutions read, "Its principles are absolute liberty of conscience and human solidarity", the existence of God and the immortality of the soul being struck out. It is possible that the immediate objections of the United Grand Lodge of England were at least partly motivated by the political tension between France and Britain at the time. The result was the withdrawal of recognition of the Grand Orient of France by the United Grand Lodge of England, a situation that continues today.[34]
Not all French lodges agreed with the new wording. In 1894, lodges favouring the compulsory recognition of the Great Architect of the Universe formed the Grande Loge de France.[59] In 1913, the United Grand Lodge of England recognised a new Grand Lodge of Regular Freemasons, a Grand Lodge that follows a similar rite to Anglo-American Freemasonry with a mandatory belief in a deity.[60]
There are now three strands of Freemasonry in France, which extend into the rest of Continental Europe:-
Liberal (also adogmatic or progressive) - Principles of liberty of conscience, and laicity, particularly the separation of the Church and State.[61]
Traditional - Old French ritual with a requirement for a belief in a supreme being.[62] (This strand is typified by the Grande Loge de France).
Regular - Standard Anglo-American ritual, mandatory belief in Supreme being.[63]
The term Continental Freemasonry was used in Mackey's 1873 Encyclopedia of Freemasonry to "designate the Lodges on the Continent of Europe which retain many usages which have either been abandoned by, or never were observed in, the Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as the United States of America".[64] Today, it is frequently used to refer to only the Liberal jurisdictions typified by the Grand Orient de France.[65]
The majority of Freemasonry considers the Liberal (Continental) strand to be Irregular, and thus withhold recognition. For the Continental lodges, however, having a different approach to Freemasonry was not a reason for severing masonic ties. In 1961, an umbrella organisation, Centre de Liaison et d'Information des Puissances maçonniques Signataires de l'Appel de Strasbourg (CLIPSAS) was set up, which today provides a forum for most of these Grand Lodges and Grand Orients worldwide. Included in the list of over 70 Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are representatives of all three of the above categories, including mixed and women's organisations. The United Grand Lodge of England does not communicate with any of these jurisdictions, and expects its allies to follow suit. This creates the distinction between Anglo-American and Continental Freemasonry.[66][67]
Freemasonry and women
Main articles: Freemasonry and women and Co-Freemasonry
The status of women in the old guilds and corporations of mediaeval masons remains uncertain. The principle of "femme sole" allowed a widow to continue the trade of her husband, but its application had wide local variations, ranging from full membership of a trade body to limited trade by deputation to approved members of that body.[68] In masonry, the small available evidence points to the less empowered end of the scale.[69]
At the dawn of the Grand Lodge era, during the 1720s, James Anderson composed the first printed constitutions for Freemasons, the basis for most subsequent constitutions, which specifically excluded women from Freemasonry.[70] As Freemasonry spread, continental masons began to include their ladies in Lodges of Adoption, which worked three degrees with the same names as the men's but different content. The French officially abandoned the experiment in the early 19th century.[71][72] Later organisations with a similar aim emerged in the United States, but distinguished the names of the degrees from those of male masonry.[73]
Maria Deraismes was initiated into Freemasonry in 1882, then resigned to allow her lodge to rejoin their Grand Lodge. Having failed to achieve acceptance from any masonic governing body, she and Georges Martin started a mixed masonic lodge that actually worked masonic ritual.[74] Annie Besant spread the phenomenon to the English speaking world.[75] Disagreements over ritual led to the formation of exclusively female bodies of Freemasons in England, which spread to other countries. Meanwhile, the French had re-invented Adoption as an all-female lodge in 1901, only to cast it aside again in 1935. The lodges, however, continued to meet, which gave rise, in 1959, to a body of women practising continental Freemasonry.[72]
In general, Continental Freemasonry is sympathetic to Freemasonry amongst women, dating from the 1890s when French lodges assisted the emergent co-masonic movement by promoting enough of their members to the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite to allow them, in 1899, to form their own grand council, recognised by the other Continental Grand Councils of that Rite.[76] The United Grand Lodge of England issued a statement in 1999 recognising the two women's grand lodges there to be regular in all but the participants. While they were not, therefore, recognised as regular, they were part of Freemasonry "in general".[1][77] The attitude of most regular Anglo-American grand lodges remains that women Freemasons are not legitimate Masons.[78]
Anti-Masonry



Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one of the few Masonic temples that survived the Franco dictatorship in Spain.
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called Anti-Freemasonry) has been defined as "opposition to Freemasonry",[79][80] but there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement. Anti-Masonry consists of widely differing criticisms from diverse (and often incompatible) groups who are hostile to Freemasonry in some form. Critics have included religious groups, political groups, and conspiracy theorists.
There have been many disclosures and exposés dating as far back as the 18th century. These often lack context,[81] may be outdated for various reasons,[82] or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author, as in the case of the Taxil hoax.[83]
These hoaxes and exposés have often become the basis for criticism of Masonry, often religious or political in nature or are based on suspicion of corrupt conspiracy of some form. The political opposition that arose after the "Morgan Affair" in 1826 gave rise to the term Anti-Masonry, which is still in use today, both by Masons in referring to their critics and as a self-descriptor by the critics themselves.[84]
Religious opposition
Freemasonry has attracted criticism from theocratic states and organised religions for supposed competition with religion, or supposed heterodoxy within the fraternity itself, and has long been the target of conspiracy theories, which assert Freemasonry to be an occult and evil power.[85]
Christianity and Freemasonry
Main article: Opposition to Freemasonry within Christianity
Although members of various faiths cite objections, certain Christian denominations have had high profile negative attitudes to Masonry, banning or discouraging their members from being Freemasons.
The denomination with the longest history of objection to Freemasonry is the Roman Catholic Church. The objections raised by the Roman Catholic Church are based on the allegation that Masonry teaches a naturalistic deistic religion which is in conflict with Church doctrine.[86] A number of Papal pronouncements have been issued against Freemasonry. The first was Pope Clement XII's In eminenti apostolatus, 28 April 1738; the most recent was Pope Leo XIII's Ab apostolici, 15 October 1890. The 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declared that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic excommunication, and banned books favouring Freemasonry.[87]
In 1983, the Church issued a new Code of Canon Law. Unlike its predecessor, it did not explicitly name Masonic orders among the secret societies it condemns. It states: "A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict." This named omission of Masonic orders caused both Catholics and Freemasons to believe that the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons may have been lifted, especially after the perceived liberalisation of Vatican II.[88] However, the matter was clarified when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a Declaration on Masonic Associations, which states: "... the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion." Thus, from a Catholic perspective, there is still a ban on Catholics joining Masonic Lodges. For its part, Freemasonry has never objected to Catholics joining their fraternity. Those Grand Lodges in amity with UGLE deny the Church's claims. The UGLE now states that "Freemasonry does not seek to replace a Mason’s religion or provide a substitute for it."[1]
In contrast to Catholic allegations of rationalism and naturalism, Protestant objections are more likely to be based on allegations of mysticism, occultism, and even Satanism.[89] Masonic scholar Albert Pike is often quoted (in some cases misquoted) by Protestant anti-Masons as an authority for the position of Masonry on these issues.[90] However, Pike, although undoubtedly learned, was not a spokesman for Freemasonry and was also controversial among Freemasons in general. His writings represented his personal opinion only, and furthermore an opinion grounded in the attitudes and understandings of late 19th century Southern Freemasonry of the USA. Notably, his book carries in the preface a form of disclaimer from his own Grand Lodge. No one voice has ever spoken for the whole of Freemasonry.[91]
Free Methodist Church founder B.T. Roberts was a vocal opponent of Freemasonry in the mid 19th century. Roberts opposed the society on moral grounds and stated, "The god of the lodge is not the God of the Bible." Roberts believed Freemasonry was a "mystery" or "alternate" religion and encouraged his church not to support ministers who were Freemasons. Freedom from secret societies is one of the "frees" upon which the Free Methodist Church was founded.[92]
Since the founding of Freemasonry, many Bishops of the Church of England have been Freemasons, such as Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher.[93] In the past, few members of the Church of England would have seen any incongruity in concurrently adhering to Anglican Christianity and practicing Freemasonry. In recent decades, however, reservations about Freemasonry have increased within Anglicanism, perhaps due to the increasing prominence of the evangelical wing of the church. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, appeared to harbour some reservations about Masonic ritual, whilst being anxious to avoid causing offence to Freemasons inside and outside the Church of England. In 2003 he felt it necessary to apologise to British Freemasons after he said that their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had barred the appointment of Freemasons to senior posts in his diocese when he was Bishop of Monmouth.[94]
In 1933, the Orthodox Church of Greece officially declared that being a Freemason constitutes an act of apostasy and thus, until he repents, the person involved with Freemasonry cannot partake of the Eucharist. This has been generally affirmed throughout the whole Orthodox Church. The Orthodox critique of Freemasonry agrees with both the Roman Catholic and Protestant versions: "Freemasonry cannot be at all compatible with Christianity as far as it is a secret organisation, acting and teaching in mystery and secret and deifying rationalism."[95]
Regular Freemasonry has traditionally not responded to these claims, beyond the often repeated statement that those Grand Lodges in amity with UGLE explicitly adhere to the principle that "Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for religion. There is no separate 'Masonic deity,' and there is no separate proper name for a deity in Freemasonry."[96]
Islam and Freemasonry
Many Islamic anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to both antisemitism and Anti-Zionism, though other criticisms are made such as linking Freemasonry to al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the false Messiah).[97][98] Some Muslim anti-Masons argue that Freemasonry promotes the interests of the Jews around the world and that one of its aims is to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.[99] In article 28 of its Covenant, Hamas states that Freemasonry, Rotary, and other similar groups "work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions ..."[100]
Many countries with a significant Muslim population do not allow Masonic establishments within their jurisdictions. However, countries such as Turkey and Morocco have established Grand Lodges,[101] while in countries such as Malaysia[102][103] and Lebanon[104] there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant from an established Grand Lodge.
In Pakistan in 1972 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Prime Minister of Pakistan, placed a ban on Freemasonry. Lodge buildings were confiscated by the government.[105]
Masonic lodges existed in Iraq as early as 1917, when the first lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was opened. Nine lodges under UGLE existed by the 1950s, and a Scottish lodge was formed in 1923. However the position changed following the revolution, and all lodges were forced to close in 1965.[106] This position was later reinforced under Saddam Hussein; the death penalty was "prescribed" for those who "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations."[97]
Political opposition
See also: Anti-Masonry and Suppression of Freemasonry
In 1799 English Freemasonry almost came to a halt due to Parliamentary proclamation. In the wake of the French Revolution, the Unlawful Societies Act 1799 banned any meetings of groups that required their members to take an oath or obligation.[107] The Grand Masters of both the Moderns and the Antients Grand Lodges called on Prime Minister William Pitt (who was not a Freemason) and explained to him that Freemasonry was a supporter of the law and lawfully constituted authority and was much involved in charitable work. As a result Freemasonry was specifically exempted from the terms of the Act, provided that each private lodge's Secretary placed with the local "Clerk of the Peace" a list of the members of his lodge once a year. This continued until 1967 when the obligation of the provision was rescinded by Parliament.[107]
Freemasonry in the United States faced political pressure following the 1826 kidnapping of William Morgan by Freemasons and subsequent disappearance. Reports of the "Morgan Affair", together with opposition to Jacksonian democracy (Andrew Jackson was a prominent Mason) helped fuel an Anti-Masonic movement, culminating in the formation of a short lived Anti-Masonic Party which fielded candidates for the Presidential elections of 1828 and 1832.[108]

Erlangen Lodge revival, meeting in 1948

 Lodge in Erlangen, Germany. First meeting after World War II with guests from USA, France and Czechoslovakia, 1948.
In Italy, Freemasonry has become linked to a scandal concerning the Propaganda Due lodge (a.k.a. P2). This lodge was chartered by the Grande Oriente d'Italia in 1877, as a lodge for visiting Masons unable to attend their own lodges. Under Licio Gelli’s leadership, in the late 1970s, P2 became involved in the financial scandals that nearly bankrupted the Vatican Bank. However, by this time the lodge was operating independently and irregularly, as the Grand Orient had revoked its charter and expelled Gelli in 1976.[109]
Conspiracy theorists have long associated Freemasonry with the New World Order and the Illuminati, and state that Freemasonry as an organisation is either bent on world domination or already secretly in control of world politics. Historically, Freemasonry has attracted criticism—and suppression—from both the politically far right (e.g., Nazi Germany)[110][111] and the far left (e.g. the former Communist states in Eastern Europe).[112]
Even in modern democracies, Freemasonry is sometimes viewed with distrust.[113] In the UK, Masons working in the justice system, such as judges and police officers, were from 1999 to 2009 required to disclose their membership.[114] While a parliamentary inquiry found that there has been no evidence of wrongdoing, it was felt that any potential loyalties Masons might have, based on their vows to support fellow Masons, should be transparent to the public.[113][114][115] The policy of requiring a declaration of masonic membership of applicants for judicial office (judges and magistrates) was ended in 2009 by Justice Secretary Jack Straw (who had initiated the requirement in the 1990s). Straw stated that the rule was considered disproportionate, since no impropriety or malpractice had been shown as a result of judges being Freemasons.[116]
Freemasonry is both successful and controversial in France; membership is rising, but reporting in the popular media is often negative.[113]
In some countries anti-Masonry is often related to antisemitism and anti-Zionism. For example, In 1980, the Iraqi legal and penal code was changed by Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath Party, making it a felony to "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including Freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations".[97] Professor Andrew Prescott of the University of Sheffield writes: "Since at least the time of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, antisemitism has gone hand in hand with anti-masonry, so it is not surprising that allegations that 11 September was a Zionist plot have been accompanied by suggestions that the attacks were inspired by a masonic world order".[117]
The Holocaust
Main article: Holocaust victims § Freemasons
See also: Liberté chérie (Freemasonry) and Suppression of Freemasonry

Forget-me-not

Forget-me-not
The preserved records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (the Reich Security Main Office) show the persecution of Freemasons during the Holocaust.[118] RSHA Amt VII (Written Records) was overseen by Professor Franz Six and was responsible for "ideological" tasks, by which was meant the creation of antisemitic and anti-Masonic propaganda. While the number is not accurately known, it is estimated that between 80,000 and 200,000 Freemasons were killed under the Nazi regime.[119] Masonic concentration camp inmates were graded as political prisoners and wore an inverted red triangle.[120]
The small blue forget-me-not flower was first used by the Grand Lodge Zur Sonne, in 1926, as a Masonic emblem at the annual convention in Bremen, Germany. In 1938 a forget-me-not badge—made by the same factory as the Masonic badge—was chosen for the annual Nazi Party Winterhilfswerk, the annual charity drive of the National Socialist People's Welfare, the welfare branch of the Nazi party. This coincidence enabled Freemasons to wear the forget-me-not badge as a secret sign of membership.[121][122][123]
After World War II, the forget-me-not flower was again used as a Masonic emblem at the first Annual Convention of the United Grand Lodges of Germany in 1948.[124] The badge is now worn in the coat lapel by Freemasons around the world to remember all who suffered in the name of Freemasonry, especially those during the Nazi era.[124]
See also
List of Freemasons
Footnotes
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Frequently Asked Questions" United Grand Lodge of England retrieved 30 October 2013
2.Jump up ^ "Materials: Papers and Speakers" Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire, retrieved 30 October 2013
3.Jump up ^ "Gentlemen, please be upstanding" Toasts for the festive board, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon retrieved 30 October 2013
4.Jump up ^ "Words, Grips and Signs" H. L. Haywood, Symbolical Masonry, 1923, Chapter XVIII, Sacred Texts website, retrieved 9 January 2014
5.Jump up ^ "Past Master" Masonic Dictionary, retrieved 31 October 2013
6.Jump up ^ "Maçon célèbre : le Maître Installé" GADLU blog Maçonnique, 3 March 2013, retrieved 2 November 2013
7.Jump up ^ For instance "Introduction into Freemasonry", Provincial Grand Lodge of Hertfordshire, retrieved 8 November 2013
8.Jump up ^ "Charitable work", UGLE, retrieved 8 November 2013
9.Jump up ^ (editors) John Hamill and Robert Gilbert, Freemasonry, Angus, 2004, pp 214-220
10.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Michael Johnstone, The Freemasons, Arcturus, 2005, pp 101-120
11.Jump up ^ "Les Officiers de Loge" Maconnieke Encyclopedie, retrieved 31 October 2013
12.Jump up ^ Alain Bernheim, "My Approach to Masonic History", Pietre Stones, from address of 2011, retrieved 8 November 2013
13.Jump up ^ "What is Freemasonry?" Grand Lodge of Alberta retrieved 7 November 2013
14.Jump up ^ Mark S. Dwor, "Some thoughts on the history of the Tracing Boards", Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, 1999, retrieved 7 November 2013
15.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, p79
16.Jump up ^ "Masonic U.S. Recognition of French Grand Lodges in the 20th century", Paul M. Bessel. retrieved 8 November 2013
17.Jump up ^ (editors) John Hamill and Robert Gilbert, Freemasonry, Angus, 2004, Glossary, p247
18.Jump up ^ "Difficult Questions; Is Freemasonry a Global Conspiracy?" MasterMason.com, retrieved 18 November 2013
19.Jump up ^ Hodapp, Christopher. Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2005. p. 52.
20.Jump up ^ Campbell, Donald G.; Committee on Ritual. "The Master Mason; Irregular and Clandestine Lodges". Handbook for Candidate's Coaches (EXCERPT). Grand Lodge F.&A.M. of California. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
21.Jump up ^ Jim Bantolo, "On Recognition", Masonic Short Talk, Pilar lodge, 2007, retrieved 25 November 2013
22.Jump up ^ Ossian Lang, "History of Freemasonry in the State of New York" (pdf), 1922, pp135-140, Masonic Trowel eBooks
23.Jump up ^ "Exclusive Jurisdiction", Paul M. Bessel, 1998, retrieved 25 November 2013
24.Jump up ^ "Regularity in Freemasonry and its Meaning", Grand Lodge of Latvia, retrieved 25 November 2013
25.Jump up ^ Tony Pope, "Regularity and Recognition", from Freemasonry Universal, by Kent Henderson & Tony Pope, 1998, Pietre Stones website, retrieved 25 November 2013
26.Jump up ^ UGLE Book of Constitutions, "Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition", any year since 1930, page numbers may vary.
27.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, p229
28.Jump up ^ Michael Johnstone, The Freemasons, Arcturus, 2005, pp 95-98
29.Jump up ^ J S M Ward, "The Higher Degrees Handbook", Pietre Stones, retrieved 11 November 2013
30.^ Jump up to: a b "How to become a Freemason", Masonic Lodge of Education, retrieved 20 November 2013
31.Jump up ^ "Comment devenir franc-maçon?", Grande Loge de Luxembourg, retrieved 23 November 2013
32.Jump up ^ "Swedish Rite FAQ", Grand Lodge of British Columbia & Yukon, Accessed 19 November 2013
33.Jump up ^ "Faut-il croire en Dieu?", Foire aux Questions, Grand Orient de France, Retrieved 23 November 2013
34.^ Jump up to: a b Jack Buta, "The God Conspiracy, The Politics of Grand Lodge Foreign Relations", Pietre-Stones, retrieved 23 November 2013
35.Jump up ^ "Social events and activities", Hampshire Province, retrieved 20 November 2013
36.Jump up ^ "Who are Masons, and what do they do?", MasonicLodges.com, retrieved 20 November 2013
37.Jump up ^ Andrew Prescott, "The Old Charges Revisited", from Transactions of the Lodge of Research No. 2429 (Leicester), 2006, Pietre-Stones Masonic Papers, retrieved 12 October 2013
38.Jump up ^ A. F. A. Woodford, preface to William James Hughan, The Old Charges of British Freemasons, London, 1872
39.Jump up ^ John Yarker (1909). The Arcane Schools. Manchester. pp. 341–342.
40.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, Chapter 4, p 53
41.Jump up ^ David Murray Lyon, History of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No 1, Blackwood 1873, Preface
42.Jump up ^ Stevenson, David (1988). The Origins of Freemasonry. Cambridge University Press. pp. 38–44. ISBN 0521396549.
43.Jump up ^ S. Brent Morris (2006). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry. Alpha/Penguin Books. p. 27. ISBN 1-59257-490-4.
44.Jump up ^ I. R. Clarke, "The Formation of the Grand Lodge of the Antients" , Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol 79 (1966), p. 270-73, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, retrieved 28 June 2012
45.Jump up ^ H. L. Haywood, "Various Grand Lodges", The Builder, vol X no 5, May 1924, Pietre Stones website, retrieved 9 January 2014
46.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, Chapter 1, p 17
47.Jump up ^ Francis Vicente, An Overview of Early Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, Pietre-Stones, retrieved 15 November 2013
48.Jump up ^ Werner Hartmann, "History of St. John's Lodge No. 1", St. John's Lodge No. 1, A.Y.M., 2012, retrieved 16 November 2013
49.Jump up ^ M. Baigent and R. Leigh, The Temple and the Lodge, Arrow 1998, Appendix 2, pp360-362, "Masonic Field Lodges in Regiments in America", 1775-77
50.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, p190
51.Jump up ^ Bullock, Steven C.; Institute of Early American History and Culture (Williamsburg, Va.) (1996). Revolutionary brotherhood: Freemasonry and the transformation of the American social order, 1730–1840. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4750-3. OCLC 33334015.
52.Jump up ^ Johnson, Lawrence (1996). "Who is Prince Hall? And other well known Prince Hall Masons". Retrieved 2005-11-14.
53.Jump up ^ "Prince Hall History Education Class" by Raymond T. Coleman(pdf) retrieved 13 October 2013
54.Jump up ^ Bessel, Paul M. "Prince Hall Masonry Recognition details: Historical Maps". Retrieved 2005-11-14.
55.Jump up ^ "Foreign Grand Lodges", UGLE Website, retrieved 25 October 2013
56.Jump up ^ "History of Prince Hall Masonry: What is Freemasonry", Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons Jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, retrieved 25 October 2013
57.Jump up ^ "History of Freemasonry", Grand Orient de France, retrieved 12 November 2013
58.Jump up ^ Paul Bessel, "U.S. Recognition of French Grand Lodges in the 1900s", from Heredom: The Transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society, vol 5, 1996, pp 221-244, Paul Bessel website, retrieved 12 November 2013
59.Jump up ^ "History of the Grande Loge of France", Grande Loge de France retrieved 14 November 2013
60.Jump up ^ Alain Bernheim, "My approach to Masonic History", Manchester 2011, Pietre-Stones, retrieved 14 November 2013
61.Jump up ^ "Liberal Grand Lodges", French Freemasonry, retrieved 14 November 2013
62.Jump up ^ "Traditional Grand Lodges", French Freemasonry, retrieved 14 November 2013
63.Jump up ^ "Regular Grand Lodges", French Freemasonry, retrieved 14 November 2013
64.Jump up ^ "Continental Lodges",Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, retrieved 30 November 2013
65.Jump up ^ For instance "Women in Freemasonry, and Continental Freemasonry", Corn Wine and Oil, June 2009, retrieved 30 November 2013
66.Jump up ^ Tony Pope, "At a Perpertual Distance: Liberal and Adogmatic Grand Lodges", Presented to Waikato Lodge of Research No 445 at Rotorua, New Zealand, on 9 November 2004, as the annual Verrall Lecture, and subsequently published in the Transactions of the lodge, vol 14 #1, March 2005, Pietre-Stones, retrieved 13 November 2013
67.Jump up ^ "Current members", CLIPSAS, retrieved 14 November 2014
68.Jump up ^ Antonia Frazer, The Weaker Vessel, Mandarin paperbacks, 1989, pp108-109
69.Jump up ^ for example, see David Murray Lyon, History of the lodge of Edinburgh, Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1873, pp 121-123
70.Jump up ^ Anderson, James (1734) [1723]. Paul Royster, ed. The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (Philadelphia ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin. p. 49. Retrieved 12 August 2013. "The Persons admitted Members of a Lodge must be good and true Men, free-born, and of mature and discreet Age, no Bondmen, no Women, no immoral or scandalous Men, but of good Report."
71.Jump up ^ "Adoptive Freemasonry" Entry from Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry
72.^ Jump up to: a b Barbara L. Thames, "A History of Women’s Masonry", Phoenix Masonry, retrieved 5 March 2013
73.Jump up ^ "Order of the Eastern Star" Masonic Dictionary, retrieved 9 January 2013
74.Jump up ^ "Maria Deraismes (1828 - 1894)", Droit Humain, retrieved 5 March 2013. (French Language)
75.Jump up ^ Jeanne Heaslewood, "A Brief History of the Founding of Co-Freemasonry", 1999, Phoenix Masonry, retrieved 12 August 2013
76.Jump up ^ "Histoire du Droit Humain", Droit Humain, retrieved 12 August 2013
77.Jump up ^ "Text of UGLE statement", Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, retrieved 12 August 2012
78.Jump up ^ Karen Kidd, Haunted Chambers: the Lives of Early Women Freemasons, Cornerstone, 2009, pp204-205
79.Jump up ^ "Anti-Masonry" – Oxford English Dictionary (Compact Edition), Oxford University Press, 1979, p.369
80.Jump up ^ "Antimasonry – Definition of Antimasonry by Webster Dictionary". Webster-dictionary.net. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
81.Jump up ^ Morris, S. Brent (2006). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry. New York: Alpha Books. pp. 85 (also discussed in chapters 13 and 16). ISBN 978-1-59257-490-2. OCLC 68042376.
82.Jump up ^ Robinson, John J. (1993). A Pilgrim's Path. New York: M. Evans. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-87131-732-2. OCLC 27381296.
83.Jump up ^ de Hoyos, Arturo; S. Brent Morris (18 August 2002). "Leo Taxil Hoax — Bibliography". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. Retrieved 2007-07-07. Lists many books which perpetuate Masonic ritual hoaxes.
84.Jump up ^ "Anti-mason" infoplease.com retrieved 9 January 2014
85.Jump up ^ Morris, S. Brent; The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Alpha books, 2006, p,204.
86.Jump up ^ Cardinal Law, Bernard (19 April 1985). "Letter of 19 April 1985 to U.S. Bishops Concerning Masonry". CatholicCulture.org. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
87.Jump up ^ Canon 2335, 1917 Code of Canon Law from "Canon Law regarding Freemasonry, 1917–1983". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon.
88.Jump up ^ McInvale, Reid (1991). "Roman Catholic Church Law Regarding Freemasonry". Transactions of Texas Lodge of Research 27: 86–97. OCLC 47204246.
89.Jump up ^ Jack Chick. "The Curse of Baphomet". Retrieved 2007-09-29.
90.Jump up ^ Arturo de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris (2004). Is it True What They Say About Freemasonry, 2nd edition (revised), chapter 1. M. Evans & Company.
91.Jump up ^ Pike, Albert; T. W. Hugo; Scottish Rite (Masonic order). Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction (1950) [1871]. Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Washington, DC: House of the Temple. OCLC 12870276. "In preparing this work [Pike] has been about equally Author and Compiler. (p. iii.) ... The teachings of these Readings are not sacramental, so far as they go beyond the realm of Morality into those of other domains of Thought and Truth. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite uses the word "Dogma" in its true sense of doctrine, or teaching; and is not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term. Everyone is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound (p. iv)"
92.Jump up ^ Snyder, Howard (2006). Populist Saints. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 727.
93.Jump up ^ Beresiner, Yasha (July 2006). "Archbishop Fisher – A Godly man and a Brother". Masonic Quarterly Magazine (18). Retrieved 2007-05-07.
94.Jump up ^ Hastings, Chris; Elizabeth Day (20 April 2003). "Rowan Williams apologises to Freemasons". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
95.Jump up ^ "Freemasonry: Official Statement of the Church of Greece (1933)". Orthodoxinfo.com. 12 October 1933. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
96.Jump up ^ "Freemasonry and Religion" (PDF). United Grand Lodge of England. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
97.^ Jump up to: a b c Sands, David R (1 July 2004). "Saddam to be formally charged". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2006-06-18.
98.Jump up ^ Prescott, Andrew. The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
99.Jump up ^ "Can a Muslim be a Freemason" Wake up from your slumber, 2007, retrieved 8 January 2014
100.Jump up ^ "Hamas Covenant 1988". Avalon.law.yale.edu. 18 August 1988. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
101.Jump up ^ Leyiktez, Celil. "Freemasonry in the Islamic World", Pietre-Stones Retrieved 2 October 2007.
102.Jump up ^ "Home Page", District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago, retrieved 9 January 2014
103.Jump up ^ "Mystery unveiled". The Star Online. 17 April 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
104.Jump up ^ Freemasonry in Lebanon Lodges linked to the Grand Lodge of Scotland, retrieved 22 August 2013
105.Jump up ^ Peerzada Salman, "Masonic Mystique", December 2009, Dawn.com (News site), retrieved 3 January 2012
106.Jump up ^ Kent Henderson, "Freemasonry in Islamic Countries", 2007 paper, Pietre Stones, retrieved 4 January 2014
107.^ Jump up to: a b Andrew Prescott, "The Unlawful Societies Act", First published in M. D. J. Scanlan, ed., The Social Impact of Freemasonry on the Modern Western World, The Canonbury Papers I (London: Canonbury Masonic Research Centre, 2002), pp. 116-134, Pietre-Stones website, retrieved 9 January 2014
108.Jump up ^ "The Morgan Affair", Reprinted from The Short Talk Bulletin - Vol. XI, March, 1933 No. 3, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, retrieved 4 January 2014
109.Jump up ^ King, Edward L. (2007). "P2 Lodge". Retrieved 2006-10-31.
110.Jump up ^ Wilkenson, James; H. Stuart Hughes (1995). Contemporary Europe: A History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-13-291840-4. OCLC 31009810.
111.Jump up ^ Zierer, Otto (1976). Concise History of Great Nations: History of Germany. New York: Leon Amiel Publisher. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-8148-0673-9. OCLC 3250405.
112.Jump up ^ Michael Johnstone, The Freemasons, Arcturus, 2005, pp 73-75
113.^ Jump up to: a b c Hodapp, Christopher. Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2005. p. 86.
114.^ Jump up to: a b Bright, Martin (12 June 2005). "MPs told to declare links to Masons", The Guardian
115.Jump up ^ Cusick, James (27 December 1996). Police want judges and MPs to reveal Masonic links too, The Independent
116.Jump up ^ Sparrow, Andrew (5 November 2009). "Jack Straw scraps rule saying judges must declare if they are masons". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
117.Jump up ^ Prescott, pp. 13–14, 30, 33.
118.Jump up ^ "World War II Documents showing the persecution of Freemasonry". Mill Valley Lodge #356. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
119.Jump up ^ Freemasons for Dummies, by Christopher Hodapp, Wiley Publishing Inc., Indianapolis, 2005, p. 85, sec. Hitler and the Nazi
120.Jump up ^ Katz. "Jews and Freemasons in Europe". In Israel Gutman. The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. p. vol. 2, p. 531. ISBN 978-0-02-897166-7. OCLC 20594356.
121.Jump up ^ "Das Vergißmeinnicht-Abzeichen und die Freimaurerei, Die wahre Geschichte" (in German). Internetloge.de. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
122.Jump up ^ Bernheim, Alain (10 September 2004). "The Blue Forget-Me-Not: Another Side Of The Story". Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
123.Jump up ^ Francke, Karl Heinz; Ernst-Günther Geppert (1974). Die Freimaurer-Logen Deutschlands und deren Grosslogen 1737–1972 (in German) (Second rev. ed.). Bayreuth: Quatuor Coronati.Also in: Francke, Karl Heinz; Ernst-Günther Geppert (1988). Die Freimaurer-Logen Deutschlands und deren Grosslogen 1737 – 1985 : Matrikel und Stammbuch; Nachschlagewerk über 248 Jahre Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Deutschland (in German). Bayreuth: Quatuor Coronati. ISBN 978-3-925749-05-6. OCLC 75446479.
124.^ Jump up to: a b "The Story Behind Forget Me Not Emblem!". Masonic Network. 11 December 2009.
External links

Find more about
Freemasonry
 at Wikipedia's sister projects

Search Wiktionary Definitions from Wiktionary
Search Commons Media from Commons
Search Wikinews News stories from Wikinews
Search Wikiquote Quotations from Wikiquote
Search Wikisource Source texts from Wikisource
Search Wikibooks Textbooks from Wikibooks
Search Wikiversity Learning resources from Wikiversity
 "Freemasonry". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
Web of Hiram at the University of Bradford. A database of donated Masonic material.
Masonic Books Online of the Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry
The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1734), James Anderson, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Royster. Hosted by the Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Mysteries of Free Masonry, by William Morgan, from Project Gutenberg
A Legislative Investigation into Masonry (1832) on Internet Archive, OCLC 1560509
The United Grand Lodge of England's Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London
A page about Freemasonry – claiming to be the world's oldest Masonic website.
Articles on Judaism and Freemasonry
Anti-Masonry: Points of View – Edward L. King's Masonic website


Authority control
GND: 4018348-8
 

  


Categories: Freemasonry










Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

View source

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Afrikaans
العربية
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Беларуская
Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎
Български
Bosanski
Català
Чӑвашла
Čeština
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
Frysk
Gaeilge
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
Hrvatski
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
Íslenska
Italiano
עברית
ქართული
Қазақша
Kiswahili
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Limburgs
Magyar
Македонски
മലയാളം
مصرى
مازِرونی
Bahasa Melayu
မြန်မာဘာသာ
Nederlands
Nedersaksies
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Occitan
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Shqip
සිංහල
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
کوردیی ناوەندی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
தமிழ்
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
اردو
Vèneto
Tiếng Việt
粵語
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 8 June 2015, at 23:12.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry









This is a good article. Click here for more information.

Freemasonry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Jump to:  navigation , search

"Freemasons" redirects here. For other uses, see Freemasons (disambiguation).
"Masonic" redirects here. For the ghost town in California, see Masonic, California.

Standard image of masonic square and compasses

 The Masonic Square and Compasses.
 (Found with or without the letter G)
Part of a series on
Freemasonry
Square compasses.svg

Core articles[hide]
Freemasonry ·
 Grand Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge Officers ·
 Grand Master ·
 Prince Hall Freemasonry ·
 Regular Masonic jurisdictions ·
 Continental Freemasonry
 

History[hide]
History of Freemasonry ·
 Liberté chérie ·
 Masonic manuscripts
 

Masonic bodies[show]
































Views of Masonry[show]










People and places[show]




















Other related articles[show]













By country[show]
























v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that traces its origins to the local fraternities of stonemasons, which from the end of the fourteenth century regulated the qualifications of masons and their interaction with authorities and clients. The degrees of freemasonry, its gradal system, retain the three grades of medieval craft guilds, those of Apprentice, journeyman or fellow (now called Fellowcraft), and Master Mason. These are the degrees offered by craft, or blue lodge Freemasonry. There are additional degrees, which vary with locality and jurisdiction, and are now administered by different bodies than the craft degrees.
The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the lodge. The lodges are usually supervised and governed at the regional level (usually coterminous with either a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient. There is no international, world-wide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry. Each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.


Contents  [hide]
1 Organisation, structure and beliefs 1.1 Masonic Lodge
1.2 Ritual and symbolism
1.3 Organisations of lodges 1.3.1 Recognition, amity and regularity 1.3.1.1 Exclusive Jurisdiction
1.3.1.2 Regularity

1.4 Other degrees, orders and bodies
1.5 Joining a lodge
2 History 2.1 Origins
2.2 North America 2.2.1 Prince Hall Freemasonry
2.3 Emergence of Continental Freemasonry 2.3.1 Schism
2.4 Freemasonry and women
3 Anti-Masonry 3.1 Religious opposition 3.1.1 Christianity and Freemasonry
3.1.2 Islam and Freemasonry
3.2 Political opposition 3.2.1 The Holocaust

4 See also
5 Footnotes
6 External links

Organisation, structure and beliefs
Masonic Lodge

Italian lodge at Palazzo Roffia, Florence

 Lodge in Palazzo Roffia, Florence set out for French (Moderns) ritual
Main article: Masonic Lodge
The Masonic Lodge is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. The lodge meets regularly to conduct the usual formal business of any small organisation (pay bills, organise social and charitable events, elect new members, etc.). In addition to business, the meeting may perform a ceremony to confer a Masonic degree[1] or receive a lecture, which is usually on some aspect of Masonic history or ritual.[2] At the conclusion of the meeting, the lodge might adjourn for a formal dinner, or festive board, sometimes involving toasting and song.[3]
The bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies. Candidates for Freemasonry are progressively initiated into Freemasonry, first in the degree of Entered Apprentice. Some time later, in a separate ceremony, they will be passed to the degree of Fellowcraft, and finally they will be raised to the degree of Master Mason. In all of these ceremonies, the candidate is entrusted with passwords, signs and grips peculiar to his new rank.[4] Another ceremony is the annual installation of the Master and officers of the lodge.[1] In some jurisdictions Installed Master is valued as a separate rank, with its own secrets to distinguish its members.[5] In other jurisdictions, the grade is not recognised, and no inner ceremony conveys new secrets during the installation of a new Master of the lodge.[6]
Most lodges have some sort of social calendar, allowing Masons and their partners to meet in a less ritualised environment.[7] Often coupled with these events is the obligation placed on every Mason to contribute to charity. This occurs at both lodge and Grand Lodge level. Masonic charities contribute to many fields from education to disaster relief.[8][9]
These private local lodges form the backbone of Freemasonry, and a Freemason will necessarily have been initiated into one of these. There also exist specialist lodges where Masons meet to celebrate anything from sport to Masonic research. The rank of Master Mason also entitles a Freemason to explore Masonry further through other degrees, administered separately from the craft, or "blue lodge" degrees described here, but having a similar format to their meetings.[10]
There is very little consistency in Freemasonry. Because each Masonic jurisdiction is independent, each sets its own procedures. The wording of the ritual, the number of officers present, the layout of the meeting room, etc. varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.[10][11]
The officers of the lodge are elected or appointed annually. Every Masonic Lodge has a Master, two Wardens, a secretary and a treasurer. There is also a Tyler, or outer guard, who is always present outside the door of a working lodge. Other offices vary between jurisdictions.[10]
Each Masonic lodge exists and operates according to a set of ancient principles known as the Landmarks of Freemasonry. These principles have thus far eluded any universally accepted definition.[12]
Ritual and symbolism
Main article: Masonic ritual and symbolism
Freemasonry describes itself as a beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols.[13] The symbolism is mainly, but not exclusively, drawn from the manual tools of stonemasons - the square and compasses, the level and plumb rule, the trowel, among others. A moral lesson is attached to each of these tools, although the assignment is by no means consistent. The meaning of the symbolism is taught and explored through ritual.[10]
All Freemasons begin their journey in the "craft" by being progressively initiated, passed and raised into the three degrees of craft, or blue lodge Masonry. During these three rituals, the candidate is progressively taught the meanings of the lodge symbols, and entrusted with grips, signs and words to signify to other Masons that he has been so initiated. The initiations are part allegory and part lecture, and revolve around the construction of the Temple of Solomon, and the artistry and death of his chief architect, Hiram Abiff. The degrees are those of Entered apprentice, Fellowcraft and Master Mason. While many different versions of these rituals exist, with two different lodge layouts and versions of the Hiram myth, each version is recognisable to any Freemason from any jurisdiction.[10]
In some jurisdictions the main themes of each degree are illustrated by tracing boards. These painted depictions of Masonic themes are exhibited in the lodge according to which degree is being worked, and are explained to the candidate to illustrate the legend and symbolism of each degree.[14]
The idea of Masonic brotherhood probably descends from a 16th-century legal definition of a brother as one who has taken an oath of mutual support to another. Accordingly, Masons swear at each degree to keep the contents of that degree secret, and to support and protect their brethren unless they have broken the law.[15] In most lodges the oath or obligation is taken on a Volume of Sacred Law, whichever book of divine revelation is appropriate to the religious beliefs of the individual brother (usually the Bible in the Anglo-American tradition). In Progressive continental Freemasonry, books other than scripture are permissible, a cause of rupture between Grand lodges.[16]
Organisations of lodges

Freemason's Hall, London

Freemasons Hall, London, home of the United Grand Lodge of England
Main article: Grand Lodge
Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent and sovereign bodies that govern Masonry in a given country, state, or geographical area (termed a jurisdiction). There is no single overarching governing body that presides over worldwide Freemasonry; connections between different jurisdictions depend solely on mutual recognition.[17][18]
Freemasonry, as it exists in various forms all over the world, has a membership estimated by the United Grand Lodge of England at around six million worldwide.[1] The fraternity is administratively organised into independent Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients), each of which governs its own Masonic jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or constituent) Lodges. The largest single jurisdiction, in terms of membership, is the United Grand Lodge of England (with a membership estimated at around a quarter million). The Grand Lodge of Scotland and Grand Lodge of Ireland (taken together) have approximately 150,000 members.[1] In the United States total membership is just under two million.[19]
Recognition, amity and regularity
Relations between Grand Lodges are determined by the concept of Recognition. Each Grand Lodge maintains a list of other Grand Lodges that it recognises.[20] When two Grand Lodges recognise and are in Masonic communication with each other, they are said to be in amity, and the brethren of each may visit each other's lodges and interact Masonically. When two Grand Lodges are not in amity, inter-visitation is not allowed. There are many reasons why one Grand Lodge will withhold or withdraw recognition from another, but the two most common are Exclusive Jurisdiction and Regularity.[21]
Exclusive Jurisdiction
Exclusive Jurisdiction is a concept whereby only one Grand Lodge will be recognised in any geographical area. If two Grand Lodges claim jurisdiction over the same area, the other Grand Lodges will have to choose between them, and they may not all decide to recognise the same one. (In 1849, for example, the Grand Lodge of New York split into two rival factions, each claiming to be the legitimate Grand Lodge. Other Grand Lodges had to choose between them until the schism was healed.[22]) Exclusive Jurisdiction can be waived when the two over-lapping Grand Lodges are themselves in Amity and agree to share jurisdiction (for example, since the Grand Lodge of Connecticut is in Amity with the Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Connecticut, the principle of Exclusive Jurisdiction does not apply, and other Grand Lodges may recognise both).[23]
Regularity
Regularity is a concept based on adherence to Masonic Landmarks, the basic membership requirements, tenets and rituals of the craft. Each Grand Lodge sets its own definition of what these landmarks are, and thus what is Regular and what is Irregular (and the definitions do not necessarily agree between Grand Lodges). Essentially, every Grand Lodge will hold that its landmarks (its requirements, tenets and rituals) are Regular, and judge other Grand Lodges based on those. If the differences are significant, one Grand Lodge may declare the other "Irregular" and withdraw or withhold recognition.[24][25]

First Freemason's Hall, 1809

 Freemasons' Hall, London, c. 1809
The most commonly shared rules for Recognition (based on Regularity) are those given by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1929:
The Grand Lodge should be established by an existing regular Grand Lodge, or by at least three regular lodges.
A belief in a supreme being and scripture is a condition of membership.
Initiates should take their vows on that scripture.
Only men can be admitted, and no relationship exists with mixed lodges.
The Grand Lodge has complete control over the first three degrees, and is not subject to another body.
All lodges shall display a volume of scripture with the square and compasses while in session.
There is no discussion of politics or religion.
"Antient landmarks, customs and usages" observed.[26]
Other degrees, orders and bodies
Main article: Masonic appendant bodies
Blue lodge Freemasonry offers only three traditional degrees, and in most jurisdictions, the rank of past or installed master. Master Masons are also able to extend their Masonic experience by taking further degrees, in appendant bodies approved by their own Grand Lodge.[27]
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a system of 33 degrees (including the three blue lodge degrees) administered by a local or national Supreme Council. This system is popular in North America and in Continental Europe. The York Rite, with a similar range, administers three orders of Masonry, namely the Royal Arch, Cryptic Masonry and Knights Templar.[28]
In Britain, separate bodies administer each order. Freemasons are encouraged to join the Holy Royal Arch, which is linked to Mark Masonry in Scotland and Ireland, but separate in England. Templar and Cryptic Masonry also exist.[29]
In the Nordic countries the Swedish Rite is dominant; a variation of it is also used in parts of Germany.
Joining a lodge

Worshipful Master George Washington

 Print from 1870 portraying George Washington as Master of his lodge
Candidates for Freemasonry will have met most active members of the lodge they are joining before they are initiated. The process varies between jurisdictions, but the candidate will typically have been introduced by a friend at a lodge social function, or at some form of open evening in the lodge. In modern times, interested people often track down a local lodge through the Internet. The onus is on candidates to ask to join; while candidates may be encouraged to ask, they are never invited. Once the initial inquiry is made, an interview usually follows to determine the candidate's suitability. If the candidate decides to proceed from here, the lodge ballots on the application before he (or she, depending on the Masonic Jurisdiction) can be accepted.[30]
The absolute minimum requirement of any body of Freemasons is that the candidate must be free, and considered to be of good character.[31] There is usually an age requirement, varying greatly between Grand Lodges, and (in some jurisdictions) capable of being overridden by a dispensation from the Grand Lodge. The underlying assumption is that the candidate should be a mature adult.[30]
In addition, most Grand Lodges require the candidate to declare a belief in a Supreme Being. In a few cases, the candidate may be required to be of a specific religion. The form of Freemasonry most common in Scandinavia (known as the Swedish Rite), for example, accepts only Christians.[32] At the other end of the spectrum, "Liberal" or Continental Freemasonry, exemplified by the Grand Orient de France, does not require a declaration of belief in any deity, and accepts atheists (a cause of discord with the rest of Freemasonry).[33][34]
During the ceremony of initiation, the candidate is expected to swear (usually on a volume of sacred text appropriate to his personal religious faith) to fulfil certain obligations as a Mason. In the course of three degrees, new masons will promise to keep the secrets of their degree from lower degrees and outsiders, and to support a fellow Mason in distress (as far as practicality and the law permit).[10] There is instruction as to the duties of a Freemason, but on the whole, Freemasons are left to explore the craft in the manner they find most satisfying. Some will further explore the ritual and symbolism of the craft, others will focus their involvement on the social side of the lodge, while still others will concentrate on the charitable functions of the lodge.[35][36]
History
Main article: History of Freemasonry
Origins

Goose and Gridiron

 Goose and Gridiron, where the Grand Lodge of England was founded
Since the middle of the 19th century, Masonic historians have sought the origins of the movement in a series of similar documents known as the Old Charges, dating from the Regius Poem in about 1425[37] to the beginning of the 18th century. Alluding to the membership of a lodge of operative masons, they relate a mythologised history of the craft, the duties of its grades, and the manner in which oaths of fidelity are to be taken on joining.[38] The fifteenth century also sees the first evidence of ceremonial regalia.[39]
There is no clear mechanism by which these local trade organisations became today's Masonic lodges, but the earliest rituals and passwords known, from operative lodges around the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, show continuity with the rituals developed in the later 18th century by accepted or speculative Masons, as those members who did not practice the physical craft came to be known.[40] The minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland show a continuity from an operative lodge in 1598 to a modern speculative lodge.[41] It is reputed to be the oldest Masonic lodge in the world.[42]

Royal Arch Chapter in England, beginning of c20

 View of room at the Masonic Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, early 20th century, set up for a Holy Royal Arch convocation
The first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster (later called the Grand Lodge of England (GLE)), was founded on 24 June 1717, when four existing London lodges met for a joint dinner. Many English Lodges joined the new regulatory body, which itself entered a period of self-publicity and expansion. However, many lodges could not endorse changes which some lodges of the GLE made to the ritual (they came to be known as the Moderns), and a few of these formed a rival Grand Lodge on 17 July 1751, which is now known as the "Antient Grand Lodge of England." These two Grand Lodges vied for supremacy until the Moderns promised to return to the ancient ritual. They united on 25 November 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).[43][44]
The Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland were formed in 1725 and 1736 respectively, although neither persuaded all of the existing lodges in their countries to join for many years.[45][46]
North America
The earliest known American lodges were in Pennsylvania. The Collector for the port of Pennsylvania, John Moore, wrote of attending lodges there in 1715, two years before the formation of the first Grand Lodge in London. The Premier Grand Lodge of England appointed a Provincial Grand Master for North America in 1731, based in Pennsylvania.[47] Other lodges in the colony obtained authorisations from the later Antient Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland, and the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which was particularly well represented in the travelling lodges of the British Army.[48][49] Many lodges came into existence with no warrant from any Grand Lodge, applying and paying for their authorisation only after they were confident of their own survival.[50]
After the American Revolution, independent U.S. Grand Lodges formed themselves within each state. Some thought was briefly given to organising an overarching "Grand Lodge of the United States," with George Washington (who was a member of a Virginian lodge) as the first Grand Master, but the idea was short-lived. The various state Grand Lodges did not wish to diminish their own authority by agreeing to such a body.[51]
Prince Hall Freemasonry
Main article: Prince Hall Freemasonry
Prince Hall Freemasonry exists because of the refusal of early American lodges to admit African-Americans. In 1775, an African-American named Prince Hall,[52] along with fourteen other African-Americans, was initiated into a British military lodge with a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Ireland, having failed to obtain admission from the other lodges in Boston. When the military Lodge left North America, those fifteen men were given the authority to meet as a Lodge, but not to initiate Masons. In 1784, these individuals obtained a Warrant from the Premier Grand Lodge of England (GLE) and formed African Lodge, Number 459. When the UGLE was formed in 1813, all U.S.-based Lodges were stricken from their rolls – due largely to the War of 1812. Thus, separated from both UGLE and any concordantly recognised U.S. Grand Lodge, African Lodge re-titled itself as the African Lodge, Number 1 – and became a de facto "Grand Lodge" (this Lodge is not to be confused with the various Grand Lodges on the Continent of Africa). As with the rest of U.S. Freemasonry, Prince Hall Freemasonry soon grew and organised on a Grand Lodge system for each state.[53]
Widespread segregation in 19th- and early 20th-century North America made it difficult for African-Americans to join Lodges outside of Prince Hall jurisdictions – and impossible for inter-jurisdiction recognition between the parallel U.S. Masonic authorities. By the 1980s such discrimination was a thing of the past, and today most U.S. Grand Lodges recognise their Prince Hall counterparts, and the authorities of both traditions are working towards full recognition.[54] The United Grand Lodge of England has no problem with recognising Prince Hall Grand Lodges.[55] While celebrating their heritage as lodges of black Americans, Prince Hall is open to all men regardless of race or religion.[56]
Emergence of Continental Freemasonry

Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745

 Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745
English Freemasonry spread to France in the 1720s, first as lodges of expatriates and exiled Jacobites, and then as distinctively French lodges which still follow the ritual of the Moderns. From France and England, Freemasonry spread to most of Continental Europe during the course of the 18th century. The Grande Loge de France formed under the Grand Mastership of the Duke of Clermont, who exercised only nominal authority. His successor, the Duke of Orléans, reconstituted the central body as the Grand Orient de France in 1773. Briefly eclipsed during the French Revolution, French Freemasonry continued to grow in the next century.[57]
Schism
The ritual form on which the Grand Orient of France was based was abolished in England in the events leading to the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. However the two jurisdictions continued in amity (mutual recognition) until events of the 1860s and 1870s drove a seemingly permanent wedge between them. In 1868 the Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the State of Louisiana appeared in the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, recognised by the Grand Orient de France, but regarded by the older body as an invasion of their jurisdiction. The new Scottish rite body admitted blacks, and the resolution of the Grand Orient the following year that neither colour, race, nor religion could disqualify a man from Masonry prompted the Grand Lodge to withdraw recognition, and it persuaded other American Grand Lodges to do the same.[58]
A dispute during the Lausanne Congress of Supreme Councils of 1875 prompted the Grand Orient de France to commission a report by a Protestant pastor which concluded that, as Freemasonry was not a religion, it should not require a religious belief. The new constitutions read, "Its principles are absolute liberty of conscience and human solidarity", the existence of God and the immortality of the soul being struck out. It is possible that the immediate objections of the United Grand Lodge of England were at least partly motivated by the political tension between France and Britain at the time. The result was the withdrawal of recognition of the Grand Orient of France by the United Grand Lodge of England, a situation that continues today.[34]
Not all French lodges agreed with the new wording. In 1894, lodges favouring the compulsory recognition of the Great Architect of the Universe formed the Grande Loge de France.[59] In 1913, the United Grand Lodge of England recognised a new Grand Lodge of Regular Freemasons, a Grand Lodge that follows a similar rite to Anglo-American Freemasonry with a mandatory belief in a deity.[60]
There are now three strands of Freemasonry in France, which extend into the rest of Continental Europe:-
Liberal (also adogmatic or progressive) - Principles of liberty of conscience, and laicity, particularly the separation of the Church and State.[61]
Traditional - Old French ritual with a requirement for a belief in a supreme being.[62] (This strand is typified by the Grande Loge de France).
Regular - Standard Anglo-American ritual, mandatory belief in Supreme being.[63]
The term Continental Freemasonry was used in Mackey's 1873 Encyclopedia of Freemasonry to "designate the Lodges on the Continent of Europe which retain many usages which have either been abandoned by, or never were observed in, the Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as the United States of America".[64] Today, it is frequently used to refer to only the Liberal jurisdictions typified by the Grand Orient de France.[65]
The majority of Freemasonry considers the Liberal (Continental) strand to be Irregular, and thus withhold recognition. For the Continental lodges, however, having a different approach to Freemasonry was not a reason for severing masonic ties. In 1961, an umbrella organisation, Centre de Liaison et d'Information des Puissances maçonniques Signataires de l'Appel de Strasbourg (CLIPSAS) was set up, which today provides a forum for most of these Grand Lodges and Grand Orients worldwide. Included in the list of over 70 Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are representatives of all three of the above categories, including mixed and women's organisations. The United Grand Lodge of England does not communicate with any of these jurisdictions, and expects its allies to follow suit. This creates the distinction between Anglo-American and Continental Freemasonry.[66][67]
Freemasonry and women
Main articles: Freemasonry and women and Co-Freemasonry
The status of women in the old guilds and corporations of mediaeval masons remains uncertain. The principle of "femme sole" allowed a widow to continue the trade of her husband, but its application had wide local variations, ranging from full membership of a trade body to limited trade by deputation to approved members of that body.[68] In masonry, the small available evidence points to the less empowered end of the scale.[69]
At the dawn of the Grand Lodge era, during the 1720s, James Anderson composed the first printed constitutions for Freemasons, the basis for most subsequent constitutions, which specifically excluded women from Freemasonry.[70] As Freemasonry spread, continental masons began to include their ladies in Lodges of Adoption, which worked three degrees with the same names as the men's but different content. The French officially abandoned the experiment in the early 19th century.[71][72] Later organisations with a similar aim emerged in the United States, but distinguished the names of the degrees from those of male masonry.[73]
Maria Deraismes was initiated into Freemasonry in 1882, then resigned to allow her lodge to rejoin their Grand Lodge. Having failed to achieve acceptance from any masonic governing body, she and Georges Martin started a mixed masonic lodge that actually worked masonic ritual.[74] Annie Besant spread the phenomenon to the English speaking world.[75] Disagreements over ritual led to the formation of exclusively female bodies of Freemasons in England, which spread to other countries. Meanwhile, the French had re-invented Adoption as an all-female lodge in 1901, only to cast it aside again in 1935. The lodges, however, continued to meet, which gave rise, in 1959, to a body of women practising continental Freemasonry.[72]
In general, Continental Freemasonry is sympathetic to Freemasonry amongst women, dating from the 1890s when French lodges assisted the emergent co-masonic movement by promoting enough of their members to the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite to allow them, in 1899, to form their own grand council, recognised by the other Continental Grand Councils of that Rite.[76] The United Grand Lodge of England issued a statement in 1999 recognising the two women's grand lodges there to be regular in all but the participants. While they were not, therefore, recognised as regular, they were part of Freemasonry "in general".[1][77] The attitude of most regular Anglo-American grand lodges remains that women Freemasons are not legitimate Masons.[78]
Anti-Masonry



Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one of the few Masonic temples that survived the Franco dictatorship in Spain.
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called Anti-Freemasonry) has been defined as "opposition to Freemasonry",[79][80] but there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement. Anti-Masonry consists of widely differing criticisms from diverse (and often incompatible) groups who are hostile to Freemasonry in some form. Critics have included religious groups, political groups, and conspiracy theorists.
There have been many disclosures and exposés dating as far back as the 18th century. These often lack context,[81] may be outdated for various reasons,[82] or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author, as in the case of the Taxil hoax.[83]
These hoaxes and exposés have often become the basis for criticism of Masonry, often religious or political in nature or are based on suspicion of corrupt conspiracy of some form. The political opposition that arose after the "Morgan Affair" in 1826 gave rise to the term Anti-Masonry, which is still in use today, both by Masons in referring to their critics and as a self-descriptor by the critics themselves.[84]
Religious opposition
Freemasonry has attracted criticism from theocratic states and organised religions for supposed competition with religion, or supposed heterodoxy within the fraternity itself, and has long been the target of conspiracy theories, which assert Freemasonry to be an occult and evil power.[85]
Christianity and Freemasonry
Main article: Opposition to Freemasonry within Christianity
Although members of various faiths cite objections, certain Christian denominations have had high profile negative attitudes to Masonry, banning or discouraging their members from being Freemasons.
The denomination with the longest history of objection to Freemasonry is the Roman Catholic Church. The objections raised by the Roman Catholic Church are based on the allegation that Masonry teaches a naturalistic deistic religion which is in conflict with Church doctrine.[86] A number of Papal pronouncements have been issued against Freemasonry. The first was Pope Clement XII's In eminenti apostolatus, 28 April 1738; the most recent was Pope Leo XIII's Ab apostolici, 15 October 1890. The 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declared that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic excommunication, and banned books favouring Freemasonry.[87]
In 1983, the Church issued a new Code of Canon Law. Unlike its predecessor, it did not explicitly name Masonic orders among the secret societies it condemns. It states: "A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict." This named omission of Masonic orders caused both Catholics and Freemasons to believe that the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons may have been lifted, especially after the perceived liberalisation of Vatican II.[88] However, the matter was clarified when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a Declaration on Masonic Associations, which states: "... the Church’s negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion." Thus, from a Catholic perspective, there is still a ban on Catholics joining Masonic Lodges. For its part, Freemasonry has never objected to Catholics joining their fraternity. Those Grand Lodges in amity with UGLE deny the Church's claims. The UGLE now states that "Freemasonry does not seek to replace a Mason’s religion or provide a substitute for it."[1]
In contrast to Catholic allegations of rationalism and naturalism, Protestant objections are more likely to be based on allegations of mysticism, occultism, and even Satanism.[89] Masonic scholar Albert Pike is often quoted (in some cases misquoted) by Protestant anti-Masons as an authority for the position of Masonry on these issues.[90] However, Pike, although undoubtedly learned, was not a spokesman for Freemasonry and was also controversial among Freemasons in general. His writings represented his personal opinion only, and furthermore an opinion grounded in the attitudes and understandings of late 19th century Southern Freemasonry of the USA. Notably, his book carries in the preface a form of disclaimer from his own Grand Lodge. No one voice has ever spoken for the whole of Freemasonry.[91]
Free Methodist Church founder B.T. Roberts was a vocal opponent of Freemasonry in the mid 19th century. Roberts opposed the society on moral grounds and stated, "The god of the lodge is not the God of the Bible." Roberts believed Freemasonry was a "mystery" or "alternate" religion and encouraged his church not to support ministers who were Freemasons. Freedom from secret societies is one of the "frees" upon which the Free Methodist Church was founded.[92]
Since the founding of Freemasonry, many Bishops of the Church of England have been Freemasons, such as Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher.[93] In the past, few members of the Church of England would have seen any incongruity in concurrently adhering to Anglican Christianity and practicing Freemasonry. In recent decades, however, reservations about Freemasonry have increased within Anglicanism, perhaps due to the increasing prominence of the evangelical wing of the church. The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, appeared to harbour some reservations about Masonic ritual, whilst being anxious to avoid causing offence to Freemasons inside and outside the Church of England. In 2003 he felt it necessary to apologise to British Freemasons after he said that their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had barred the appointment of Freemasons to senior posts in his diocese when he was Bishop of Monmouth.[94]
In 1933, the Orthodox Church of Greece officially declared that being a Freemason constitutes an act of apostasy and thus, until he repents, the person involved with Freemasonry cannot partake of the Eucharist. This has been generally affirmed throughout the whole Orthodox Church. The Orthodox critique of Freemasonry agrees with both the Roman Catholic and Protestant versions: "Freemasonry cannot be at all compatible with Christianity as far as it is a secret organisation, acting and teaching in mystery and secret and deifying rationalism."[95]
Regular Freemasonry has traditionally not responded to these claims, beyond the often repeated statement that those Grand Lodges in amity with UGLE explicitly adhere to the principle that "Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for religion. There is no separate 'Masonic deity,' and there is no separate proper name for a deity in Freemasonry."[96]
Islam and Freemasonry
Many Islamic anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to both antisemitism and Anti-Zionism, though other criticisms are made such as linking Freemasonry to al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the false Messiah).[97][98] Some Muslim anti-Masons argue that Freemasonry promotes the interests of the Jews around the world and that one of its aims is to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem.[99] In article 28 of its Covenant, Hamas states that Freemasonry, Rotary, and other similar groups "work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions ..."[100]
Many countries with a significant Muslim population do not allow Masonic establishments within their jurisdictions. However, countries such as Turkey and Morocco have established Grand Lodges,[101] while in countries such as Malaysia[102][103] and Lebanon[104] there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant from an established Grand Lodge.
In Pakistan in 1972 Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Prime Minister of Pakistan, placed a ban on Freemasonry. Lodge buildings were confiscated by the government.[105]
Masonic lodges existed in Iraq as early as 1917, when the first lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was opened. Nine lodges under UGLE existed by the 1950s, and a Scottish lodge was formed in 1923. However the position changed following the revolution, and all lodges were forced to close in 1965.[106] This position was later reinforced under Saddam Hussein; the death penalty was "prescribed" for those who "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations."[97]
Political opposition
See also: Anti-Masonry and Suppression of Freemasonry
In 1799 English Freemasonry almost came to a halt due to Parliamentary proclamation. In the wake of the French Revolution, the Unlawful Societies Act 1799 banned any meetings of groups that required their members to take an oath or obligation.[107] The Grand Masters of both the Moderns and the Antients Grand Lodges called on Prime Minister William Pitt (who was not a Freemason) and explained to him that Freemasonry was a supporter of the law and lawfully constituted authority and was much involved in charitable work. As a result Freemasonry was specifically exempted from the terms of the Act, provided that each private lodge's Secretary placed with the local "Clerk of the Peace" a list of the members of his lodge once a year. This continued until 1967 when the obligation of the provision was rescinded by Parliament.[107]
Freemasonry in the United States faced political pressure following the 1826 kidnapping of William Morgan by Freemasons and subsequent disappearance. Reports of the "Morgan Affair", together with opposition to Jacksonian democracy (Andrew Jackson was a prominent Mason) helped fuel an Anti-Masonic movement, culminating in the formation of a short lived Anti-Masonic Party which fielded candidates for the Presidential elections of 1828 and 1832.[108]

Erlangen Lodge revival, meeting in 1948

 Lodge in Erlangen, Germany. First meeting after World War II with guests from USA, France and Czechoslovakia, 1948.
In Italy, Freemasonry has become linked to a scandal concerning the Propaganda Due lodge (a.k.a. P2). This lodge was chartered by the Grande Oriente d'Italia in 1877, as a lodge for visiting Masons unable to attend their own lodges. Under Licio Gelli’s leadership, in the late 1970s, P2 became involved in the financial scandals that nearly bankrupted the Vatican Bank. However, by this time the lodge was operating independently and irregularly, as the Grand Orient had revoked its charter and expelled Gelli in 1976.[109]
Conspiracy theorists have long associated Freemasonry with the New World Order and the Illuminati, and state that Freemasonry as an organisation is either bent on world domination or already secretly in control of world politics. Historically, Freemasonry has attracted criticism—and suppression—from both the politically far right (e.g., Nazi Germany)[110][111] and the far left (e.g. the former Communist states in Eastern Europe).[112]
Even in modern democracies, Freemasonry is sometimes viewed with distrust.[113] In the UK, Masons working in the justice system, such as judges and police officers, were from 1999 to 2009 required to disclose their membership.[114] While a parliamentary inquiry found that there has been no evidence of wrongdoing, it was felt that any potential loyalties Masons might have, based on their vows to support fellow Masons, should be transparent to the public.[113][114][115] The policy of requiring a declaration of masonic membership of applicants for judicial office (judges and magistrates) was ended in 2009 by Justice Secretary Jack Straw (who had initiated the requirement in the 1990s). Straw stated that the rule was considered disproportionate, since no impropriety or malpractice had been shown as a result of judges being Freemasons.[116]
Freemasonry is both successful and controversial in France; membership is rising, but reporting in the popular media is often negative.[113]
In some countries anti-Masonry is often related to antisemitism and anti-Zionism. For example, In 1980, the Iraqi legal and penal code was changed by Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath Party, making it a felony to "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including Freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations".[97] Professor Andrew Prescott of the University of Sheffield writes: "Since at least the time of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, antisemitism has gone hand in hand with anti-masonry, so it is not surprising that allegations that 11 September was a Zionist plot have been accompanied by suggestions that the attacks were inspired by a masonic world order".[117]
The Holocaust
Main article: Holocaust victims § Freemasons
See also: Liberté chérie (Freemasonry) and Suppression of Freemasonry

Forget-me-not

Forget-me-not
The preserved records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (the Reich Security Main Office) show the persecution of Freemasons during the Holocaust.[118] RSHA Amt VII (Written Records) was overseen by Professor Franz Six and was responsible for "ideological" tasks, by which was meant the creation of antisemitic and anti-Masonic propaganda. While the number is not accurately known, it is estimated that between 80,000 and 200,000 Freemasons were killed under the Nazi regime.[119] Masonic concentration camp inmates were graded as political prisoners and wore an inverted red triangle.[120]
The small blue forget-me-not flower was first used by the Grand Lodge Zur Sonne, in 1926, as a Masonic emblem at the annual convention in Bremen, Germany. In 1938 a forget-me-not badge—made by the same factory as the Masonic badge—was chosen for the annual Nazi Party Winterhilfswerk, the annual charity drive of the National Socialist People's Welfare, the welfare branch of the Nazi party. This coincidence enabled Freemasons to wear the forget-me-not badge as a secret sign of membership.[121][122][123]
After World War II, the forget-me-not flower was again used as a Masonic emblem at the first Annual Convention of the United Grand Lodges of Germany in 1948.[124] The badge is now worn in the coat lapel by Freemasons around the world to remember all who suffered in the name of Freemasonry, especially those during the Nazi era.[124]
See also
List of Freemasons
Footnotes
1.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f "Frequently Asked Questions" United Grand Lodge of England retrieved 30 October 2013
2.Jump up ^ "Materials: Papers and Speakers" Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire, retrieved 30 October 2013
3.Jump up ^ "Gentlemen, please be upstanding" Toasts for the festive board, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon retrieved 30 October 2013
4.Jump up ^ "Words, Grips and Signs" H. L. Haywood, Symbolical Masonry, 1923, Chapter XVIII, Sacred Texts website, retrieved 9 January 2014
5.Jump up ^ "Past Master" Masonic Dictionary, retrieved 31 October 2013
6.Jump up ^ "Maçon célèbre : le Maître Installé" GADLU blog Maçonnique, 3 March 2013, retrieved 2 November 2013
7.Jump up ^ For instance "Introduction into Freemasonry", Provincial Grand Lodge of Hertfordshire, retrieved 8 November 2013
8.Jump up ^ "Charitable work", UGLE, retrieved 8 November 2013
9.Jump up ^ (editors) John Hamill and Robert Gilbert, Freemasonry, Angus, 2004, pp 214-220
10.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Michael Johnstone, The Freemasons, Arcturus, 2005, pp 101-120
11.Jump up ^ "Les Officiers de Loge" Maconnieke Encyclopedie, retrieved 31 October 2013
12.Jump up ^ Alain Bernheim, "My Approach to Masonic History", Pietre Stones, from address of 2011, retrieved 8 November 2013
13.Jump up ^ "What is Freemasonry?" Grand Lodge of Alberta retrieved 7 November 2013
14.Jump up ^ Mark S. Dwor, "Some thoughts on the history of the Tracing Boards", Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, 1999, retrieved 7 November 2013
15.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, p79
16.Jump up ^ "Masonic U.S. Recognition of French Grand Lodges in the 20th century", Paul M. Bessel. retrieved 8 November 2013
17.Jump up ^ (editors) John Hamill and Robert Gilbert, Freemasonry, Angus, 2004, Glossary, p247
18.Jump up ^ "Difficult Questions; Is Freemasonry a Global Conspiracy?" MasterMason.com, retrieved 18 November 2013
19.Jump up ^ Hodapp, Christopher. Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2005. p. 52.
20.Jump up ^ Campbell, Donald G.; Committee on Ritual. "The Master Mason; Irregular and Clandestine Lodges". Handbook for Candidate's Coaches (EXCERPT). Grand Lodge F.&A.M. of California. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
21.Jump up ^ Jim Bantolo, "On Recognition", Masonic Short Talk, Pilar lodge, 2007, retrieved 25 November 2013
22.Jump up ^ Ossian Lang, "History of Freemasonry in the State of New York" (pdf), 1922, pp135-140, Masonic Trowel eBooks
23.Jump up ^ "Exclusive Jurisdiction", Paul M. Bessel, 1998, retrieved 25 November 2013
24.Jump up ^ "Regularity in Freemasonry and its Meaning", Grand Lodge of Latvia, retrieved 25 November 2013
25.Jump up ^ Tony Pope, "Regularity and Recognition", from Freemasonry Universal, by Kent Henderson & Tony Pope, 1998, Pietre Stones website, retrieved 25 November 2013
26.Jump up ^ UGLE Book of Constitutions, "Basic Principles for Grand Lodge Recognition", any year since 1930, page numbers may vary.
27.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, p229
28.Jump up ^ Michael Johnstone, The Freemasons, Arcturus, 2005, pp 95-98
29.Jump up ^ J S M Ward, "The Higher Degrees Handbook", Pietre Stones, retrieved 11 November 2013
30.^ Jump up to: a b "How to become a Freemason", Masonic Lodge of Education, retrieved 20 November 2013
31.Jump up ^ "Comment devenir franc-maçon?", Grande Loge de Luxembourg, retrieved 23 November 2013
32.Jump up ^ "Swedish Rite FAQ", Grand Lodge of British Columbia & Yukon, Accessed 19 November 2013
33.Jump up ^ "Faut-il croire en Dieu?", Foire aux Questions, Grand Orient de France, Retrieved 23 November 2013
34.^ Jump up to: a b Jack Buta, "The God Conspiracy, The Politics of Grand Lodge Foreign Relations", Pietre-Stones, retrieved 23 November 2013
35.Jump up ^ "Social events and activities", Hampshire Province, retrieved 20 November 2013
36.Jump up ^ "Who are Masons, and what do they do?", MasonicLodges.com, retrieved 20 November 2013
37.Jump up ^ Andrew Prescott, "The Old Charges Revisited", from Transactions of the Lodge of Research No. 2429 (Leicester), 2006, Pietre-Stones Masonic Papers, retrieved 12 October 2013
38.Jump up ^ A. F. A. Woodford, preface to William James Hughan, The Old Charges of British Freemasons, London, 1872
39.Jump up ^ John Yarker (1909). The Arcane Schools. Manchester. pp. 341–342.
40.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, Chapter 4, p 53
41.Jump up ^ David Murray Lyon, History of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No 1, Blackwood 1873, Preface
42.Jump up ^ Stevenson, David (1988). The Origins of Freemasonry. Cambridge University Press. pp. 38–44. ISBN 0521396549.
43.Jump up ^ S. Brent Morris (2006). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry. Alpha/Penguin Books. p. 27. ISBN 1-59257-490-4.
44.Jump up ^ I. R. Clarke, "The Formation of the Grand Lodge of the Antients" , Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol 79 (1966), p. 270-73, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, retrieved 28 June 2012
45.Jump up ^ H. L. Haywood, "Various Grand Lodges", The Builder, vol X no 5, May 1924, Pietre Stones website, retrieved 9 January 2014
46.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, Chapter 1, p 17
47.Jump up ^ Francis Vicente, An Overview of Early Freemasonry in Pennsylvania, Pietre-Stones, retrieved 15 November 2013
48.Jump up ^ Werner Hartmann, "History of St. John's Lodge No. 1", St. John's Lodge No. 1, A.Y.M., 2012, retrieved 16 November 2013
49.Jump up ^ M. Baigent and R. Leigh, The Temple and the Lodge, Arrow 1998, Appendix 2, pp360-362, "Masonic Field Lodges in Regiments in America", 1775-77
50.Jump up ^ Robert L.D. Cooper, Cracking the Freemason's Code, Rider 2006, p190
51.Jump up ^ Bullock, Steven C.; Institute of Early American History and Culture (Williamsburg, Va.) (1996). Revolutionary brotherhood: Freemasonry and the transformation of the American social order, 1730–1840. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 978-0-8078-4750-3. OCLC 33334015.
52.Jump up ^ Johnson, Lawrence (1996). "Who is Prince Hall? And other well known Prince Hall Masons". Retrieved 2005-11-14.
53.Jump up ^ "Prince Hall History Education Class" by Raymond T. Coleman(pdf) retrieved 13 October 2013
54.Jump up ^ Bessel, Paul M. "Prince Hall Masonry Recognition details: Historical Maps". Retrieved 2005-11-14.
55.Jump up ^ "Foreign Grand Lodges", UGLE Website, retrieved 25 October 2013
56.Jump up ^ "History of Prince Hall Masonry: What is Freemasonry", Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons Jurisdiction of Pennsylvania, retrieved 25 October 2013
57.Jump up ^ "History of Freemasonry", Grand Orient de France, retrieved 12 November 2013
58.Jump up ^ Paul Bessel, "U.S. Recognition of French Grand Lodges in the 1900s", from Heredom: The Transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society, vol 5, 1996, pp 221-244, Paul Bessel website, retrieved 12 November 2013
59.Jump up ^ "History of the Grande Loge of France", Grande Loge de France retrieved 14 November 2013
60.Jump up ^ Alain Bernheim, "My approach to Masonic History", Manchester 2011, Pietre-Stones, retrieved 14 November 2013
61.Jump up ^ "Liberal Grand Lodges", French Freemasonry, retrieved 14 November 2013
62.Jump up ^ "Traditional Grand Lodges", French Freemasonry, retrieved 14 November 2013
63.Jump up ^ "Regular Grand Lodges", French Freemasonry, retrieved 14 November 2013
64.Jump up ^ "Continental Lodges",Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, retrieved 30 November 2013
65.Jump up ^ For instance "Women in Freemasonry, and Continental Freemasonry", Corn Wine and Oil, June 2009, retrieved 30 November 2013
66.Jump up ^ Tony Pope, "At a Perpertual Distance: Liberal and Adogmatic Grand Lodges", Presented to Waikato Lodge of Research No 445 at Rotorua, New Zealand, on 9 November 2004, as the annual Verrall Lecture, and subsequently published in the Transactions of the lodge, vol 14 #1, March 2005, Pietre-Stones, retrieved 13 November 2013
67.Jump up ^ "Current members", CLIPSAS, retrieved 14 November 2014
68.Jump up ^ Antonia Frazer, The Weaker Vessel, Mandarin paperbacks, 1989, pp108-109
69.Jump up ^ for example, see David Murray Lyon, History of the lodge of Edinburgh, Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1873, pp 121-123
70.Jump up ^ Anderson, James (1734) [1723]. Paul Royster, ed. The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (Philadelphia ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Benjamin Franklin. p. 49. Retrieved 12 August 2013. "The Persons admitted Members of a Lodge must be good and true Men, free-born, and of mature and discreet Age, no Bondmen, no Women, no immoral or scandalous Men, but of good Report."
71.Jump up ^ "Adoptive Freemasonry" Entry from Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry
72.^ Jump up to: a b Barbara L. Thames, "A History of Women’s Masonry", Phoenix Masonry, retrieved 5 March 2013
73.Jump up ^ "Order of the Eastern Star" Masonic Dictionary, retrieved 9 January 2013
74.Jump up ^ "Maria Deraismes (1828 - 1894)", Droit Humain, retrieved 5 March 2013. (French Language)
75.Jump up ^ Jeanne Heaslewood, "A Brief History of the Founding of Co-Freemasonry", 1999, Phoenix Masonry, retrieved 12 August 2013
76.Jump up ^ "Histoire du Droit Humain", Droit Humain, retrieved 12 August 2013
77.Jump up ^ "Text of UGLE statement", Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons, retrieved 12 August 2012
78.Jump up ^ Karen Kidd, Haunted Chambers: the Lives of Early Women Freemasons, Cornerstone, 2009, pp204-205
79.Jump up ^ "Anti-Masonry" – Oxford English Dictionary (Compact Edition), Oxford University Press, 1979, p.369
80.Jump up ^ "Antimasonry – Definition of Antimasonry by Webster Dictionary". Webster-dictionary.net. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
81.Jump up ^ Morris, S. Brent (2006). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry. New York: Alpha Books. pp. 85 (also discussed in chapters 13 and 16). ISBN 978-1-59257-490-2. OCLC 68042376.
82.Jump up ^ Robinson, John J. (1993). A Pilgrim's Path. New York: M. Evans. p. 129. ISBN 978-0-87131-732-2. OCLC 27381296.
83.Jump up ^ de Hoyos, Arturo; S. Brent Morris (18 August 2002). "Leo Taxil Hoax — Bibliography". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon. Retrieved 2007-07-07. Lists many books which perpetuate Masonic ritual hoaxes.
84.Jump up ^ "Anti-mason" infoplease.com retrieved 9 January 2014
85.Jump up ^ Morris, S. Brent; The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Alpha books, 2006, p,204.
86.Jump up ^ Cardinal Law, Bernard (19 April 1985). "Letter of 19 April 1985 to U.S. Bishops Concerning Masonry". CatholicCulture.org. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
87.Jump up ^ Canon 2335, 1917 Code of Canon Law from "Canon Law regarding Freemasonry, 1917–1983". Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon.
88.Jump up ^ McInvale, Reid (1991). "Roman Catholic Church Law Regarding Freemasonry". Transactions of Texas Lodge of Research 27: 86–97. OCLC 47204246.
89.Jump up ^ Jack Chick. "The Curse of Baphomet". Retrieved 2007-09-29.
90.Jump up ^ Arturo de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris (2004). Is it True What They Say About Freemasonry, 2nd edition (revised), chapter 1. M. Evans & Company.
91.Jump up ^ Pike, Albert; T. W. Hugo; Scottish Rite (Masonic order). Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction (1950) [1871]. Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. Washington, DC: House of the Temple. OCLC 12870276. "In preparing this work [Pike] has been about equally Author and Compiler. (p. iii.) ... The teachings of these Readings are not sacramental, so far as they go beyond the realm of Morality into those of other domains of Thought and Truth. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite uses the word "Dogma" in its true sense of doctrine, or teaching; and is not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term. Everyone is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound (p. iv)"
92.Jump up ^ Snyder, Howard (2006). Populist Saints. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 727.
93.Jump up ^ Beresiner, Yasha (July 2006). "Archbishop Fisher – A Godly man and a Brother". Masonic Quarterly Magazine (18). Retrieved 2007-05-07.
94.Jump up ^ Hastings, Chris; Elizabeth Day (20 April 2003). "Rowan Williams apologises to Freemasons". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 November 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-09.
95.Jump up ^ "Freemasonry: Official Statement of the Church of Greece (1933)". Orthodoxinfo.com. 12 October 1933. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
96.Jump up ^ "Freemasonry and Religion" (PDF). United Grand Lodge of England. Retrieved 2013-11-02.
97.^ Jump up to: a b c Sands, David R (1 July 2004). "Saddam to be formally charged". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2006-06-18.
98.Jump up ^ Prescott, Andrew. The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline. pp. 13–14. Retrieved 2008-12-18.
99.Jump up ^ "Can a Muslim be a Freemason" Wake up from your slumber, 2007, retrieved 8 January 2014
100.Jump up ^ "Hamas Covenant 1988". Avalon.law.yale.edu. 18 August 1988. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
101.Jump up ^ Leyiktez, Celil. "Freemasonry in the Islamic World", Pietre-Stones Retrieved 2 October 2007.
102.Jump up ^ "Home Page", District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago, retrieved 9 January 2014
103.Jump up ^ "Mystery unveiled". The Star Online. 17 April 2005. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
104.Jump up ^ Freemasonry in Lebanon Lodges linked to the Grand Lodge of Scotland, retrieved 22 August 2013
105.Jump up ^ Peerzada Salman, "Masonic Mystique", December 2009, Dawn.com (News site), retrieved 3 January 2012
106.Jump up ^ Kent Henderson, "Freemasonry in Islamic Countries", 2007 paper, Pietre Stones, retrieved 4 January 2014
107.^ Jump up to: a b Andrew Prescott, "The Unlawful Societies Act", First published in M. D. J. Scanlan, ed., The Social Impact of Freemasonry on the Modern Western World, The Canonbury Papers I (London: Canonbury Masonic Research Centre, 2002), pp. 116-134, Pietre-Stones website, retrieved 9 January 2014
108.Jump up ^ "The Morgan Affair", Reprinted from The Short Talk Bulletin - Vol. XI, March, 1933 No. 3, Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon, retrieved 4 January 2014
109.Jump up ^ King, Edward L. (2007). "P2 Lodge". Retrieved 2006-10-31.
110.Jump up ^ Wilkenson, James; H. Stuart Hughes (1995). Contemporary Europe: A History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 237. ISBN 978-0-13-291840-4. OCLC 31009810.
111.Jump up ^ Zierer, Otto (1976). Concise History of Great Nations: History of Germany. New York: Leon Amiel Publisher. p. 104. ISBN 978-0-8148-0673-9. OCLC 3250405.
112.Jump up ^ Michael Johnstone, The Freemasons, Arcturus, 2005, pp 73-75
113.^ Jump up to: a b c Hodapp, Christopher. Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley, 2005. p. 86.
114.^ Jump up to: a b Bright, Martin (12 June 2005). "MPs told to declare links to Masons", The Guardian
115.Jump up ^ Cusick, James (27 December 1996). Police want judges and MPs to reveal Masonic links too, The Independent
116.Jump up ^ Sparrow, Andrew (5 November 2009). "Jack Straw scraps rule saying judges must declare if they are masons". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 7 November 2009.
117.Jump up ^ Prescott, pp. 13–14, 30, 33.
118.Jump up ^ "World War II Documents showing the persecution of Freemasonry". Mill Valley Lodge #356. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
119.Jump up ^ Freemasons for Dummies, by Christopher Hodapp, Wiley Publishing Inc., Indianapolis, 2005, p. 85, sec. Hitler and the Nazi
120.Jump up ^ Katz. "Jews and Freemasons in Europe". In Israel Gutman. The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. p. vol. 2, p. 531. ISBN 978-0-02-897166-7. OCLC 20594356.
121.Jump up ^ "Das Vergißmeinnicht-Abzeichen und die Freimaurerei, Die wahre Geschichte" (in German). Internetloge.de. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
122.Jump up ^ Bernheim, Alain (10 September 2004). "The Blue Forget-Me-Not: Another Side Of The Story". Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry. Retrieved 2006-07-08.
123.Jump up ^ Francke, Karl Heinz; Ernst-Günther Geppert (1974). Die Freimaurer-Logen Deutschlands und deren Grosslogen 1737–1972 (in German) (Second rev. ed.). Bayreuth: Quatuor Coronati.Also in: Francke, Karl Heinz; Ernst-Günther Geppert (1988). Die Freimaurer-Logen Deutschlands und deren Grosslogen 1737 – 1985 : Matrikel und Stammbuch; Nachschlagewerk über 248 Jahre Geschichte der Freimaurerei in Deutschland (in German). Bayreuth: Quatuor Coronati. ISBN 978-3-925749-05-6. OCLC 75446479.
124.^ Jump up to: a b "The Story Behind Forget Me Not Emblem!". Masonic Network. 11 December 2009.
External links

Find more about
Freemasonry
 at Wikipedia's sister projects

Search Wiktionary Definitions from Wiktionary
Search Commons Media from Commons
Search Wikinews News stories from Wikinews
Search Wikiquote Quotations from Wikiquote
Search Wikisource Source texts from Wikisource
Search Wikibooks Textbooks from Wikibooks
Search Wikiversity Learning resources from Wikiversity
 "Freemasonry". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
Web of Hiram at the University of Bradford. A database of donated Masonic material.
Masonic Books Online of the Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry
The Constitutions of the Free-Masons (1734), James Anderson, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Royster. Hosted by the Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
The Mysteries of Free Masonry, by William Morgan, from Project Gutenberg
A Legislative Investigation into Masonry (1832) on Internet Archive, OCLC 1560509
The United Grand Lodge of England's Library and Museum of Freemasonry, London
A page about Freemasonry – claiming to be the world's oldest Masonic website.
Articles on Judaism and Freemasonry
Anti-Masonry: Points of View – Edward L. King's Masonic website


Authority control
GND: 4018348-8
 

  


Categories: Freemasonry










Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

View source

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Afrikaans
العربية
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Беларуская
Беларуская (тарашкевіца)‎
Български
Bosanski
Català
Чӑвашла
Čeština
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
Frysk
Gaeilge
Galego
한국어
Հայերեն
Hrvatski
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
Íslenska
Italiano
עברית
ქართული
Қазақша
Kiswahili
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Limburgs
Magyar
Македонски
മലയാളം
مصرى
مازِرونی
Bahasa Melayu
မြန်မာဘာသာ
Nederlands
Nedersaksies
日本語
Norsk bokmål
Norsk nynorsk
Occitan
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Shqip
සිංහල
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
کوردیی ناوەندی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
தமிழ்
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
اردو
Vèneto
Tiếng Việt
粵語
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 8 June 2015, at 23:12.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry









Anti-Masonry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Part of a series on
Freemasonry
Square compasses.svg

Core articles[hide]
Freemasonry ·
 Grand Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge Officers ·
 Grand Master ·
 Prince Hall Freemasonry ·
 Regular Masonic jurisdictions ·
 Continental Freemasonry
 

History[hide]
History of Freemasonry ·
 Liberté chérie ·
 Masonic manuscripts
 

Masonic bodies[show]
































Views of Masonry[show]










People and places[show]




















Other related articles[show]













By country[show]
























v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called Anti-Freemasonry) is defined as "avowed opposition to Freemasonry".[1] However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement. Anti-Masonry consists of radically differing criticisms from sometimes incompatible groups who are hostile to Freemasonry in some form.


Contents  [hide]
1 Early Anti-Masonic documents
2 Political Anti-Masonry 2.1 American political Anti-Masonry (1830s–1850s)
2.2 British political Anti-Masonry (1990s–current)
2.3 Persecution by Communists
2.4 Persecution under Nazi regime
2.5 Iraqi Baathist Anti-Masonry
2.6 Freemasonry and patriotism
3 Conspiracy theories
4 Religious anti-Masonry 4.1 Christian anti-Masonry
4.2 Muslim anti-Masonry
5 Notes and references
6 See also
7 External links 7.1 Critical of Freemasonry
7.2 Supportive of Freemasonry


Early Anti-Masonic documents[edit]
The earliest[2] anti-Masonic document was a leaflet printed in 1698 by a Presbyterian minister named Winter. It reads:

TO ALL GODLY PEOPLE, In the Citie of London.
Having thought it needful to warn you of the Mischiefs and Evils practiced in the Sight of God by those called Freed Masons, I say take Care lest their Ceremonies and secret Swearings take hold of you; and be wary that none cause you to err from Godliness. For this devllish Sect of Men are Meeters in secret which swear against all without ther Following. They are the Anti Christ which was to come leading Men from Fear of God. For how should Men meet in secret Places and with secret Signs taking Care that none observed them to do the Work of GOD; are not these the Ways of Evil-doers?
Knowing how that God observeth privilly them that sit in Darkness they shall be smitten and the Secrets of their Hearts layed bare. Mingle not among this corrupt People lest you be found so at the World's Conflagration.[3]
Political Anti-Masonry[edit]
American political Anti-Masonry (1830s–1850s)[edit]
Main articles: William Morgan (anti-Mason) and Anti-Masonic Party
In 1826, William Morgan disappeared from the small town of Batavia, New York, after threatening to expose Freemasonry's "secrets" by publishing its rituals. His disappearance caused some Anti-masons to claim that he had been kidnapped and murdered by Masons. Morgan's disappearance sparked a series of protests against Freemasonry, which eventually spread to the political realm. Under the leadership of anti-Masonic Thurlow Weed, an Anti-Jacksonist movement became (since Jackson was a Mason) the Anti-Masonic Party. This political Party ran presidential candidates in 1828 and 1832, but by 1835 the party had disbanded everywhere except Pennsylvania.
British political Anti-Masonry (1990s–current)[edit]
In the United Kingdom, Anti-Masonic sentiment grew following the publication of Martin Short's 1989 book, Inside the Brotherhood (Further Secrets of the Freemasons).[4] The allegations made by Short led several members of the British Government to propose laws requiring Freemasons who join the police or judiciary[5] to declare their membership publicly to the government amid accusations of Freemasons performing acts of mutual advancement and favour-swapping. This movement was initially led by Jack Straw, Home Secretary from 1997 until 2001.[5] In 1999, the Welsh Assembly became the only body in the United Kingdom to place a legal requirement on membership declaration for Freemasons.[6] Currently, existing members of the police and judiciary in England are asked to voluntarily admit to being Freemasons.[7] However, all first time successful judiciary candidates had to "declare their freemasonry status" before appointment until 2009, when – following a successful challenge in the European Court by Italian Freemasons – Jack Straw accepted that the policy was "disproportionate" and revoked it.[7] Conversely, new members of the police are not required to declare their status.[7]
In 2004, Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly, in Great Britain, said that he blocked Gerard Elias' appointment to counsel general because of links to hunting and freemasonry,[8] although it was claimed by non-Labour politicians that the real reason was in order to have a Labour supporter, Malcolm Bishop, in the role.[9]
Persecution by Communists[edit]
Soviet Russia outlawed all secret societies, including Masonry, in 1922. At one of the Second International meetings Grigory Zinoviev demanded to purge it of masons.[10] Freemasonry did not exist in the Soviet Union, China, or other Communist states. Postwar revivals of Freemasonry in Czechoslovakia and Hungary were suppressed in 1950.[11] However, Freemasonry in Cuba continued to exist following the Cuban Revolution, and according to Cuban folklore, Fidel Castro is said to have "developed a soft spot for the Masons when they gave him refuge in a Masonic Lodge" in the 1950s. However, when in power, Castro was also said to have "kept them on a tight leash" as they were considered a subversive element in Cuban society.[12]
Persecution under Nazi regime[edit]
Main article: Suppression of Freemasonry
See also: Freemasonry and The Holocaust



 Poster of the Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition


 French antimasonic Exposition during Nazi occupation (1942).
Fascists treated Freemasonry as a potential source of opposition. Masonic writers state that the language used by the totalitarian regimes is similar to that used by some modern critics of Freemasonry.[13]
Red triangle.svg
Consistently considered an ideological foe of Nazism in their world perception (Weltauffassung), Freemasonic Concentration Camp inmates were graded as "Political" prisoners, and wore an inverted (point down) red triangle.[14]
In 1943, the Propaganda Abteilung, a delegation of Nazi Germany's propaganda ministry within occupied France, commissioned the propaganda film Forces occultes. The film virulently denounces Freemasonry, parliamentarianism and Jews as part of Vichy's drive against them and seeks to prove a Jewish-Masonic plot.
The number of Freemasons from Nazi occupied countries who were killed is not accurately known, but it is estimated that between 80,000 and 200,000 Freemasons perished under the Nazi regime.[15] The Government of the United Kingdom established Holocaust Memorial Day[16] to recognise all groups who were targets of the Nazi regime, and counter Holocaust denial. Freemasons are listed as being among those who were targeted.
Iraqi Baathist Anti-Masonry[edit]
In 1980, the Iraqi legal and penal code was changed by Saddam Hussein and the ruling Ba'ath Party, thereby making it a felony to "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organizations."[17]
Freemasonry and patriotism[edit]
Freemasonry has been alleged to hold back its members from fully committing to their nation.[18] Critics claim that compared to Operative Masonry's clear denunciations of treachery,[19] Speculative Masonry (Freemasonry after 1723) was far more ambiguous.[20] The old Catholic Encyclopedia alleges that Masonic disapproval of treachery is not on moral grounds but on the grounds of inconvenience to other Masons.[21] It also argues[22] that the adage "Loyalty to freedom overrides all other considerations"[23] justifies treason, and quotes Albert Mackey, who said "... if treason or rebellion were masonic crimes, almost every mason in the United Colonies (America), in 1776, would have been subject to expulsion and every Lodge to a forfeiture of its warrant by the Grand Lodges of England and Scotland, under whose jurisdiction they were at the time".[18]
Freemasonry, however, charges its members that: "In the state you are to be a quiet and peaceful subject, true to your government and just to your country; You are not to countenence disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live."[24]
With this charge in mind, American Freemasons are consistent advocates of the US Constitution, including the separation of church and state,[25] which was seen by the Roman Catholic Church as a veiled attack on the Church's place in public life.[26]
Conspiracy theories[edit]
Main article: Masonic conspiracy theories
Due to its secretive nature Freemasonry has long been a target of conspiracy theories in which it is either bent on world domination or already secretly in control of world politics.
Historically, complaints have been made that the Masons have secretly plotted to create a society based on the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity, separation of church and state and (in Nazi Germany) a Jewish plot for religious tolerance.[27] Similarly, some anti-Masons have claimed that Freemasonry is a Jewish front for world domination, or is at least controlled by Jews for this goal. An example of this is the notorious literary forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Hitler outlawed Freemasonry partially for this reason.[28] The covenant of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas claims that Freemasonry is a "secret society" founded as part of a Zionist plot to control the world.[29]
The earliest document accusing Freemasonry of being involved in a conspiracy was Enthüllungen des Systems der Weltbürger-Politik (“Disclosure of the System of Cosmopolitan Politics”), published in 1786.[30] The book claimed that there was a conspiracy of Freemasons, Illuminati and Jesuits who were plotting world revolution.[31] During the 19th Century, this theory was repeated by many Christian counter-revolutionaries,[32][33] who saw Freemasons as being behind every attack on the existing social system.[32][33]
There are also many other religious and political conspiracy theories, most regarding the United States government, from claiming all the Presidents as Masons[34] (actually only 14 out of 44 Presidents were Freemasons)[35] or that Masons were involved in the JFK assassination.[36] Many of these theories allude to Masonic symbolism in the architecture of federal buildings or in the street plan of Washington, D.C.
Religious anti-Masonry[edit]
Christian anti-Masonry[edit]
Main article: Opposition to Freemasonry within Christianity
One of the first highly vocal Christian critics of freemasonry was Charles Finney. In his book The Character, Claims, and Practical Workings of Freemasonry, Finney not only ridicules the masons but also explains why he viewed leaving the association as an essential act 3 years after his conversion to Christianity and entering seminary.
A number of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox denominations discourage their congregants from joining Masonic lodges, although this differs in intensity according to the denomination. Some simply express mild concern as to whether Freemasonry is compatible with Christianity while, at the other extreme, some accuse the fraternity of outright devil worship.
The Roman Catholic Church has, since 1738, prohibited membership in Masonic organizations, citing both political and religious reasons. Until 1983 the penalty for Catholics who joined the fraternity was excommunication.[37] Since that time the punishment has been an interdict, barring the offender from Holy Communion. Although the canonical penalty changed in 1983, the prohibition on membership has not.[38]
Muslim anti-Masonry[edit]
Further information: Iraqi Baathist Anti-Masonry and The Covenant of Hamas
Many Islamic anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to both Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism, though other criticisms are made such as linking Freemasonry to Dajjal.[39] Some Muslim anti-Masons argue that Freemasonry promotes the interests of the Jews around the world and that one of its aims is to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem after destroying the Al-Aqsa Mosque.[40] In article 28 of its Covenant, Hamas states that Freemasonry, Rotary, and other similar groups "work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions...."[41] Many countries with a significant Muslim population do not allow Masonic establishments within their jurisdictions. However, countries such as Turkey and Morocco have established Grand Lodges[42] while in countries such as Malaysia,[43] and Lebanon[44] there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant from an established Grand Lodge.
Notes and references[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Oxford English Dictionary (1979 ed.), p. 369.
2.Jump up ^ Morris, S. Brent; The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Alpha books, 2006, p,203
3.Jump up ^ As quoted by Morris, S. Brent; The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Alpha books, 2006, p,204
4.Jump up ^ http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Authors/5282/martin-short
5.^ Jump up to: a b "New judges must declare masonic membership", BBC, March 5, 1998, retrieved February 26, 2006
6.Jump up ^ "Freemason policy review due", BBC, December 8, 2001, retrieved February 26, 2006
7.^ Jump up to: a b c "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 21 July 2005 (pt 69)", UK House of Commons, July 21, 2005, retrieved October 2, 2007
8.Jump up ^ "Morgan criticised over job blocking", BBC, March 22, 2004, retrieved February 26, 2006
9.Jump up ^ "Mr Morgan wanted another QC, Malcolm Bishop, who has stood as a Labour candidate and is a close associate of former Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine." Morgan 'blocked' QC appointment
10.Jump up ^ Кац. А. С. «Протоколы Сионских Мудрецов и Всемирный Жидомасонский Заговор»
11.Jump up ^ Whalen, W.J. "Freemasonry" The New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), hosted at David Trosch's website. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
12.Jump up ^ Stein, Jeff (7 April 2014). "Bay of Piglets: How the Freemasons Got Caught in a Plot to Topple the Castros". Newsweek. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
13.Jump up ^ Paul M. Bessel (1994). "Bigotry and the Murder of Freemasonry". "These people who attack Masonry with exaggerated language, and without accepting reasonable explanations of what Freemasonry really is, would probably say that their use of language about Masonry that is strikingly similar to that which was used by the Nazis and other vicious attackers of Freemasonry in the past does not mean that they are following in the footsteps of the Nazis."
14.Jump up ^ The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, volume 2, page 531, citing Katz, Jews and Freemasons in Europe.
15.Jump up ^ Christopher Hodapp (2005). Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 85., sec. "Hitler and the Nazi"
16.Jump up ^ What is Holocaust Memorial Day?
17.Jump up ^ "Saddam to be formally charged", The Washington Times, July 1, 2004. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
18.^ Jump up to: a b "Another characteristic of Masonic law is that "treason" and "rebellion" against civil authority are declared only political crimes, which affect the good standing of a Brother no more than heresy, and furnish no ground for a Masonic trial." Masonry (Freemasonry) from the Catholic Encyclopedia, partially quoting Mackey, Jurisprudence, 509.
19.Jump up ^ "2nd – You shall be true liegemen to the King of England without any treason or falsehood, and if you know of any that you amend it privily, if you may, or else warn the King and his Council of it by declaring it to his officers."
20.Jump up ^ II. Of the CIVIL MAGISTRATES supreme and subordinate "A Mason is a peaceable Subject to the Civil Powers, wherever he resides or works, and is never to be concern'd in Plots and Conspiracies against the Peace and Welfare of the Nation, nor to behave himself undutifully to inferior Magistrates; for as Masonry hath been always injured by War, Bloodshed, and Confusion, so ancient Kings and Princes have been much dispos'd to encourage the Craftsmen, because of their Peaceableness and Loyalty, whereby they practically answer'd the Cavils of their Adversaries, and promoted the Honour of the Fraternity, who ever flourish'd in Times of Peace. So that if a Brother should be a Rebel against the State he is not to be countenanc'd in his Rebellion, however he may be pitied as an unhappy Man; and, if convicted of no other Crime though the loyal Brotherhood must and ought to disown his Rebellion, and give no Umbrage or Ground of political Jealousy to the Government for the time being; they cannot expel him from the Lodge, and his Relation to it remains indefeasible."
21.Jump up ^ "The brotherhood ought to disown the rebellion, but only in order to preserve the fraternity from annoyance by the civil authorities." from the article Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia
22.Jump up ^ "Such language would equally suit every anarchistic movement." Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia
23.Jump up ^ "If we were to assert that under no circumstances had a Mason been found willing to take arms against a bad government, we should only be declaring that, in trying moments, when duty, in the masonic sense, to state means antagonism to the Government, they had failed in the highest and most sacred duty of a citizen. Rebellion in some cases is a sacred duty, and none, but a bigot or a fool, will say, that our countrymen were in the wrong, when they took arms against King James II. Loyalty to freedom in a case of this kind overrides all other considerations, and when to rebel means to be free or to perish, it would be idle to urge that a man must remember obligations which were never intended to rob him of his status of a human being and a citizen." "Freemason's Chronicle" 1875, I, 81, quoted as footnote [89] in Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia
24.Jump up ^ Webb, Thomas Smith; Freemason's Monitor Or Illustrations of Freemasonry – Charge at initiation into the first degree, p. 43 (originally published 1818... republished by Kessinger Publishing, 1995 ISBN 1-56459-553-6, ISBN 978-1-56459-553-9)
25.Jump up ^ "Freemasonry Does Not Support any particular political position. It has long stood for separation of Church and State, and has been a champion of Free Public Education." From a speech given by Bill Jones Grand Master of Arkansas, 1996
26.Jump up ^ Pope Leo XIII Etsi Nos (On Conditions in Italy)
27.Jump up ^ Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf: Volume One – A Reckoning. "[Chapter XI: Nation and Race, http://www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/books/43kampf/kampf43.htm]" 1924, trans. 1943. – "Finally, the Jewish influence on economic affairs grows with terrifying speed through the stock exchange. He becomes the owner, or at least the controller, of the national labor force. To strengthen his political position he tries to tear down the racial and civil barriers which for a time continue to restrain him at every step. To this end he fights with all the tenacity innate in him for religious tolerance-and in Freemasonry, which has succumbed to him completely, he has an excellent instrument with which to fight for his aims and put them across. The governing circles and the higher strata of the political and economic bourgeoisie are brought into his nets by the strings of Freemasonry, and never need to suspect what is happening."
28.Jump up ^ Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf: Volume Two – The National Socialist Movement, "[Chapter XIII: German Alliance Policy after the War http://www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/books/43kampf/kampf43.htm]", 1924, trans. 1943. – "The fight which Fascist Italy waged against Jewry's three principal weapons, the profound reasons for which may not have been consciously understood (though I do not believe this myself) furnishes the best proof that the poison fangs of that Power which transcends all State boundaries are being drawn, even though in an indirect way. The prohibition of Freemasonry and secret societies, the suppression of the supernational Press and the definite abolition of Marxism, together with the steadily increasing consolidation of the Fascist concept of the State — all this will enable the Italian Government, in the course of some years, to advance more and more the interests of the Italian people without paying any attention to the hissing of the Jewish world-hydra."
29.Jump up ^ 'The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) – Palestine', Art. XVII, XXII, and XXVIII, 18 August 1988. Retrieved 29 October 2005.
30.Jump up ^ "Bereits um 1786, kurz zuvor waren die Illuminaten in Bayern verboten worden, kursierte das erste Pamphlet über die Freimaurer, das von einem anonymen Autor als "Enthüllungen des Systems der Weltbürger-Politik" veröffentlicht wurde." Transl. "As early as 1786, shortly before the banning of the Illuminati in Bavaria, the first pamphlet about Freemasonry arrived, the anonymously authored "Enthüllungen des Systems der Weltbürger- Politik"." Freimaurer im Wandel der Zeit- von der Gründung bis heute, from the Neue Freimaurer website.
31.Jump up ^ prof. Dr. Pfahl-Traughber: Der antisemitisch-antifreimaurerische Verschwörungsmythos
32.^ Jump up to: a b Matthias Pöhlmann: Verschwiegene Männer, Protestant Centre for Religious and Ideological Issues of the Evangelical Church in Germany
33.^ Jump up to: a b Dr. Johannes Rogalla von Biberstein, historian and librarian of the University of Bielefeld: Die These von der Verschwörung 1776–1945. Philosophen, Freimaurer, Juden, Liberale und Sozialisten gegen die Sozialordnung, Flensburg 1992
34.Jump up ^ http://www.geocities.com/endtimedeception/famous.htm endtimedeception. Archived 2009-10-25.
35.Jump up ^ Masonic and Anti-Masonic Presidents of the United States, presented at Federal Lodge #1, F.A.A.M., of the District of Columbia February 9, 1998, by Paul M. Bessel
36.Jump up ^ Downard, James Shelby, and Michael A. Hoffman II. "King-Kill/33°: Masonic Symbolism in the Assassination of John F. Kennedy", 1987. Website excerpt, 1998. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
37.Jump up ^ newadvent.org "Excommunication"
38.Jump up ^ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect. Declaration on Masonic Associations Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 26 November 1983. Accessed 2011-10-09. "Therefore the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association[s] remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enrol in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion. It is not within the competence of local ecclesiastical authorities to give a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations which would imply a derogation from what has been decided above..."
39.Jump up ^ Prescott, Andrew. The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline (PDF). pp. 13–14. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
40.Jump up ^ "Can a Muslim be a freemason?" (ASP). Islamonline.com. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
41.Jump up ^ Hamas Covenant of 1988. Wikisource. Accessed 2 October 2007.
42.Jump up ^ Leyiktez, Celil. "Freemasonry in the Islamic World". Accessed 2 October 2007.
43.Jump up ^ DGLME.org – The District Grand Lodge of the Middle East
44.Jump up ^ Districts Online | Grand Lodge F. & A. M. State of New York
See also[edit]
Book icon Book: Freemasonry

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anti-masonic drawings.
Taxil hoax
Catholicism and Freemasonry
Anti-clericalism
Propaganda Due – The P2 Masonic Lodge Scandal
Secret society
Mormonism and Freemasonry
Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory
External links[edit]
Critical of Freemasonry[edit]
www.conspiracyarchive.org - Freemasonry: Midwife to an Occult Empire by Terry Melanson
www.masoncode.com - The Jewels of Freemasonry
www.ephesians 5-11.org - How can you lead Masons away from the Masonic Lodge?
islamaqa.com - Islamic Anti-Masonry site
Supportive of Freemasonry[edit]
srmason-sj.org - Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? by Art DeHoyos
masonicinfo.com - Masonic rebuttal to Anti-Masonic claims
www.freemasonry.bcy.ca - Anti-masonry Frequently Asked Questions
www/freemasons-freemasonry.com - Anti-Masonry in the contemporary world
Academic examinations of Anti-Masonry
Academic Conference on Anti-masonry
  


Categories: Anti-Masonry




Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Español
فارسی
Français
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Nederlands
Norsk bokmål
Português
Română
Svenska
Edit links
This page was last modified on 7 April 2015, at 22:08.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Masonry










Anti-Masonry

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Part of a series on
Freemasonry
Square compasses.svg

Core articles[hide]
Freemasonry ·
 Grand Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge ·
 Masonic Lodge Officers ·
 Grand Master ·
 Prince Hall Freemasonry ·
 Regular Masonic jurisdictions ·
 Continental Freemasonry
 

History[hide]
History of Freemasonry ·
 Liberté chérie ·
 Masonic manuscripts
 

Masonic bodies[show]
































Views of Masonry[show]










People and places[show]




















Other related articles[show]













By country[show]
























v ·
 t ·
 e
   
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called Anti-Freemasonry) is defined as "avowed opposition to Freemasonry".[1] However, there is no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement. Anti-Masonry consists of radically differing criticisms from sometimes incompatible groups who are hostile to Freemasonry in some form.


Contents  [hide]
1 Early Anti-Masonic documents
2 Political Anti-Masonry 2.1 American political Anti-Masonry (1830s–1850s)
2.2 British political Anti-Masonry (1990s–current)
2.3 Persecution by Communists
2.4 Persecution under Nazi regime
2.5 Iraqi Baathist Anti-Masonry
2.6 Freemasonry and patriotism
3 Conspiracy theories
4 Religious anti-Masonry 4.1 Christian anti-Masonry
4.2 Muslim anti-Masonry
5 Notes and references
6 See also
7 External links 7.1 Critical of Freemasonry
7.2 Supportive of Freemasonry


Early Anti-Masonic documents[edit]
The earliest[2] anti-Masonic document was a leaflet printed in 1698 by a Presbyterian minister named Winter. It reads:

TO ALL GODLY PEOPLE, In the Citie of London.
Having thought it needful to warn you of the Mischiefs and Evils practiced in the Sight of God by those called Freed Masons, I say take Care lest their Ceremonies and secret Swearings take hold of you; and be wary that none cause you to err from Godliness. For this devllish Sect of Men are Meeters in secret which swear against all without ther Following. They are the Anti Christ which was to come leading Men from Fear of God. For how should Men meet in secret Places and with secret Signs taking Care that none observed them to do the Work of GOD; are not these the Ways of Evil-doers?
Knowing how that God observeth privilly them that sit in Darkness they shall be smitten and the Secrets of their Hearts layed bare. Mingle not among this corrupt People lest you be found so at the World's Conflagration.[3]
Political Anti-Masonry[edit]
American political Anti-Masonry (1830s–1850s)[edit]
Main articles: William Morgan (anti-Mason) and Anti-Masonic Party
In 1826, William Morgan disappeared from the small town of Batavia, New York, after threatening to expose Freemasonry's "secrets" by publishing its rituals. His disappearance caused some Anti-masons to claim that he had been kidnapped and murdered by Masons. Morgan's disappearance sparked a series of protests against Freemasonry, which eventually spread to the political realm. Under the leadership of anti-Masonic Thurlow Weed, an Anti-Jacksonist movement became (since Jackson was a Mason) the Anti-Masonic Party. This political Party ran presidential candidates in 1828 and 1832, but by 1835 the party had disbanded everywhere except Pennsylvania.
British political Anti-Masonry (1990s–current)[edit]
In the United Kingdom, Anti-Masonic sentiment grew following the publication of Martin Short's 1989 book, Inside the Brotherhood (Further Secrets of the Freemasons).[4] The allegations made by Short led several members of the British Government to propose laws requiring Freemasons who join the police or judiciary[5] to declare their membership publicly to the government amid accusations of Freemasons performing acts of mutual advancement and favour-swapping. This movement was initially led by Jack Straw, Home Secretary from 1997 until 2001.[5] In 1999, the Welsh Assembly became the only body in the United Kingdom to place a legal requirement on membership declaration for Freemasons.[6] Currently, existing members of the police and judiciary in England are asked to voluntarily admit to being Freemasons.[7] However, all first time successful judiciary candidates had to "declare their freemasonry status" before appointment until 2009, when – following a successful challenge in the European Court by Italian Freemasons – Jack Straw accepted that the policy was "disproportionate" and revoked it.[7] Conversely, new members of the police are not required to declare their status.[7]
In 2004, Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly, in Great Britain, said that he blocked Gerard Elias' appointment to counsel general because of links to hunting and freemasonry,[8] although it was claimed by non-Labour politicians that the real reason was in order to have a Labour supporter, Malcolm Bishop, in the role.[9]
Persecution by Communists[edit]
Soviet Russia outlawed all secret societies, including Masonry, in 1922. At one of the Second International meetings Grigory Zinoviev demanded to purge it of masons.[10] Freemasonry did not exist in the Soviet Union, China, or other Communist states. Postwar revivals of Freemasonry in Czechoslovakia and Hungary were suppressed in 1950.[11] However, Freemasonry in Cuba continued to exist following the Cuban Revolution, and according to Cuban folklore, Fidel Castro is said to have "developed a soft spot for the Masons when they gave him refuge in a Masonic Lodge" in the 1950s. However, when in power, Castro was also said to have "kept them on a tight leash" as they were considered a subversive element in Cuban society.[12]
Persecution under Nazi regime[edit]
Main article: Suppression of Freemasonry
See also: Freemasonry and The Holocaust



 Poster of the Grand Anti-Masonic Exhibition


 French antimasonic Exposition during Nazi occupation (1942).
Fascists treated Freemasonry as a potential source of opposition. Masonic writers state that the language used by the totalitarian regimes is similar to that used by some modern critics of Freemasonry.[13]
Red triangle.svg
Consistently considered an ideological foe of Nazism in their world perception (Weltauffassung), Freemasonic Concentration Camp inmates were graded as "Political" prisoners, and wore an inverted (point down) red triangle.[14]
In 1943, the Propaganda Abteilung, a delegation of Nazi Germany's propaganda ministry within occupied France, commissioned the propaganda film Forces occultes. The film virulently denounces Freemasonry, parliamentarianism and Jews as part of Vichy's drive against them and seeks to prove a Jewish-Masonic plot.
The number of Freemasons from Nazi occupied countries who were killed is not accurately known, but it is estimated that between 80,000 and 200,000 Freemasons perished under the Nazi regime.[15] The Government of the United Kingdom established Holocaust Memorial Day[16] to recognise all groups who were targets of the Nazi regime, and counter Holocaust denial. Freemasons are listed as being among those who were targeted.
Iraqi Baathist Anti-Masonry[edit]
In 1980, the Iraqi legal and penal code was changed by Saddam Hussein and the ruling Ba'ath Party, thereby making it a felony to "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organizations."[17]
Freemasonry and patriotism[edit]
Freemasonry has been alleged to hold back its members from fully committing to their nation.[18] Critics claim that compared to Operative Masonry's clear denunciations of treachery,[19] Speculative Masonry (Freemasonry after 1723) was far more ambiguous.[20] The old Catholic Encyclopedia alleges that Masonic disapproval of treachery is not on moral grounds but on the grounds of inconvenience to other Masons.[21] It also argues[22] that the adage "Loyalty to freedom overrides all other considerations"[23] justifies treason, and quotes Albert Mackey, who said "... if treason or rebellion were masonic crimes, almost every mason in the United Colonies (America), in 1776, would have been subject to expulsion and every Lodge to a forfeiture of its warrant by the Grand Lodges of England and Scotland, under whose jurisdiction they were at the time".[18]
Freemasonry, however, charges its members that: "In the state you are to be a quiet and peaceful subject, true to your government and just to your country; You are not to countenence disloyalty or rebellion, but patiently submit to legal authority and conform with cheerfulness to the government of the country in which you live."[24]
With this charge in mind, American Freemasons are consistent advocates of the US Constitution, including the separation of church and state,[25] which was seen by the Roman Catholic Church as a veiled attack on the Church's place in public life.[26]
Conspiracy theories[edit]
Main article: Masonic conspiracy theories
Due to its secretive nature Freemasonry has long been a target of conspiracy theories in which it is either bent on world domination or already secretly in control of world politics.
Historically, complaints have been made that the Masons have secretly plotted to create a society based on the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, fraternity, separation of church and state and (in Nazi Germany) a Jewish plot for religious tolerance.[27] Similarly, some anti-Masons have claimed that Freemasonry is a Jewish front for world domination, or is at least controlled by Jews for this goal. An example of this is the notorious literary forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Hitler outlawed Freemasonry partially for this reason.[28] The covenant of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas claims that Freemasonry is a "secret society" founded as part of a Zionist plot to control the world.[29]
The earliest document accusing Freemasonry of being involved in a conspiracy was Enthüllungen des Systems der Weltbürger-Politik (“Disclosure of the System of Cosmopolitan Politics”), published in 1786.[30] The book claimed that there was a conspiracy of Freemasons, Illuminati and Jesuits who were plotting world revolution.[31] During the 19th Century, this theory was repeated by many Christian counter-revolutionaries,[32][33] who saw Freemasons as being behind every attack on the existing social system.[32][33]
There are also many other religious and political conspiracy theories, most regarding the United States government, from claiming all the Presidents as Masons[34] (actually only 14 out of 44 Presidents were Freemasons)[35] or that Masons were involved in the JFK assassination.[36] Many of these theories allude to Masonic symbolism in the architecture of federal buildings or in the street plan of Washington, D.C.
Religious anti-Masonry[edit]
Christian anti-Masonry[edit]
Main article: Opposition to Freemasonry within Christianity
One of the first highly vocal Christian critics of freemasonry was Charles Finney. In his book The Character, Claims, and Practical Workings of Freemasonry, Finney not only ridicules the masons but also explains why he viewed leaving the association as an essential act 3 years after his conversion to Christianity and entering seminary.
A number of Protestant and Eastern Orthodox denominations discourage their congregants from joining Masonic lodges, although this differs in intensity according to the denomination. Some simply express mild concern as to whether Freemasonry is compatible with Christianity while, at the other extreme, some accuse the fraternity of outright devil worship.
The Roman Catholic Church has, since 1738, prohibited membership in Masonic organizations, citing both political and religious reasons. Until 1983 the penalty for Catholics who joined the fraternity was excommunication.[37] Since that time the punishment has been an interdict, barring the offender from Holy Communion. Although the canonical penalty changed in 1983, the prohibition on membership has not.[38]
Muslim anti-Masonry[edit]
Further information: Iraqi Baathist Anti-Masonry and The Covenant of Hamas
Many Islamic anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to both Anti-Semitism and Anti-Zionism, though other criticisms are made such as linking Freemasonry to Dajjal.[39] Some Muslim anti-Masons argue that Freemasonry promotes the interests of the Jews around the world and that one of its aims is to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem after destroying the Al-Aqsa Mosque.[40] In article 28 of its Covenant, Hamas states that Freemasonry, Rotary, and other similar groups "work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions...."[41] Many countries with a significant Muslim population do not allow Masonic establishments within their jurisdictions. However, countries such as Turkey and Morocco have established Grand Lodges[42] while in countries such as Malaysia,[43] and Lebanon[44] there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant from an established Grand Lodge.
Notes and references[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Oxford English Dictionary (1979 ed.), p. 369.
2.Jump up ^ Morris, S. Brent; The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Alpha books, 2006, p,203
3.Jump up ^ As quoted by Morris, S. Brent; The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry, Alpha books, 2006, p,204
4.Jump up ^ http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/Authors/5282/martin-short
5.^ Jump up to: a b "New judges must declare masonic membership", BBC, March 5, 1998, retrieved February 26, 2006
6.Jump up ^ "Freemason policy review due", BBC, December 8, 2001, retrieved February 26, 2006
7.^ Jump up to: a b c "House of Commons Hansard Written Answers for 21 July 2005 (pt 69)", UK House of Commons, July 21, 2005, retrieved October 2, 2007
8.Jump up ^ "Morgan criticised over job blocking", BBC, March 22, 2004, retrieved February 26, 2006
9.Jump up ^ "Mr Morgan wanted another QC, Malcolm Bishop, who has stood as a Labour candidate and is a close associate of former Lord Chancellor Derry Irvine." Morgan 'blocked' QC appointment
10.Jump up ^ Кац. А. С. «Протоколы Сионских Мудрецов и Всемирный Жидомасонский Заговор»
11.Jump up ^ Whalen, W.J. "Freemasonry" The New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), hosted at David Trosch's website. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
12.Jump up ^ Stein, Jeff (7 April 2014). "Bay of Piglets: How the Freemasons Got Caught in a Plot to Topple the Castros". Newsweek. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
13.Jump up ^ Paul M. Bessel (1994). "Bigotry and the Murder of Freemasonry". "These people who attack Masonry with exaggerated language, and without accepting reasonable explanations of what Freemasonry really is, would probably say that their use of language about Masonry that is strikingly similar to that which was used by the Nazis and other vicious attackers of Freemasonry in the past does not mean that they are following in the footsteps of the Nazis."
14.Jump up ^ The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, volume 2, page 531, citing Katz, Jews and Freemasons in Europe.
15.Jump up ^ Christopher Hodapp (2005). Freemasons for Dummies. Indianapolis: Wiley Publishing Inc. p. 85., sec. "Hitler and the Nazi"
16.Jump up ^ What is Holocaust Memorial Day?
17.Jump up ^ "Saddam to be formally charged", The Washington Times, July 1, 2004. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
18.^ Jump up to: a b "Another characteristic of Masonic law is that "treason" and "rebellion" against civil authority are declared only political crimes, which affect the good standing of a Brother no more than heresy, and furnish no ground for a Masonic trial." Masonry (Freemasonry) from the Catholic Encyclopedia, partially quoting Mackey, Jurisprudence, 509.
19.Jump up ^ "2nd – You shall be true liegemen to the King of England without any treason or falsehood, and if you know of any that you amend it privily, if you may, or else warn the King and his Council of it by declaring it to his officers."
20.Jump up ^ II. Of the CIVIL MAGISTRATES supreme and subordinate "A Mason is a peaceable Subject to the Civil Powers, wherever he resides or works, and is never to be concern'd in Plots and Conspiracies against the Peace and Welfare of the Nation, nor to behave himself undutifully to inferior Magistrates; for as Masonry hath been always injured by War, Bloodshed, and Confusion, so ancient Kings and Princes have been much dispos'd to encourage the Craftsmen, because of their Peaceableness and Loyalty, whereby they practically answer'd the Cavils of their Adversaries, and promoted the Honour of the Fraternity, who ever flourish'd in Times of Peace. So that if a Brother should be a Rebel against the State he is not to be countenanc'd in his Rebellion, however he may be pitied as an unhappy Man; and, if convicted of no other Crime though the loyal Brotherhood must and ought to disown his Rebellion, and give no Umbrage or Ground of political Jealousy to the Government for the time being; they cannot expel him from the Lodge, and his Relation to it remains indefeasible."
21.Jump up ^ "The brotherhood ought to disown the rebellion, but only in order to preserve the fraternity from annoyance by the civil authorities." from the article Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia
22.Jump up ^ "Such language would equally suit every anarchistic movement." Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia
23.Jump up ^ "If we were to assert that under no circumstances had a Mason been found willing to take arms against a bad government, we should only be declaring that, in trying moments, when duty, in the masonic sense, to state means antagonism to the Government, they had failed in the highest and most sacred duty of a citizen. Rebellion in some cases is a sacred duty, and none, but a bigot or a fool, will say, that our countrymen were in the wrong, when they took arms against King James II. Loyalty to freedom in a case of this kind overrides all other considerations, and when to rebel means to be free or to perish, it would be idle to urge that a man must remember obligations which were never intended to rob him of his status of a human being and a citizen." "Freemason's Chronicle" 1875, I, 81, quoted as footnote [89] in Masonry (Freemasonry) in the Catholic Encyclopedia
24.Jump up ^ Webb, Thomas Smith; Freemason's Monitor Or Illustrations of Freemasonry – Charge at initiation into the first degree, p. 43 (originally published 1818... republished by Kessinger Publishing, 1995 ISBN 1-56459-553-6, ISBN 978-1-56459-553-9)
25.Jump up ^ "Freemasonry Does Not Support any particular political position. It has long stood for separation of Church and State, and has been a champion of Free Public Education." From a speech given by Bill Jones Grand Master of Arkansas, 1996
26.Jump up ^ Pope Leo XIII Etsi Nos (On Conditions in Italy)
27.Jump up ^ Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf: Volume One – A Reckoning. "[Chapter XI: Nation and Race, http://www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/books/43kampf/kampf43.htm]" 1924, trans. 1943. – "Finally, the Jewish influence on economic affairs grows with terrifying speed through the stock exchange. He becomes the owner, or at least the controller, of the national labor force. To strengthen his political position he tries to tear down the racial and civil barriers which for a time continue to restrain him at every step. To this end he fights with all the tenacity innate in him for religious tolerance-and in Freemasonry, which has succumbed to him completely, he has an excellent instrument with which to fight for his aims and put them across. The governing circles and the higher strata of the political and economic bourgeoisie are brought into his nets by the strings of Freemasonry, and never need to suspect what is happening."
28.Jump up ^ Hitler, Adolf. Mein Kampf: Volume Two – The National Socialist Movement, "[Chapter XIII: German Alliance Policy after the War http://www.adolfhitler.ws/lib/books/43kampf/kampf43.htm]", 1924, trans. 1943. – "The fight which Fascist Italy waged against Jewry's three principal weapons, the profound reasons for which may not have been consciously understood (though I do not believe this myself) furnishes the best proof that the poison fangs of that Power which transcends all State boundaries are being drawn, even though in an indirect way. The prohibition of Freemasonry and secret societies, the suppression of the supernational Press and the definite abolition of Marxism, together with the steadily increasing consolidation of the Fascist concept of the State — all this will enable the Italian Government, in the course of some years, to advance more and more the interests of the Italian people without paying any attention to the hissing of the Jewish world-hydra."
29.Jump up ^ 'The Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement (HAMAS) – Palestine', Art. XVII, XXII, and XXVIII, 18 August 1988. Retrieved 29 October 2005.
30.Jump up ^ "Bereits um 1786, kurz zuvor waren die Illuminaten in Bayern verboten worden, kursierte das erste Pamphlet über die Freimaurer, das von einem anonymen Autor als "Enthüllungen des Systems der Weltbürger-Politik" veröffentlicht wurde." Transl. "As early as 1786, shortly before the banning of the Illuminati in Bavaria, the first pamphlet about Freemasonry arrived, the anonymously authored "Enthüllungen des Systems der Weltbürger- Politik"." Freimaurer im Wandel der Zeit- von der Gründung bis heute, from the Neue Freimaurer website.
31.Jump up ^ prof. Dr. Pfahl-Traughber: Der antisemitisch-antifreimaurerische Verschwörungsmythos
32.^ Jump up to: a b Matthias Pöhlmann: Verschwiegene Männer, Protestant Centre for Religious and Ideological Issues of the Evangelical Church in Germany
33.^ Jump up to: a b Dr. Johannes Rogalla von Biberstein, historian and librarian of the University of Bielefeld: Die These von der Verschwörung 1776–1945. Philosophen, Freimaurer, Juden, Liberale und Sozialisten gegen die Sozialordnung, Flensburg 1992
34.Jump up ^ http://www.geocities.com/endtimedeception/famous.htm endtimedeception. Archived 2009-10-25.
35.Jump up ^ Masonic and Anti-Masonic Presidents of the United States, presented at Federal Lodge #1, F.A.A.M., of the District of Columbia February 9, 1998, by Paul M. Bessel
36.Jump up ^ Downard, James Shelby, and Michael A. Hoffman II. "King-Kill/33°: Masonic Symbolism in the Assassination of John F. Kennedy", 1987. Website excerpt, 1998. Retrieved 16 July 2007.
37.Jump up ^ newadvent.org "Excommunication"
38.Jump up ^ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Prefect. Declaration on Masonic Associations Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 26 November 1983. Accessed 2011-10-09. "Therefore the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association[s] remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enrol in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion. It is not within the competence of local ecclesiastical authorities to give a judgment on the nature of Masonic associations which would imply a derogation from what has been decided above..."
39.Jump up ^ Prescott, Andrew. The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline (PDF). pp. 13–14. Retrieved 2006-05-21.
40.Jump up ^ "Can a Muslim be a freemason?" (ASP). Islamonline.com. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
41.Jump up ^ Hamas Covenant of 1988. Wikisource. Accessed 2 October 2007.
42.Jump up ^ Leyiktez, Celil. "Freemasonry in the Islamic World". Accessed 2 October 2007.
43.Jump up ^ DGLME.org – The District Grand Lodge of the Middle East
44.Jump up ^ Districts Online | Grand Lodge F. & A. M. State of New York
See also[edit]
Book icon Book: Freemasonry

 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Anti-masonic drawings.
Taxil hoax
Catholicism and Freemasonry
Anti-clericalism
Propaganda Due – The P2 Masonic Lodge Scandal
Secret society
Mormonism and Freemasonry
Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory
External links[edit]
Critical of Freemasonry[edit]
www.conspiracyarchive.org - Freemasonry: Midwife to an Occult Empire by Terry Melanson
www.masoncode.com - The Jewels of Freemasonry
www.ephesians 5-11.org - How can you lead Masons away from the Masonic Lodge?
islamaqa.com - Islamic Anti-Masonry site
Supportive of Freemasonry[edit]
srmason-sj.org - Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry? by Art DeHoyos
masonicinfo.com - Masonic rebuttal to Anti-Masonic claims
www.freemasonry.bcy.ca - Anti-masonry Frequently Asked Questions
www/freemasons-freemasonry.com - Anti-Masonry in the contemporary world
Academic examinations of Anti-Masonry
Academic Conference on Anti-masonry
  


Categories: Anti-Masonry




Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Български
Español
فارسی
Français
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
Nederlands
Norsk bokmål
Português
Română
Svenska
Edit links
This page was last modified on 7 April 2015, at 22:08.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Masonry










Theistic Satanism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (October 2009)



 Part of the sigil of Lucifer from the Grimorium Verum, used by some theistic Satanists as a symbol for Satan/Lucifer.
Theistic Satanism (also known as traditional Satanism or spiritual Satanism) is the belief that Satan is a supernatural being or force that individuals may contact and supplicate to,[1][2] and represents loosely affiliated or independent groups and cabals which hold such a belief. Another characteristic of Theistic Satanism include the use of ceremonial magic.[3] Unlike LaVeyan Satanism, as founded by Anton LaVey in the 1960s, theistic Satanism is theistic[3] as opposed to atheistic, believing that Satan (Hebrew: הַשָׂטָן ha-Satan, ‘the accuser’) is a real entity[3] rather than an archetype.
The history of theistic Satanism and assessments of its existence and prevalence in history is obscured by it having been grounds for execution at some times in the past, and people having been accused of Satanism who did not worship Satan, such as the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Most theistic Satanism exists in relatively new models and ideologies, many of which claim not to be involved with the Abrahamic religions at all.[4][5][6]


Contents  [hide]
1 Possible history
2 Satanism and crime
3 Values in theistic Satanism
4 Diversity of beliefs within theistic Satanism
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Possible history[edit]



 Illustration by Martin van Maële, of a Witches' Sabbath, in the 1911 edition of La Sorciere, by Jules Michelet.
The worship of Satan was a frequent charge against those charged in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe and other witch-hunts such as the Salem witch trials. Worship of Satan was claimed to take place at the Witches' Sabbath.[7] The charge of Satan worship has also been made against groups or individuals regarded with suspicion, such as the Knights Templar, or minority religions.[8] In the case of the Knights Templar, the templars' writings mentioned the word 'baphomet', which was a french corruption of the name 'Mohammed' (the prophet of the people who the templars fought against), and that 'baphomet' was falsely portrayed as a demon by the people who accused the templars.
It is not known to what extent accusations of groups worshiping Satan in the time of the witch trials identified people who did consider themselves Satanists, rather than being the result of religious superstition or mass hysteria, or charges made against individuals suffering from mental illness. Confessions are unreliable, particularly as they were usually obtained under torture.[9] However, scholar Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor Emeritus of the University of California at Santa Barbara, has made extensive arguments in his book Witchcraft in the Middle Ages[10] that not all witch trial records can be dismissed and that there is in fact evidence linking witchcraft to gnostic heresies. Russell comes to this conclusion after having studied the source documents themselves. Individuals involved in the Affair of the Poisons were accused of Satanism and witchcraft.



 Eliphas Levi's Baphomet, adopted symbol of some Left-Hand Path systems, including theistic Satanism.
Historically, Satanist was a pejorative term for those with opinions that differed from predominant religious or moral beliefs.[11] Paul Tuitean believes the idea of acts of “reverse Christianity” was created by the Inquisition,[12] but George Battaille believes that inversions of Christian rituals such as the Mass may have existed prior to the descriptions of them which were obtained through the witchcraft trials.[13]



 The full sigil of Lucifer, as it originally appeared in the Grimorium Verum
In the 18th century various kinds of popular “Satanic” literature began to be produced in France, including some well-known grimoires with instructions for making a pact with the Devil. Most notable are the Grimorium Verum and The Grand Grimoire. The Marquis de Sade describes defiling crucifixes and other holy objects, and in his novel Justine he gives a fictional account of the Black Mass,[14] although Ronald Hayman has said Sade's need for blasphemy was an emotional reaction and rebellion from which Sade moved on, seeking to develop a more reasoned atheistic philosophy.[15] In the 19th century, Eliphas Levi published his French books of the occult, and in 1855 produced his well-known drawing of the Baphomet which continues to be used by some Satanists today (for example the sigil of Baphomet). Finally, in 1891, Joris-Karl Huysmans published his Satanic novel, Là-bas, which included a detailed description of a Black Mass which he may have known first-hand was being performed in Paris at the time,[16] or the account may have been based on the masses carried out by Étienne Guibourg, rather than by Huysmans attending himself.[17] Quotations from Huysmans' Black Mass are also used in some Satanic rituals to this day since it is one of the few sources that purports to describe the words used in a Black Mass. The type of Satanism described in Là-Bas suggests that prayers are said to the Devil, hosts are stolen from the Catholic Church, and sexual acts are combined with Roman Catholic altar objects and rituals, to produce a variety of Satanism which exalts the Devil and degrades the God of Christianity by inverting Roman Catholic rites. George Bataille claims that Huysman's description of the Black Mass is “indisputably authentic”.[13] Not all theistic Satanists today routinely perform the Black Mass, possibly because the mass is not a part of modern evangelical Christianity in Protestant countries[18] and so not such an unintentional influence on Satanist practices in those countries.
Michael Aquino published a rare 1970 text of a Church of Satan black mass, the Missa Solemnis, in his book The Church of Satan,[19] and Anton LaVey included a different Church of Satan black mass, the Messe Noire, in his 1972 book The Satanic Rituals. LaVey's books on Satanism, which began in the 1960s, were for a long time the few available which advertised themselves as being Satanic, although others detailed the history of witchcraft and Satanism, such as The Black Arts by Richard Cavendish published in 1967 and the classic French work Satanism and Witchcraft, by Jules Michelet. Anton LaVey specifically denounced “devil worshippers” and the idea of praying to Satan.
Satanism and crime[edit]
The Satanic ritual abuse moral panic of the 1980s and 1990s was centered on fears or beliefs about traditional Satanism sacrificing children and committing crimes as part of rituals involving devil worship.[20] Allegations included the existence of large networks of organized Satanists involved in illegal activities such as murder, child pornography and prostitution; iconic cases such as the McMartin preschool trial were launched after children were repeatedly and coercively interrogated by social workers, resulting in false allegation of child sexual abuse. No evidence was ever found to support any of the allegations of Satanism or ritual abuse, but the panic resulted in numerous wrongful prosecutions.
John Allee, founder of the First Church of Satan,[21] equates some of the "violent fringe" of Satanism as "Devil worshipers" and "reverse Christians". He believes they possibly suffer from a form of psychosis.[22] Between 1992 and 1996, some participants in the Norwegian black metal scene, notable for criticizing the Church of Satan as being too "humane",[23] committed over fifty arsons of Christian churches in and around Oslo as a retaliatory action against Christianity in Norway.[24]
Some studies of crimes have also looked at the theological perspective of those who commit religious or ritualised crime.[25] Criminals who explain their crimes by claiming to be Satanists have been said by sociologists to be "pseudo-Satanists",[26] and attempts to link Satanism to crime have been seen by theistic Satanists as scaremongering.[27] In the 1980s and the 1990s there were multiple allegations of sexual abuse of children or non-consenting adults in the context of Satanic rituals in what has come to be known as The Satanic Panic. In the United States, the Kern County child abuse cases, McMartin preschool trial and the West Memphis 3 cases were widely reported. One case took place in Jordan, Minnesota, in which children made allegations of manufacturing child pornography, ritualistic animal sacrifice, coprophagia, urophagia and infanticide, at which point the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was alerted. Twenty-four adults were arrested and charged with acts of sexual abuse, child pornography and other crimes claimed to be related to Satanic ritual abuse; three went to trial, two were acquitted and one convicted. Supreme Court Justice Scalia noted in a discussion of the case that "[t]here is no doubt that some sexual abuse took place in Jordan; but there is no reason to believe it was as widespread as charged", and cited the repeated, coercive techniques used by the investigators as damaging to the investigation.
Values in theistic Satanism[edit]
Seeking knowledge is seen by some theistic Satanists as being important to Satan, due to Satan being equated with the serpent in Genesis, which encouraged mankind to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.[28] Some perceive Satan as Eliphas Levi's conception of Baphomet- a hermaphroditic bestower of knowledge (gnosis). Satanic groups, such as Luciferians, also seek to gain greater gnosis;[3] these Satanists view Yahweh as the demiurge and Satan as the transcendent being beyond.[3]
Self-development is important to theistic Satanists. This is due to the Satanists' idea of Satan, who is seen to encourage individuality and freedom of thought, and the quest to raise one's self up despite resistance, through means such as magic and initiative. They believe Satan wants a more equal relationship with his followers than the Abrahamic God does with his. From a theistic Satanist perspective, the Abrahamic religions (chiefly Christianity) do not define “good” or “evil” in terms of benefit or harm to humanity, but rather on the submission to or rebellion against God.[29] Some Satanists seek to remove any means by which they are controlled or repressed by others and forced to follow the herd, and reject non-governmental authoritarianism.[30]
As Satan in the Old Testament tests people, theistic Satanists may believe that Satan sends them tests in life in order to develop them as individuals. They value taking responsibility for oneself. Despite the emphasis on self-development, some theistic Satanists believe that there is a will of Satan for the world and for their own lives. They may promise to help bring about the will of Satan,[31] and seek to gain insight about it through prayer, study, or magic. In the Bible, a being called 'the prince of this world' is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 4:4, which Christians typically equate with Satan.[32] Some Satanists therefore think that Satan can help them meet their worldly needs and desires if they pray or work magic. They would also have to do what they could in everyday life to achieve their goals, however.
Theistic Satanists may try not to project an image that reflects negatively on their religion as a whole and reinforces stereotypes, such as promoting Nazism (found in a few groups), abuse, or crime.[30] However, some groups, such as the Order of Nine Angles, criticise the emphasis on promoting a good image for Satanism; the ONA described LaVeyan Satanism as “weak, deluded and American form of ‘sham-Satanic groups, the poseurs’”,[33] and ONA member Stephen Brown claimed that “the Temple of Set seems intent only on creating a ‘good public impression’, with promoting an ‘image’”.[34] The order emphasises that its way “is and is meant to be dangerous”[35] and “[g]enuine Satanists are dangerous people to know; associating with them is a risk”.[36] In particular, there is argument over animal sacrifice, with most groups seeing it as both unnecessary and putting Satanism in a bad light, and distancing themselves from the few groups that practice it.[37] Similarly, the Misanthropic Luciferian Order has criticized both the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set as “trying to make Setianism and the ruler of darkness, Set, into something accepted and harmless, this way attempting to become a ‘big’ religion, accepted and acknowledged by the rest of the Judaeo-Christian society”.[3] The order rejects Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as “the opposite of everything that strengthens the spirit and is only good for killing what little that is beautiful, noble and honourable in this filthy world”.[3]
Diversity of beliefs within theistic Satanism[edit]
The internet has increased awareness of different beliefs among Satanists, and led to more diverse groups. But Satanism has always been a pluralistic and decentralised religion.[38] Scholars outside Satanism have sought to study it by categorizing forms of it according to whether they are theistic or atheistic[39] and referred to the worship of the Devil as traditional Satanism or theistic Satanism.[1] It is generally a prerequisite to being considered a theistic Satanist that the Satanist accept a theological and metaphysical canon involving one or more God(s) who are either Satan in the strictest, Abrahamic sense, or a concept of Satan that incorporates gods from other religions (usually pre-Christian), such as Ahriman. Some theistic Satanists believe in Satan as the All, a force filling the universe.[40] Many theistic Satanists believe their own individualized concept based on pieces of all these diverse conceptions of Satan, according to their inclination and spiritual guidance, rather than only believe in one suggested interpretation. Some may choose to live out the myths and stereotypes, but Christianity is not always the primary frame of reference for theistic Satanists.[41] Their religion may be based on dark pagan, left hand path and occult traditions. Theistic Satanists who base their faith on Christian ideas about Satan may be referred to as “Reverse Christians” by other Satanists, often in a pejorative fashion.[42] However, those labeled by some as “reverse Christians” may see their concept of Satan as undiluted or sanitized. They worship a stricter interpretation of Satan: that of the Satan featured in the Christian Bible.[43] This is not, however, shared by a majority of theistic Satanists. Wiccans may consider most Satanism to be reverse Christianity,[44] and the head of the atheistic Church of Satan, Peter H. Gilmore, considers “devil worship” to be a Christian heresy, that is, a divergent form of Christianity.[45] The diversity of individual beliefs within theistic Satanism, while being a cause for intense debates within the religion, is also often seen as a reflection of Satan, who encourages individualism.[46]
A notable group that outwardly considers themselves to be traditional Satanists is the Order of Nine Angles.[47] This group became controversial and was mentioned in the press and in books, because they promoted human sacrifice.[48] A group with very different ideology to the ONA is Satanic Reds, whose Satanism has a communist element.[49] However, they are not theistic Satanist in the manner of believing in Satan as a god with a personality, but believe in dark deism,[50] the belief that Satan is a presence in nature. The First Church of Satan believe the philosophy propounded by Anton LaVey himself was deism or panentheism but is propounded as atheism by the leaders of the Church of Satan in order to distance themselves from what they see as pseudo-Satanists.[51]
Another group is Joy of Satan, which was founded in 2002 by Andrea Maxine Dietrich of Tulsa, Oklahoma.[citation needed]
One other group is the Temple of the Black Light, formerly known as the Misanthropic Luciferian Order. The group espouses a philosophy known as “Chaosophy”. Chaosophy asserts that the world that we live in, and the universe that it lives in, all exists within the realm known as Cosmos. Cosmos is made of three spatial dimensions and one linear time dimension. Cosmos rarely ever changes and is a materialistic realm. Another realm that exists is known as Chaos. Chaos exists outside of the Cosmos and is made of infinite dimensions and unlike the Cosmos, it is always changing. Members of the TotBL believe that the realm of Chaos is ruled over by 11 dark gods, the highest of them being Satan, and all of said gods are considered manifestations of a higher being. This higher being is known as Azerate, the Dragon Mother, and is all of the 11 gods united as one. The TotBL believes that Azerate will resurrect one day and destroy the Cosmos and let Chaos consume everything. The group has been connected to the Swedish black/death metal band Dissection, particularly its front man Jon Nödtveidt.[3] Nödtveidt was introduced to the group “at an early stage”.[52] The lyrics on the band's third album, Reinkaos, are all about beliefs of the Temple of the Black Light.[53] Nödtveidt committed suicide in 2006.[54][55]



 Theistic Satanists may respectfully work with demons found in traditional grimoires.


 Lucifer (in the lower right) shown in a defiant pose.
Luciferian groups such as the Church of Lucifer and the Children of the Black Rose are particularly inspired by Lucifer (from the Latin for ‘bearer of light’), who they may or may not equate with Satan. While some theologians believe the son of the dawn, Lucifer and other names were actually used to refer to contemporary political figures, such as a Babylonian King, rather than a single spiritual entity[56][57][58] (although on the surface the Bible explicitly refers to the King of Tyrus), those that believe it refers to Satan infer that by implication it also applies to the fall of Satan.[59] The Church of the Black Goat believe Satan and Lucifer are the same being in his light and dark aspects. Some writers equate the veneration of Set by the Temple of Set to theistic Satanism;[1] however, the Temple of Set do not identify as theistic Satanists. They believe the Egyptian deity Set is the real Dark Lord behind the name Satan, of whom Satan is just a caricature. Their practices primarily center on self-development. Within the temple of Set, the Black Flame is the individual's god-like core which is a kindred spirit to Set, and they seek to develop. In theistic Satanism, the Black Flame is knowledge which was given to humanity by Satan, who is a being independent of the Satanist himself[60] and which he can dispense to the Satanist who seeks knowledge.[61]
The diversity of beliefs amongst Satanists, and the theistic nature of some Satanists, was seen in a survey in 1995. Some spoke of seeing Satan not as someone dangerous to those who seek or worship him, but as someone that could be approached as a friend. Some refer to him as Father, though some other theistic Satanists consider that to be confused or excessively subservient.[62] However, in the Bible Satan is called the father of his followers in John 8:44, and bad people are called "children of the devil" in 1 John 3:10. Satan is also portrayed as a father to his daughter, Sin, by Milton in Paradise Lost.
Many groups such as the 600 Club[38] are accepting of all types of Satanists, as are the Synagogue of Satan, which aims for the ultimate destruction of religions, paradoxically including itself, and encourages not self-indulgence, but self-expression balanced by social responsibility.[63][64][65]
Theistic Satanism often involves a religious commitment[according to whom?] rather than being simply an occult practice based on dabbling or transient enjoyment of the rituals and magic involved.[26][66] Practitioners may choose to perform a self-dedication rite, although there are arguments over whether it is best to do this at the beginning of their time as a theistic Satanist, or once they have been practicing for some time.[67]

See also[edit]
Abrahamic religions
Azazel
Demonology
Devil
Dualism
Folk religion
God as the Devil
Left-hand path and right-hand path
Luciferianism
Magic (paranormal)
Melek Taus
Misotheism
Moral panic
Palladists
Satanism
Witchcraft
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 82. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
2.Jump up ^ Prayers to Satan
3.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Interview_MLO". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
4.Jump up ^ The Origins of Satanism
5.Jump up ^ Joy of Satan 'About Satan' Page
6.Jump up ^ The Origins of Satan, Why Sumeria? at the Wayback Machine (archived April 24, 2012)
7.Jump up ^ Servants of Satan, page 2
8.Jump up ^ Servants of Satan, page 22
9.Jump up ^ Servants of Satan, page 12
10.Jump up ^ Witchcraft in the Middle Ages - Jeffrey Burton Russell - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
11.Jump up ^ Behrendt, Stephen C. (1983). The Moment of Explosion: Blake and the Illustration of Milton. U of Nebraska Press. p. 437. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
12.Jump up ^ Tuitean, Paul; Estelle Daniels (1998). Pocket Guide to Wicca. The Crossing Press. p. 22. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
13.^ Jump up to: a b Battaille, George (1986). Erotism: Death and Sensuality. Dalwood, Mary (trans.). City Lights. p. 126. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
14.Jump up ^ Sade, Donatien (2006). The Complete Marquis De Sade. translators: Paul J. Gillette, John S. Yankowski. Holloway House. pp. 157–158. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
15.Jump up ^ Hayman, Ronald (2003). Marquis de Sade: The Genius of Passion. Tauris Parke. pp. 30–31. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
16.Jump up ^ Huysmans, Joris-Karl (1972). La Bas. Keene Wallace (trans.). Courier Dover. back cover. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
17.Jump up ^ Laver, James (1954). The First Decadent: Being the Strange Life of J.K. Huysmans. Faber and Faber. p. 121.
18.Jump up ^ Christiano, Kevin; William H. Swatos; Peter Kivisto (2001). Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments. Rowman Altamira. p. 319. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
19.Jump up ^ Aquino, Michael (2002). The Church of Satan., Appendix 7.
20.Jump up ^ Frankfurter, D (2006). Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Ritual Abuse in History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11350-5.
21.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, by the Gale Group, Inc.
22.Jump up ^ Is Devil Worship A Symptom of Psychosis?
23.Jump up ^ [Moynihan, Michael and Soderlind, Didrik, Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground (2003), p. 220]
24.Jump up ^ [Lords of Chaos, p. 89]
25.Jump up ^ Yonke, David (2006). Sin, Shame, and Secrets: The Murder of a Nun, the Conviction of a Priest. p. 150. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
26.^ Jump up to: a b Gallagher, Eugene V. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. p. 190. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
27.Jump up ^ Dawn Perlmutter and her Institute for the Research of Organized and Ritual Violence
28.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 228. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
29.Jump up ^ Elliot Rose on "Evil"
30.^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. pp. 446–447. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
31.Jump up ^ Mickaharic, Draja (1995). Practice of Magic: An Introductory Guide to the Art. Weiser. p. 62. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
32.Jump up ^ Ladd, George Eldon (1993). A Theology of the New Testament. p. 333. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
33.Jump up ^ Commentary on Dreamers of the Dark.
34.Jump up ^ Stephen Brown: The Satanic Letters of Stephen Brown: St. Brown to Dr. Aquino (online version).
35.Jump up ^ The True Way of the ONA.
36.Jump up ^ Satanism: The Epitome of Evil.
37.Jump up ^ Animal Sacrifice and the Law
38.^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 429. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
39.Jump up ^ Gallagher, Eugene V. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. Greenwood Publishing. p. 190. ISBN 0-313-32807-2.
40.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 438. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
41.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 442. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
42.Jump up ^ Marburg Journal of Religion (June 2001) Lewis, James R
43.Jump up ^ Archived Cathedral of the Black Goat 'Views' Page
44.Jump up ^ Metzger, Richard; Grant Morrisson (2003). Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult. The Disinformation Company. p. 266. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
45.Jump up ^ Satanism: The Feared Religion
46.Jump up ^ Susej, Tsirk (2007). The Demonic Bible. p. 11. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
47.Jump up ^ Satanism: An Introduction, II. Modern Satanism, hosted on the The Religious Movements Homepage Project
48.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R. (2001). Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion. ABC-CLIO. p. 234. ISBN 1-57607-759-4.
49.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R. (2001). Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion. ABC-CLIO. p. 240. ISBN 1-57607-759-4.
50.Jump up ^ Devil Worship
51.Jump up ^ Church of Satan Rap Sheet: The Official Site
52.Jump up ^ "Dissection. Interview with Jon Nödtveidt. June 2003". Metal Centre. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
53.Jump up ^ "Official Dissection Website :: Reinkaos". Dissection.nu. Archived from the original on 2011-11-30.
54.Jump up ^ "Dissection Frontman Jon Nödtveidt Commits Suicide". Metal Storm. 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
55.Jump up ^ "Dissection Guitarist: Jon Nödtveidt Didn't Have Copy of 'The Satanic Bible' at Suicide Scene". Blabbermouth. 2006-08-23. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
56.Jump up ^ Lucifer King Of Babylon
57.Jump up ^ Satan, Devil and Demons - Isaiah 14:12-14
58.Jump up ^ Apologetics Press - Is Satan “Lucifer"?
59.Jump up ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Devil
60.Jump up ^ Ford, Michael (2005). Luciferian Witchcraft. p. 373. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
61.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 82. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
62.Jump up ^ Pike, Randall (2007). The Man with Confused Eyes. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
63.Jump up ^ Brown, Seth (2004). Think You're the Only One? Oddball Groups Where Outsiders Fit In. Barnes and Noble. pp. 99–100. ISBN 0-7607-5708-9.
64.Jump up ^ John, Mitchell (2009). "Local writer compiles directory of unusual organizations". http://www.lastvisibledog.org/berkshirearts/Seth_Brown.html.
65.Jump up ^ Mathews, Chris (2009). Modern Satanism: anatomy of a radical subculture. Praeger Publishers. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-313-36639-0.
66.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 83. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
67.Jump up ^ Pacts and self-initiation
Further reading[edit]
Ellis, Bill, Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions and the Media (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2000).
Hertenstein, Mike; Jon Trott, Selling Satan: The Evangelical Media and the Mike Warnke Scandal (Chicago: Cornerstone, 1993).
Brown, Seth; Think you're the only one? (Barnes & Noble Books 2004)
Medway, Gareth J.; The Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism (New York and London: New York University Press, 2001).
Michelet, Jules, Satanism and Witchcraft: A Study in Medieval Superstition (English translation of 1862 French work).
Palermo, George B.; Michele C. Del Re: Satanism: Psychiatric and Legal Views (American Series in Behavioral Science and Law) . Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd (November 1999)
Pike, Albert, Morals and Dogma (1871)
Richardson, James T.; Joel Best; David G. Bromley, The Satanism Scare (New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1991).
Vera, Diane, Theistic Satanism: The new Satanisms of the era of the Internet
Karlsson, Thomas (February 2008). Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic. ISBN 0-9721820-1-2.
Ford, Michael (March 2005). Luciferian Witchcraft. ISBN 1-4116-2638-9.
Baddeley, Gavin; Lucifer Rising, A Book of Sin, Devil Worship and Rock 'n' Roll (Plexus Publishing, November 1999)
Webb, Don (March 1999). Uncle Setnakt's Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path. ISBN 1-885972-10-5.
Zacharias, Gerhard (1980). The Satanic Cult. ISBN 0-04-133008-0. Translated from the German Satanskult und Schwarze Messe by Christine Trollope.
External links[edit]
Articles and essays about theistic Satanism from about.com
Theistic Satanism and Left Hand Path oriented links
Satanism Organizations at DMOZ
  


Categories: Satanism
Left-Hand Path
Luciferianism









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Dansk
Español
עברית
Nederlands
Português
Русский
Suomi
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 20 June 2015, at 13:36.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_Satanism










Theistic Satanism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article contains weasel words: vague phrasing that often accompanies biased or unverifiable information. Such statements should be clarified or removed. (October 2009)



 Part of the sigil of Lucifer from the Grimorium Verum, used by some theistic Satanists as a symbol for Satan/Lucifer.
Theistic Satanism (also known as traditional Satanism or spiritual Satanism) is the belief that Satan is a supernatural being or force that individuals may contact and supplicate to,[1][2] and represents loosely affiliated or independent groups and cabals which hold such a belief. Another characteristic of Theistic Satanism include the use of ceremonial magic.[3] Unlike LaVeyan Satanism, as founded by Anton LaVey in the 1960s, theistic Satanism is theistic[3] as opposed to atheistic, believing that Satan (Hebrew: הַשָׂטָן ha-Satan, ‘the accuser’) is a real entity[3] rather than an archetype.
The history of theistic Satanism and assessments of its existence and prevalence in history is obscured by it having been grounds for execution at some times in the past, and people having been accused of Satanism who did not worship Satan, such as the witch trials in Early Modern Europe. Most theistic Satanism exists in relatively new models and ideologies, many of which claim not to be involved with the Abrahamic religions at all.[4][5][6]


Contents  [hide]
1 Possible history
2 Satanism and crime
3 Values in theistic Satanism
4 Diversity of beliefs within theistic Satanism
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

Possible history[edit]



 Illustration by Martin van Maële, of a Witches' Sabbath, in the 1911 edition of La Sorciere, by Jules Michelet.
The worship of Satan was a frequent charge against those charged in the witch trials in Early Modern Europe and other witch-hunts such as the Salem witch trials. Worship of Satan was claimed to take place at the Witches' Sabbath.[7] The charge of Satan worship has also been made against groups or individuals regarded with suspicion, such as the Knights Templar, or minority religions.[8] In the case of the Knights Templar, the templars' writings mentioned the word 'baphomet', which was a french corruption of the name 'Mohammed' (the prophet of the people who the templars fought against), and that 'baphomet' was falsely portrayed as a demon by the people who accused the templars.
It is not known to what extent accusations of groups worshiping Satan in the time of the witch trials identified people who did consider themselves Satanists, rather than being the result of religious superstition or mass hysteria, or charges made against individuals suffering from mental illness. Confessions are unreliable, particularly as they were usually obtained under torture.[9] However, scholar Jeffrey Burton Russell, Professor Emeritus of the University of California at Santa Barbara, has made extensive arguments in his book Witchcraft in the Middle Ages[10] that not all witch trial records can be dismissed and that there is in fact evidence linking witchcraft to gnostic heresies. Russell comes to this conclusion after having studied the source documents themselves. Individuals involved in the Affair of the Poisons were accused of Satanism and witchcraft.



 Eliphas Levi's Baphomet, adopted symbol of some Left-Hand Path systems, including theistic Satanism.
Historically, Satanist was a pejorative term for those with opinions that differed from predominant religious or moral beliefs.[11] Paul Tuitean believes the idea of acts of “reverse Christianity” was created by the Inquisition,[12] but George Battaille believes that inversions of Christian rituals such as the Mass may have existed prior to the descriptions of them which were obtained through the witchcraft trials.[13]



 The full sigil of Lucifer, as it originally appeared in the Grimorium Verum
In the 18th century various kinds of popular “Satanic” literature began to be produced in France, including some well-known grimoires with instructions for making a pact with the Devil. Most notable are the Grimorium Verum and The Grand Grimoire. The Marquis de Sade describes defiling crucifixes and other holy objects, and in his novel Justine he gives a fictional account of the Black Mass,[14] although Ronald Hayman has said Sade's need for blasphemy was an emotional reaction and rebellion from which Sade moved on, seeking to develop a more reasoned atheistic philosophy.[15] In the 19th century, Eliphas Levi published his French books of the occult, and in 1855 produced his well-known drawing of the Baphomet which continues to be used by some Satanists today (for example the sigil of Baphomet). Finally, in 1891, Joris-Karl Huysmans published his Satanic novel, Là-bas, which included a detailed description of a Black Mass which he may have known first-hand was being performed in Paris at the time,[16] or the account may have been based on the masses carried out by Étienne Guibourg, rather than by Huysmans attending himself.[17] Quotations from Huysmans' Black Mass are also used in some Satanic rituals to this day since it is one of the few sources that purports to describe the words used in a Black Mass. The type of Satanism described in Là-Bas suggests that prayers are said to the Devil, hosts are stolen from the Catholic Church, and sexual acts are combined with Roman Catholic altar objects and rituals, to produce a variety of Satanism which exalts the Devil and degrades the God of Christianity by inverting Roman Catholic rites. George Bataille claims that Huysman's description of the Black Mass is “indisputably authentic”.[13] Not all theistic Satanists today routinely perform the Black Mass, possibly because the mass is not a part of modern evangelical Christianity in Protestant countries[18] and so not such an unintentional influence on Satanist practices in those countries.
Michael Aquino published a rare 1970 text of a Church of Satan black mass, the Missa Solemnis, in his book The Church of Satan,[19] and Anton LaVey included a different Church of Satan black mass, the Messe Noire, in his 1972 book The Satanic Rituals. LaVey's books on Satanism, which began in the 1960s, were for a long time the few available which advertised themselves as being Satanic, although others detailed the history of witchcraft and Satanism, such as The Black Arts by Richard Cavendish published in 1967 and the classic French work Satanism and Witchcraft, by Jules Michelet. Anton LaVey specifically denounced “devil worshippers” and the idea of praying to Satan.
Satanism and crime[edit]
The Satanic ritual abuse moral panic of the 1980s and 1990s was centered on fears or beliefs about traditional Satanism sacrificing children and committing crimes as part of rituals involving devil worship.[20] Allegations included the existence of large networks of organized Satanists involved in illegal activities such as murder, child pornography and prostitution; iconic cases such as the McMartin preschool trial were launched after children were repeatedly and coercively interrogated by social workers, resulting in false allegation of child sexual abuse. No evidence was ever found to support any of the allegations of Satanism or ritual abuse, but the panic resulted in numerous wrongful prosecutions.
John Allee, founder of the First Church of Satan,[21] equates some of the "violent fringe" of Satanism as "Devil worshipers" and "reverse Christians". He believes they possibly suffer from a form of psychosis.[22] Between 1992 and 1996, some participants in the Norwegian black metal scene, notable for criticizing the Church of Satan as being too "humane",[23] committed over fifty arsons of Christian churches in and around Oslo as a retaliatory action against Christianity in Norway.[24]
Some studies of crimes have also looked at the theological perspective of those who commit religious or ritualised crime.[25] Criminals who explain their crimes by claiming to be Satanists have been said by sociologists to be "pseudo-Satanists",[26] and attempts to link Satanism to crime have been seen by theistic Satanists as scaremongering.[27] In the 1980s and the 1990s there were multiple allegations of sexual abuse of children or non-consenting adults in the context of Satanic rituals in what has come to be known as The Satanic Panic. In the United States, the Kern County child abuse cases, McMartin preschool trial and the West Memphis 3 cases were widely reported. One case took place in Jordan, Minnesota, in which children made allegations of manufacturing child pornography, ritualistic animal sacrifice, coprophagia, urophagia and infanticide, at which point the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was alerted. Twenty-four adults were arrested and charged with acts of sexual abuse, child pornography and other crimes claimed to be related to Satanic ritual abuse; three went to trial, two were acquitted and one convicted. Supreme Court Justice Scalia noted in a discussion of the case that "[t]here is no doubt that some sexual abuse took place in Jordan; but there is no reason to believe it was as widespread as charged", and cited the repeated, coercive techniques used by the investigators as damaging to the investigation.
Values in theistic Satanism[edit]
Seeking knowledge is seen by some theistic Satanists as being important to Satan, due to Satan being equated with the serpent in Genesis, which encouraged mankind to partake of the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.[28] Some perceive Satan as Eliphas Levi's conception of Baphomet- a hermaphroditic bestower of knowledge (gnosis). Satanic groups, such as Luciferians, also seek to gain greater gnosis;[3] these Satanists view Yahweh as the demiurge and Satan as the transcendent being beyond.[3]
Self-development is important to theistic Satanists. This is due to the Satanists' idea of Satan, who is seen to encourage individuality and freedom of thought, and the quest to raise one's self up despite resistance, through means such as magic and initiative. They believe Satan wants a more equal relationship with his followers than the Abrahamic God does with his. From a theistic Satanist perspective, the Abrahamic religions (chiefly Christianity) do not define “good” or “evil” in terms of benefit or harm to humanity, but rather on the submission to or rebellion against God.[29] Some Satanists seek to remove any means by which they are controlled or repressed by others and forced to follow the herd, and reject non-governmental authoritarianism.[30]
As Satan in the Old Testament tests people, theistic Satanists may believe that Satan sends them tests in life in order to develop them as individuals. They value taking responsibility for oneself. Despite the emphasis on self-development, some theistic Satanists believe that there is a will of Satan for the world and for their own lives. They may promise to help bring about the will of Satan,[31] and seek to gain insight about it through prayer, study, or magic. In the Bible, a being called 'the prince of this world' is mentioned in 2 Corinthians 4:4, which Christians typically equate with Satan.[32] Some Satanists therefore think that Satan can help them meet their worldly needs and desires if they pray or work magic. They would also have to do what they could in everyday life to achieve their goals, however.
Theistic Satanists may try not to project an image that reflects negatively on their religion as a whole and reinforces stereotypes, such as promoting Nazism (found in a few groups), abuse, or crime.[30] However, some groups, such as the Order of Nine Angles, criticise the emphasis on promoting a good image for Satanism; the ONA described LaVeyan Satanism as “weak, deluded and American form of ‘sham-Satanic groups, the poseurs’”,[33] and ONA member Stephen Brown claimed that “the Temple of Set seems intent only on creating a ‘good public impression’, with promoting an ‘image’”.[34] The order emphasises that its way “is and is meant to be dangerous”[35] and “[g]enuine Satanists are dangerous people to know; associating with them is a risk”.[36] In particular, there is argument over animal sacrifice, with most groups seeing it as both unnecessary and putting Satanism in a bad light, and distancing themselves from the few groups that practice it.[37] Similarly, the Misanthropic Luciferian Order has criticized both the Church of Satan and the Temple of Set as “trying to make Setianism and the ruler of darkness, Set, into something accepted and harmless, this way attempting to become a ‘big’ religion, accepted and acknowledged by the rest of the Judaeo-Christian society”.[3] The order rejects Christianity, Judaism, and Islam as “the opposite of everything that strengthens the spirit and is only good for killing what little that is beautiful, noble and honourable in this filthy world”.[3]
Diversity of beliefs within theistic Satanism[edit]
The internet has increased awareness of different beliefs among Satanists, and led to more diverse groups. But Satanism has always been a pluralistic and decentralised religion.[38] Scholars outside Satanism have sought to study it by categorizing forms of it according to whether they are theistic or atheistic[39] and referred to the worship of the Devil as traditional Satanism or theistic Satanism.[1] It is generally a prerequisite to being considered a theistic Satanist that the Satanist accept a theological and metaphysical canon involving one or more God(s) who are either Satan in the strictest, Abrahamic sense, or a concept of Satan that incorporates gods from other religions (usually pre-Christian), such as Ahriman. Some theistic Satanists believe in Satan as the All, a force filling the universe.[40] Many theistic Satanists believe their own individualized concept based on pieces of all these diverse conceptions of Satan, according to their inclination and spiritual guidance, rather than only believe in one suggested interpretation. Some may choose to live out the myths and stereotypes, but Christianity is not always the primary frame of reference for theistic Satanists.[41] Their religion may be based on dark pagan, left hand path and occult traditions. Theistic Satanists who base their faith on Christian ideas about Satan may be referred to as “Reverse Christians” by other Satanists, often in a pejorative fashion.[42] However, those labeled by some as “reverse Christians” may see their concept of Satan as undiluted or sanitized. They worship a stricter interpretation of Satan: that of the Satan featured in the Christian Bible.[43] This is not, however, shared by a majority of theistic Satanists. Wiccans may consider most Satanism to be reverse Christianity,[44] and the head of the atheistic Church of Satan, Peter H. Gilmore, considers “devil worship” to be a Christian heresy, that is, a divergent form of Christianity.[45] The diversity of individual beliefs within theistic Satanism, while being a cause for intense debates within the religion, is also often seen as a reflection of Satan, who encourages individualism.[46]
A notable group that outwardly considers themselves to be traditional Satanists is the Order of Nine Angles.[47] This group became controversial and was mentioned in the press and in books, because they promoted human sacrifice.[48] A group with very different ideology to the ONA is Satanic Reds, whose Satanism has a communist element.[49] However, they are not theistic Satanist in the manner of believing in Satan as a god with a personality, but believe in dark deism,[50] the belief that Satan is a presence in nature. The First Church of Satan believe the philosophy propounded by Anton LaVey himself was deism or panentheism but is propounded as atheism by the leaders of the Church of Satan in order to distance themselves from what they see as pseudo-Satanists.[51]
Another group is Joy of Satan, which was founded in 2002 by Andrea Maxine Dietrich of Tulsa, Oklahoma.[citation needed]
One other group is the Temple of the Black Light, formerly known as the Misanthropic Luciferian Order. The group espouses a philosophy known as “Chaosophy”. Chaosophy asserts that the world that we live in, and the universe that it lives in, all exists within the realm known as Cosmos. Cosmos is made of three spatial dimensions and one linear time dimension. Cosmos rarely ever changes and is a materialistic realm. Another realm that exists is known as Chaos. Chaos exists outside of the Cosmos and is made of infinite dimensions and unlike the Cosmos, it is always changing. Members of the TotBL believe that the realm of Chaos is ruled over by 11 dark gods, the highest of them being Satan, and all of said gods are considered manifestations of a higher being. This higher being is known as Azerate, the Dragon Mother, and is all of the 11 gods united as one. The TotBL believes that Azerate will resurrect one day and destroy the Cosmos and let Chaos consume everything. The group has been connected to the Swedish black/death metal band Dissection, particularly its front man Jon Nödtveidt.[3] Nödtveidt was introduced to the group “at an early stage”.[52] The lyrics on the band's third album, Reinkaos, are all about beliefs of the Temple of the Black Light.[53] Nödtveidt committed suicide in 2006.[54][55]



 Theistic Satanists may respectfully work with demons found in traditional grimoires.


 Lucifer (in the lower right) shown in a defiant pose.
Luciferian groups such as the Church of Lucifer and the Children of the Black Rose are particularly inspired by Lucifer (from the Latin for ‘bearer of light’), who they may or may not equate with Satan. While some theologians believe the son of the dawn, Lucifer and other names were actually used to refer to contemporary political figures, such as a Babylonian King, rather than a single spiritual entity[56][57][58] (although on the surface the Bible explicitly refers to the King of Tyrus), those that believe it refers to Satan infer that by implication it also applies to the fall of Satan.[59] The Church of the Black Goat believe Satan and Lucifer are the same being in his light and dark aspects. Some writers equate the veneration of Set by the Temple of Set to theistic Satanism;[1] however, the Temple of Set do not identify as theistic Satanists. They believe the Egyptian deity Set is the real Dark Lord behind the name Satan, of whom Satan is just a caricature. Their practices primarily center on self-development. Within the temple of Set, the Black Flame is the individual's god-like core which is a kindred spirit to Set, and they seek to develop. In theistic Satanism, the Black Flame is knowledge which was given to humanity by Satan, who is a being independent of the Satanist himself[60] and which he can dispense to the Satanist who seeks knowledge.[61]
The diversity of beliefs amongst Satanists, and the theistic nature of some Satanists, was seen in a survey in 1995. Some spoke of seeing Satan not as someone dangerous to those who seek or worship him, but as someone that could be approached as a friend. Some refer to him as Father, though some other theistic Satanists consider that to be confused or excessively subservient.[62] However, in the Bible Satan is called the father of his followers in John 8:44, and bad people are called "children of the devil" in 1 John 3:10. Satan is also portrayed as a father to his daughter, Sin, by Milton in Paradise Lost.
Many groups such as the 600 Club[38] are accepting of all types of Satanists, as are the Synagogue of Satan, which aims for the ultimate destruction of religions, paradoxically including itself, and encourages not self-indulgence, but self-expression balanced by social responsibility.[63][64][65]
Theistic Satanism often involves a religious commitment[according to whom?] rather than being simply an occult practice based on dabbling or transient enjoyment of the rituals and magic involved.[26][66] Practitioners may choose to perform a self-dedication rite, although there are arguments over whether it is best to do this at the beginning of their time as a theistic Satanist, or once they have been practicing for some time.[67]

See also[edit]
Abrahamic religions
Azazel
Demonology
Devil
Dualism
Folk religion
God as the Devil
Left-hand path and right-hand path
Luciferianism
Magic (paranormal)
Melek Taus
Misotheism
Moral panic
Palladists
Satanism
Witchcraft
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b c Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 82. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
2.Jump up ^ Prayers to Satan
3.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g h "Interview_MLO". Angelfire.com. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
4.Jump up ^ The Origins of Satanism
5.Jump up ^ Joy of Satan 'About Satan' Page
6.Jump up ^ The Origins of Satan, Why Sumeria? at the Wayback Machine (archived April 24, 2012)
7.Jump up ^ Servants of Satan, page 2
8.Jump up ^ Servants of Satan, page 22
9.Jump up ^ Servants of Satan, page 12
10.Jump up ^ Witchcraft in the Middle Ages - Jeffrey Burton Russell - Google Books. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
11.Jump up ^ Behrendt, Stephen C. (1983). The Moment of Explosion: Blake and the Illustration of Milton. U of Nebraska Press. p. 437. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
12.Jump up ^ Tuitean, Paul; Estelle Daniels (1998). Pocket Guide to Wicca. The Crossing Press. p. 22. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
13.^ Jump up to: a b Battaille, George (1986). Erotism: Death and Sensuality. Dalwood, Mary (trans.). City Lights. p. 126. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
14.Jump up ^ Sade, Donatien (2006). The Complete Marquis De Sade. translators: Paul J. Gillette, John S. Yankowski. Holloway House. pp. 157–158. Retrieved 2008-05-22.
15.Jump up ^ Hayman, Ronald (2003). Marquis de Sade: The Genius of Passion. Tauris Parke. pp. 30–31. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
16.Jump up ^ Huysmans, Joris-Karl (1972). La Bas. Keene Wallace (trans.). Courier Dover. back cover. Retrieved 2008-05-21.
17.Jump up ^ Laver, James (1954). The First Decadent: Being the Strange Life of J.K. Huysmans. Faber and Faber. p. 121.
18.Jump up ^ Christiano, Kevin; William H. Swatos; Peter Kivisto (2001). Sociology of Religion: Contemporary Developments. Rowman Altamira. p. 319. Retrieved 2008-06-07.
19.Jump up ^ Aquino, Michael (2002). The Church of Satan., Appendix 7.
20.Jump up ^ Frankfurter, D (2006). Evil Incarnate: Rumors of Demonic Conspiracy and Ritual Abuse in History. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11350-5.
21.Jump up ^ Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology, by the Gale Group, Inc.
22.Jump up ^ Is Devil Worship A Symptom of Psychosis?
23.Jump up ^ [Moynihan, Michael and Soderlind, Didrik, Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground (2003), p. 220]
24.Jump up ^ [Lords of Chaos, p. 89]
25.Jump up ^ Yonke, David (2006). Sin, Shame, and Secrets: The Murder of a Nun, the Conviction of a Priest. p. 150. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
26.^ Jump up to: a b Gallagher, Eugene V. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. p. 190. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
27.Jump up ^ Dawn Perlmutter and her Institute for the Research of Organized and Ritual Violence
28.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 228. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
29.Jump up ^ Elliot Rose on "Evil"
30.^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. pp. 446–447. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
31.Jump up ^ Mickaharic, Draja (1995). Practice of Magic: An Introductory Guide to the Art. Weiser. p. 62. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
32.Jump up ^ Ladd, George Eldon (1993). A Theology of the New Testament. p. 333. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
33.Jump up ^ Commentary on Dreamers of the Dark.
34.Jump up ^ Stephen Brown: The Satanic Letters of Stephen Brown: St. Brown to Dr. Aquino (online version).
35.Jump up ^ The True Way of the ONA.
36.Jump up ^ Satanism: The Epitome of Evil.
37.Jump up ^ Animal Sacrifice and the Law
38.^ Jump up to: a b Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 429. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
39.Jump up ^ Gallagher, Eugene V. (2004). The New Religious Movements Experience in America. Greenwood Publishing. p. 190. ISBN 0-313-32807-2.
40.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 438. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
41.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R.; Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2004). Controversial New Religions. Oxford University Press. p. 442. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
42.Jump up ^ Marburg Journal of Religion (June 2001) Lewis, James R
43.Jump up ^ Archived Cathedral of the Black Goat 'Views' Page
44.Jump up ^ Metzger, Richard; Grant Morrisson (2003). Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult. The Disinformation Company. p. 266. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
45.Jump up ^ Satanism: The Feared Religion
46.Jump up ^ Susej, Tsirk (2007). The Demonic Bible. p. 11. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
47.Jump up ^ Satanism: An Introduction, II. Modern Satanism, hosted on the The Religious Movements Homepage Project
48.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R. (2001). Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion. ABC-CLIO. p. 234. ISBN 1-57607-759-4.
49.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R. (2001). Satanism Today: An Encyclopedia of Religion. ABC-CLIO. p. 240. ISBN 1-57607-759-4.
50.Jump up ^ Devil Worship
51.Jump up ^ Church of Satan Rap Sheet: The Official Site
52.Jump up ^ "Dissection. Interview with Jon Nödtveidt. June 2003". Metal Centre. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
53.Jump up ^ "Official Dissection Website :: Reinkaos". Dissection.nu. Archived from the original on 2011-11-30.
54.Jump up ^ "Dissection Frontman Jon Nödtveidt Commits Suicide". Metal Storm. 2006-08-18. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
55.Jump up ^ "Dissection Guitarist: Jon Nödtveidt Didn't Have Copy of 'The Satanic Bible' at Suicide Scene". Blabbermouth. 2006-08-23. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
56.Jump up ^ Lucifer King Of Babylon
57.Jump up ^ Satan, Devil and Demons - Isaiah 14:12-14
58.Jump up ^ Apologetics Press - Is Satan “Lucifer"?
59.Jump up ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Devil
60.Jump up ^ Ford, Michael (2005). Luciferian Witchcraft. p. 373. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
61.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 82. Retrieved 2008-06-05.
62.Jump up ^ Pike, Randall (2007). The Man with Confused Eyes. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
63.Jump up ^ Brown, Seth (2004). Think You're the Only One? Oddball Groups Where Outsiders Fit In. Barnes and Noble. pp. 99–100. ISBN 0-7607-5708-9.
64.Jump up ^ John, Mitchell (2009). "Local writer compiles directory of unusual organizations". http://www.lastvisibledog.org/berkshirearts/Seth_Brown.html.
65.Jump up ^ Mathews, Chris (2009). Modern Satanism: anatomy of a radical subculture. Praeger Publishers. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-313-36639-0.
66.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 83. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
67.Jump up ^ Pacts and self-initiation
Further reading[edit]
Ellis, Bill, Raising the Devil: Satanism, New Religions and the Media (Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2000).
Hertenstein, Mike; Jon Trott, Selling Satan: The Evangelical Media and the Mike Warnke Scandal (Chicago: Cornerstone, 1993).
Brown, Seth; Think you're the only one? (Barnes & Noble Books 2004)
Medway, Gareth J.; The Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism (New York and London: New York University Press, 2001).
Michelet, Jules, Satanism and Witchcraft: A Study in Medieval Superstition (English translation of 1862 French work).
Palermo, George B.; Michele C. Del Re: Satanism: Psychiatric and Legal Views (American Series in Behavioral Science and Law) . Charles C Thomas Pub Ltd (November 1999)
Pike, Albert, Morals and Dogma (1871)
Richardson, James T.; Joel Best; David G. Bromley, The Satanism Scare (New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1991).
Vera, Diane, Theistic Satanism: The new Satanisms of the era of the Internet
Karlsson, Thomas (February 2008). Qabalah, Qliphoth and Goetic Magic. ISBN 0-9721820-1-2.
Ford, Michael (March 2005). Luciferian Witchcraft. ISBN 1-4116-2638-9.
Baddeley, Gavin; Lucifer Rising, A Book of Sin, Devil Worship and Rock 'n' Roll (Plexus Publishing, November 1999)
Webb, Don (March 1999). Uncle Setnakt's Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path. ISBN 1-885972-10-5.
Zacharias, Gerhard (1980). The Satanic Cult. ISBN 0-04-133008-0. Translated from the German Satanskult und Schwarze Messe by Christine Trollope.
External links[edit]
Articles and essays about theistic Satanism from about.com
Theistic Satanism and Left Hand Path oriented links
Satanism Organizations at DMOZ
  


Categories: Satanism
Left-Hand Path
Luciferianism









Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Dansk
Español
עברית
Nederlands
Português
Русский
Suomi
Türkçe
Edit links
This page was last modified on 20 June 2015, at 13:36.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theistic_Satanism










Satanism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Satanism (disambiguation).



 The downward-pointing pentacle is often used to represent Satanism.
Satanism is a broad term referring to a group of social movements with diverse ideological and philosophical beliefs. Satanism includes symbolic association with, or admiration for, Satan, whom Satanists see as an inspiring and liberating figure. It was estimated that there were 50,000 Satanists in 1990. There may now be as many as one hundred thousand Satanists in the world.[1]



Eliphas Lévi's Sabbatic Goat (known as The Goat of Mendes or Baphomet) has become one of the most common symbols of Satanism.
Although the public practice of Satanism began with the founding of The Church of Satan in 1966, historical precedents exist: a group called the Ophite Cultus Satanas was founded in Ohio by Herbert Arthur Sloane in 1948.[2]
Satanist groups that appeared after the 1960s are widely diverse, but two major trends are theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists venerate Satan as a supernatural deity, viewing him not as omnipotent but rather as a patriarch. In contrast, atheistic Satanists regard Satan as merely a symbol of certain human traits.[3]
There are signs that Satanistic beliefs have become more socially tolerated. Satanism is now allowed in the Royal Navy of the British Armed Forces, despite opposition from Christians,[4][5][6] and in 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States debated over protecting the religious rights of prison inmates after a lawsuit challenging the issue was filed to them.[7][8]
Contemporary Satanism is mainly an American phenomenon, the ideas spreading with the effects of globalization and the Internet.[9] The Internet promotes awareness of other Satanists, and is also the main battleground for the definitions of Satanism today.[9] Satanism started to reach Eastern Europe in the 1990s, in time with the fall of the Soviet Union, and most noticeably in Poland and Lithuania, predominantly Roman Catholic countries.[10][11]


Contents  [hide]
1 Historical background
2 Theistic Satanism 2.1 Luciferianism
2.2 Palladists
2.3 Our Lady of Endor Coven
3 Atheistic Satanism
4 Accusations of Satanism 4.1 Christianity
4.2 Islam
5 Popular music
6 Organizations 6.1 The Church of Satan
6.2 First Satanic Church
6.3 Temple of Set
6.4 Order of Nine Angles
6.5 The Satanic Temple
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links

Historical background[edit]



 Satan in Paradise Lost, as illustrated by Gustave Doré
Particularly after the European Enlightenment, some works, such as Paradise Lost, were taken up by Romantics like Byron and described as presenting the biblical Satan as an allegory representing a crisis of faith, individualism, free will, wisdom and enlightenment.[citation needed] Those works actually featuring Satan as a heroic character are fewer in number but do exist. George Bernard Shaw and Mark Twain (cf. Letters from the Earth) included such characterizations in their works long before religious Satanists took up the pen. From then on, Satan and Satanism started to gain a new meaning outside of Christianity.[9]
Theistic Satanism[edit]



 The full sigil of Lucifer, as it originally appeared in the Grimorium Verum


 A more symmetrical version of the symbol to the left, used by some modern Satanists
Main article: Theistic Satanism
Theistic Satanism (also known as traditional Satanism, Spiritual Satanism or Devil worship) is a form of Satanism with the primary belief that Satan is an actual deity or force to revere or worship.[12][13] Other characteristics of theistic Satanism may include a belief in magic, which is manipulated through ritual, although that is not a defining criterion, and theistic Satanists may focus solely on devotion. Unlike LaVeyan Satanism, theistic Satanism believes that Satan is a real being rather than a symbol of individualism.
Luciferianism[edit]
Main article: Luciferianism
Luciferianism can be understood best as a belief system or intellectual creed that venerates the essential and inherent characteristics that are affixed and commonly given to Lucifer. Luciferianism is often identified as an auxiliary creed or movement of Satanism, due to the common identification of Lucifer with Satan. Some Luciferians accept this identification and/or consider Lucifer as the "light bearer" and illuminated aspect of Satan, giving them the name of Satanists and the right to bear the title. Others reject it, giving the argument that Lucifer is a more positive and easy-going ideal than Satan. They are inspired by the ancient myths of Egypt, Rome and Greece, Gnosticism and traditional Western occultism.
Palladists[edit]
Main article: Palladists
Palladists are an alleged theistic Satanist society or member of that society. The name Palladian comes from Pallas and refers to the Greco-Roman goddess of wisdom and learning.
Our Lady of Endor Coven[edit]
Main article: Our Lady of Endor Coven
Our Lady of Endor Coven, also known as Ophite Cultus Satanas (originally spelled "Sathanas"), was a satanic cult founded in 1948 by Herbert Arthur Sloane in Toledo, Ohio. The group was heavily influenced by gnosticism (especially that found in the contemporary book by Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion), and worshiped Satanas, their name for Satan (Cultus Satanas is a Latin version of Cult of Satan). Satanas (or Satan) was defined in gnostic terms as the Serpent in the Garden of Eden who revealed the knowledge of the true God to Eve. That it called itself "Ophite" is a reference to the ancient gnostic sect of the Ophites, who were said to worship the serpent.
Atheistic Satanism[edit]



 The Sigil of Baphomet, the official insignia of the Church of Satan and LaVeyan Satanism.
Main article: LaVeyan Satanism
LaVeyan Satanism, as codified in The Satanic Bible and overseen by the Church of Satan, was founded in 1966 by Anton Szandor LaVey. It is an atheistic and materialistic religion that champions individualism, epicureanism, secularism, and egoism, and propagates a worldview of naturalism, Social Darwinism, and Lex Talionis.[14][15][16][17][18] Adherents describe it as a non-spiritual religion of the flesh, or "...the world's first carnal religion".[19][20]
Contrary to popular belief, it does not involve "devil worship" or worship of any deities. The Church of Satan asserts that "In Satanism each individual is his or her own god—there is no room for any other god and that includes Satan, Lucifer, Cthulhu or whatever other name one might select or take from history or fiction.".[21] Adherents instead see the character of Satan as a symbol of pride, carnality, liberty, enlightenment, and undefiled wisdom, and serves as a conceptual framework and an external metaphorical projection of the Satanist's highest personal potential. Satan (Hebrew: שָּׂטָן satan, meaning "adversary") is seen as a symbol of defiance to the conservatism of mainstream philosophical and religious currents, mainly the Abrahamic religions, that see this character as their antithesis.[22][23][24][25][26]
The prefix "LaVeyan" was never used by Anton LaVey or by the Church of Satan, nor does the term appear in any of its literature.[27] The church has stated its contention that they are the first formally organized religion to adopt the term "Satanism" and asserts that Satanism and the 'worship of Satan' are not congruent.[28] The term "Theistic Satanism" has been described as "oxymoronic" by the church and its High Priest.[21] The Church of Satan rejects the legitimacy of any other organizations who claim to be Satanists, dubbing them reverse-Christians, pseudo-Satanists or Devil worshipers.[29][30] Today, the Church of Satan promotes itself as the only authentic representation of Satanism, and it routinely publishes materials underscoring this contention.[31][32]
The fundamentals of the religion's creed are synthesized in The Nine Satanic Statements,[33] The Nine Satanic Sins,[34] and The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth.[35]
Accusations of Satanism[edit]
Historically, some people or groups have been specifically described as worshiping Satan or the Devil, or of being devoted to the work of Satan. The widespread preponderance of these groups in European cultures is in part connected with the importance and meaning of Satan within Christianity.
Christianity[edit]



 Title illustration of Johannes Praetorius (writer) (de) Blocksbergs Verrichtung (1668) showing many traditional features of the medieval Witches' Sabbath
See also: European witchcraft, Maleficium (sorcery) and Witch-cult hypothesis
Pagans celebrating Pan, Odin, Perkūnas, or other pagan deities were often claimed by the Catholic Church to be worshiping the Devil and his crones and minions.[36]
Many gnostic groups have been regarded as Satanic, with its prominent details implying Lucifer, or the serpent, as being a true god or prophet that liberated Adam and Eve while the god of the Old Testament is regarded as a demiurge. Hegemonius accused Mani, founder of Manicheanism, of being Satanic when Mani said that Jehovah is "the devil god which created the world"[37] and that "he who spoke with Moses, the Jews, and the priests … is the [Prince] of Darkness, … not the god of truth."[38]
The witch trials in early modern Europe, in particular, the notion that witches congregated at a Witches' Sabbath in order to serve the Devil.[36]
Gilles de Rais (15th century, France) was a French nobleman who was tried and executed for the murders of hundreds of children in quasi-Satanic rituals.[36]
Johann Georg Faust. (16th century, Germany)[36] Many instructions, in German and in Latin, for making a pact with the Devil were attributed to him. These were collected and published in Germany in a few of the volumes of Das Kloster (1845–1849).
Urbain Grandier (17th century, France). Although set up by the Catholic Church, a very famous document, in Latin, of a pact with the Devil he allegedly wrote has been preserved.[36]
People involved in the Poison Affair, such as Catherine Deshayes and Étienne Guibourg (17th century, France). The documentation from their trial is the principal Early Modern source for information on the Black Mass.[39][40]
The Marquis de Sade (18th century, France), described by Iwan Bloch as being a fanatic Satanist.[41] His works graphically described blasphemy against the Catholic Church, such as an orgy resembling a Black Mass conducted by Pope Pius VI in the Vatican (in his novel Juliette).
In 1865, the anti-Vatican Italian poet Giosuè Carducci published his poem Inno a Satana ("Hymn to Satan"), praising Satan as the god of reason and expressing religious hatred towards Christianity.
Many adherents of the Decadent movement, such as the Polish author Stanisław Przybyszewski, the Belgian artist Félicien Rops, and the French poet Charles Baudelaire (who published Les Litanies de Satan in 1857) either called themselves Satanists, or created overtly Satanist artwork and literature.[42]
Some French movements widely described as being Satanist by French writers of the time (late 19th to early 20th centuries). The most well-known description available in English is the 1891 novel Là-bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans. However, there were numerous other well-known personalities in France that were related to the circles Huysmans describes, such as Joseph-Antoine Boullan, Stanislas de Guaita, Henri Antoine Jules-Bois, and Joséphin Péladan, who either wrote about Satanism in France, or were accused of being Satanists themselves.[43][44]
Freemasonry was described as being Satanist in the completely discredited Taxil hoax.[45]
At least two Satanic (or "Luciferian") sects existed in France in the 1930s. One was led by Maria de Naglowska, and had rituals dedicated to Satan and Lucifer.[46] Another, led by a former Catholic priest, celebrated an inversion of the Latin Mass (a "Luciferian Mass"), which included the phrase "In nomine Domini Dei nostri Satanae Luciferi Excelsi" (a phrase that re-appeared 30 years later in Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible).[47]
Islam[edit]
The Yazidis, a minority religion of the Middle East who worship Melek Taus, are often referred to as Satan worshippers by some Muslims.[48] Due to this, they have been targeted for conversion and extermination by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[49]
Popular music[edit]
Black metal has often been connected with Satanism, in part for the lyrical content of several bands and their frequent use of imagery often tied to left hand path beliefs (such as the inverted pentagram). More often than not musicians associating themselves with black metal say they do not believe in legitimate Satanic ideology and often profess to being atheists, agnostics, or religious skeptics. In some instances, followers of right hand path religions use Satanic references for entertainment purposes and shock value.[50] Most of black metal's "first wave" bands only used Satanism for shock value; one of the few exceptions is Mercyful Fate singer King Diamond, who follows LaVeyan Satanism[51] and whom Michael Moynihan calls "one of the only performers of the '80s Satanic Metal who was more than just a poseur using a devilish image for shock value".[52] One early precursor to Satanic metal was the 1969 rock album Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls, which contained numerous references to Satanism that reappeared in later Satanic rock music.
Glen Benton, vocalist and bassist of the band Deicide, once openly claimed to be a practitioner of theistic Satanism, and has spoken publicly to profess staunch anti-Christian sentiment. The controversial Dissection frontman Jon Nödtveidt openly spoke about his "chaos-gnostic" satanic beliefs, being a member of the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, and called his band "the sonic propaganda unit of the MLO".[53] Norwegian black metal artists such as Euronymous from Mayhem and Infernus from Gorgoroth have also identified themselves as Satanists and actively promoted their beliefs.[54] Numerous church burnings that covered parts of Norway in the early 1990s were also attributed to youths involved in the black metal movement, which included people promoting theistic Satanic beliefs and strong anti-LaVeyan attitudes.[55] However, the legitimacy of such actions as Satanic endeavors, rather than simply rebellious actions done for publicity, is something that has been doubted by even some of those who contribute to the genre.[56]
Organizations[edit]
The Church of Satan[edit]
Main article: Church of Satan
On Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, Anton LaVey founded the "The Satanic Church" (which he would later rename the "Church of Satan"). The Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.
First Satanic Church[edit]
Main article: First Satanic Church
After LaVey's death in 1997 the Church of Satan was taken over by a new administration and its headquarters was moved to New York. LaVey's daughter, the High Priestess Karla LaVey, felt this to be a disservice to her father's legacy. The First Satanic Church was re-founded on October 31, 1999 by Karla LaVey to carry on the legacy of her father. She continues to run it out of San Francisco, California.
Temple of Set[edit]
Main article: Temple of Set
The Temple of Set is an initiatory occult society claiming to be the world's leading left-hand path religious organization. It was established in 1975 by Michael A. Aquino and certain members of the priesthood of the Church of Satan,[57] who left because of administrative and philosophical disagreements. ToS deliberately self-differentiates from CoS in several ways, most significantly in theology and sociology.[58] The philosophy of the Temple of Set may be summed up as "enlightened individualism" — enhancement and improvement of oneself by personal education, experiment and initiation. This process is necessarily different and distinctive for each individual. The members do not agree on whether Set is "real" or not, and they're not expected to.[58]
Setianism, in theory, is similar to theistic Satanism. The principle deity of Setianism is the ancient Egyptian god Set, or Seth, the god of adversary. Set supposedly is the Dark Lord behind the Hebrew entity Satan. Set, as the first principle of consciousness, is emulated by Setians, who symbolize the concept of individual, subjective intelligence distinct from the natural order as the "Black Flame". (Some people who are not members of the Temple of Set find spiritual inspiration in the Egyptian god Set, and may share some beliefs with the organization. The belief system in general is referred to as Setianism.)
Members of the Temple of Set are mostly male, between the ages of twenty and fifty.[58]
Order of Nine Angles[edit]
Main article: Order of Nine Angles
The authors Per Faxneld and Jesper Petersen write that the Order of Nine Angles (ONA, O9A) "represent a dangerous and extreme form of Satanism".[59] The ONA first attracted public attention during the 1980s and 1990s after being mentioned in books detailing fascist Satanism. They were initially formed in the United Kingdom and are presently organized around clandestine cells (which it calls traditional nexions)[60][61] and around what it calls sinister tribes.[62][63]
The Satanic Temple[edit]
The Satanic Temple uses the literary Satan as a mythological foundation for a non-supernatural religion,[64] in order to construct a cultural narrative that can usefully contextualize life experiences and promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity.
As it lacks the creed of elitism and Social Darwinism that define the Church of Satan[65] in favor of other characteristics of the literary Satan, it contrasts[66] itself by actively participating in public affairs and providing outreach to the wider public. This has manifested in several public political actions[67][68] and efforts at lobbying,[69] with a focus on the separation of church and state and using satire against religious organizations that it believes interfere with freedom and the pursuit of happiness.[70]
The only requirements to be a member are to support the tenets and beliefs of the organization, and to name yourself a member.[71]
The group has held "worship" services that include dance music, porn rooms, phallic imagery, S&M behaviors and nudity. [72] It also considers gay marriage a religious sacrament, and therefore argues that bans on the practice violate Satanists' freedom of religion. [73] Because the group regards "inviolability of the body" as a key doctrine, it also views all restrictions on abortion, including mandatory waiting periods, as an infringement on the rights of Satanists to practice their religion. [74]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Occult portal
Portal icon Spirituality portal
Portal icon Philosophy portal
Satan in literature
Satanic ritual abuse
Shaitan
Prometheus
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ B.A. Robinson (March 2006). "Religious Satanism, 16th century Satanism, Satanic Dabbling, etc". Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
2.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R. (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. p. 553. ISBN 1573922226.
3.Jump up ^ Gilmore, Peter. "Science and Satanism". Point of Inquiry Interview. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
4.Jump up ^ Royal Navy to allow devil worship CNN
5.Jump up ^ Carter, Helen. The devil and the deep blue sea: Navy gives blessing to sailor Satanist. The Guardian
6.Jump up ^ Navy approves first ever Satanist BBC News
7.Jump up ^ Linda Greenhouse (March 22, 2005). "Inmates Who Follow Satanism and Wicca Find Unlikely Ally". New York Times.
8.Jump up ^ "Before high court: law that allows for religious rights". Christian Science Monitor.
9.^ Jump up to: a b c Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2009). "Introduction: Embracing Satan". Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-5286-1.
10.Jump up ^ Alisauskiene, Milda (2009). "The Peculiarities of Lithuanian Satanism". In Jesper Aagaard Petersen. Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-5286-6.
11.Jump up ^ "Satanism stalks Poland". BBC News. 2000-06-05.
12.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 82. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
13.Jump up ^ Prayers to Satan
14.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/Enema.html
15.Jump up ^ "Church of Satan FAQ 18. DRUG ABUSE". Churchofsatan.com. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
16.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/CShistory7LR.html
17.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/satanism-the-feared-religion.php
18.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/walpurgisnacht-xxxvii.php
19.Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEnxnINMkPE&list=UUTTM5rdQA-E78nSkOnUluug
20.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/support-the-organization.php
21.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.churchofsatan.com/faq-fundamental-beliefs.php
22.Jump up ^ http://altreligion.about.com/od/alternativereligionsaz/a/satanism.htm
23.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/WhatTheDevil.html
24.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/_FAQ03.html
25.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
26.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/ChaplainsHandbook.html
27.Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkmuV5R_O6g
28.Jump up ^ http://news.churchofsatan.com/post/101945623742/why-satanism-must-not-be-confused-with-devil
29.Jump up ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2014/11/07/the-church-of-satan-wants-you-to-stop-calling-these-devil-worshipping-alleged-murderers-satanists/
30.Jump up ^ "Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore". Wikinews. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
31.Jump up ^ Gilmore, Peter H. (2007). The Satanic Scriptures. Scapegoat Publishing.
32.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/rebels-without-cause.php
33.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/nine-satanic-statements.php
34.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/nine-satanic-sins.php
35.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/eleven-rules-of-earth.php
36.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Robbins, Rossell Hope, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology, 1959.
37.Jump up ^ Manichaeism by Alan G. Hefner in The Mystica, undated
38.Jump up ^ Acta Archelai of Hegemonius, Chapter XII, c. AD 350, quoted in Translated Texts of Manicheism, compiled by Prods Oktor Skjærvø, page 68. History of the Acta Archelai explained in the Introduction, page 11
39.Jump up ^ Extensively described in: Zacharias, Gerhard, Der dunkle Gott: Satanskult und Schwarze Messe, München (1964).
40.Jump up ^ Original sources: Ravaisson, François Archives de la Bastille (Paris, 1866-1884, volumes IV, V, VI, VII)
41.Jump up ^ Dr. Iwan Bloch, Marquis de Sade: His Life and Work, 1899: "The Marquis de Sade gave evidence in his novels of being a fanatic Satanist."
42.Jump up ^ Jullian, Philippe, Esthétes et Magiciens, 1969; Dreamers of Decadence, 1971.
43.Jump up ^ Bois, Jules, Le Satanisme et la Magie - avec une étude de J.-K. Huysmans, Paris, 1895.
44.Jump up ^ Huysmans, J.-K., Là-Bas, 1891
45.Jump up ^ Waite, A.E., Devil Worship in France, London: George Redway 1896.
46.Jump up ^ Medway, Gareth (2001). Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism. p. 18.
47.Jump up ^ Messe Luciférienne, in Pierre Geyraud, Les Petites Églises de Paris, 1937 (Source here: Messe Luciférienne).
48.Jump up ^ “The Devil Worshipers of the Middle East : Their Beliefs & Sacred Books” Holmes Pub Group LLC (December 1993) ISBN 1-55818-231-4 ISBN 978-1-55818-231-8
49.Jump up ^ O'Loughlin, Ed (16 August 2014). "Devil in the detail as Yazidis look to Kurds in withstanding Islamic radicals’ advance". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
50.Jump up ^ Baddeley, Gavin (1993). Raising Hell!: The Book of Satan and Rock 'n' Roll.
51.Jump up ^ Götz Kühnemund: A History of Horror. In: Rock Hard, no. 282, November 2010, pp. 20-27.
52.Jump up ^ Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind: Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground, Feral House 1998, pp. 15f.
53.Jump up ^ INTERVIEW FOR THE FANS BY THE FANS. - Final Interview with Jon Nödtveidt -.
54.Jump up ^ Garry Sharpe-Young (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide.
55.Jump up ^ Grude, Torstein (Director) (January 1, 1998). Satan rir media (motion picture). Norway: Grude, Torstein.
56.Jump up ^ Ihsahn Interview
57.Jump up ^ Aquino, Michael (2002). Church of Satan (PDF). San Francisco: Temple of Set.
58.^ Jump up to: a b c Harvey, Graham (2009). "Satanism: Performing Alterity and Othering". In Jesper Aagaard Petersen. Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-5286-1.
59.Jump up ^ Per Faxneld: Post-Satanism, Left Hand Paths, and Beyond in Per Faxneld & Jesper Petersen (eds) The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity, Oxford University Press (2012), p.207. ISBN 9780199779246
60.Jump up ^ Senholt, Jacob. Secret Identities in The Sinister Tradition: Political Esotericism and the Convergence of Radical Islam, Satanism and National Socialism in the Order of Nine Angles, in Per Faxneld & Jesper Petersen (eds), The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity. Oxford University Press, 2012. ISBN 9780199779246
61.Jump up ^ FAQ About ONA
62.Jump up ^ Angular Momentum: from Traditional to Progressive Satanism in the Order of Nine Angles
63.Jump up ^ Sinister Tribes Of The ONA
64.Jump up ^ The Satanic Temple
65.Jump up ^ Peter, Magus (1966-04-30). "Satanism: The Feared Religion". churchofsatan.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
66.Jump up ^ "Church of Satan • Let’s You and Him Fight". News.churchofsatan.com. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
67.Jump up ^ Massoud Hayoun (2013-12-08). "Group aims to put 'Satanist' monument near Oklahoma capitol | Al Jazeera America". America.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
68.Jump up ^ "Satanists petition to build monument on Oklahoma state capitol grounds | Washington Times Communities". Communities.washingtontimes.com. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
69.Jump up ^ Bugbee, Shane (2013-07-30). "Unmasking Lucien Greaves, Leader of the Satanic Temple | VICE United States". Vice.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
70.Jump up ^ "The Satanic Temple Performs Ceremony at Westboro Baptist Church Family Gravesite". Thesatanictemple.com. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
71.Jump up ^ "Join". Thesatanictemple.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
72.Jump up ^ "Can the Satanic Temple Save America?".
73.Jump up ^ "THE SATANIC TEMPLE".
74.Jump up ^ "Satanist challenges Missouri’s 72-hour abortion wait: It’s “a burden on my sincerely held religious beliefs”".
Further reading[edit]
Michelet, Jules (1862). Satanism and Witchcraft: The Classic Study of Medieval Superstition. ISBN 978-0-8065-0059-1. Considered the first modern work to discuss Satanism.
Cavendish, Richard (1967). The Black Arts: An Absorbing Account of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages. ISBN 978-0-399-50035-0. Summary of the history of Witchcraft, Satanism, and Devil Worship in the last part of the book.
Passantino, Bob and Gretchen: Satanism: Grand Rapids: Zondervan: 1995.
Zacharias, Gerhard (1980). The Satanic Cult. ISBN 978-0-04-133008-3. Translated from the 1964 German edition by Christine Trollope.
Chornyisyn, Mykhailo (2009). Hail Satan. ISBN 978-0-557-06489-2.
Wlodek, Nikodem (2004). Satans Raw.
Medway, Gareth (2001). Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism. ISBN 978-0-8147-5645-4.
Noctulius, Emperor (2007). The Path to Satan. ISBN 978-1-4348-2055-6.
Massimo Introvigne, I satanisti. Storia, riti e miti del satanismo, Sugarco, 2010
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Satanism.
 Wikinews has related news: Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore
Religious Tolerance page on Satanism
Satanism at DMOZ
The Satanic Temple (official national website)


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Witchcraft and magic















































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
New religious movements



























































































































































Authority control
GND: 4051735-4
 

  


Categories: Satanism
Left-Hand Path
Criticism of Christianity
Anti-Christianity
Philosophy of religion












Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Afrikaans
العربية
Arpetan
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Български
Boarisch
Català
Čeština
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
한국어
हिन्दी
Hrvatski
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
עברית
ქართული
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Magyar
Македонски
Malti
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
日本語
Napulitano
Norsk bokmål
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Shqip
සිංහල
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Soomaaliga
کوردیی ناوەندی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
吴语
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 19 June 2015, at 19:57.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism









Satanism

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Satanism (disambiguation).



 The downward-pointing pentacle is often used to represent Satanism.
Satanism is a broad term referring to a group of social movements with diverse ideological and philosophical beliefs. Satanism includes symbolic association with, or admiration for, Satan, whom Satanists see as an inspiring and liberating figure. It was estimated that there were 50,000 Satanists in 1990. There may now be as many as one hundred thousand Satanists in the world.[1]



Eliphas Lévi's Sabbatic Goat (known as The Goat of Mendes or Baphomet) has become one of the most common symbols of Satanism.
Although the public practice of Satanism began with the founding of The Church of Satan in 1966, historical precedents exist: a group called the Ophite Cultus Satanas was founded in Ohio by Herbert Arthur Sloane in 1948.[2]
Satanist groups that appeared after the 1960s are widely diverse, but two major trends are theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists venerate Satan as a supernatural deity, viewing him not as omnipotent but rather as a patriarch. In contrast, atheistic Satanists regard Satan as merely a symbol of certain human traits.[3]
There are signs that Satanistic beliefs have become more socially tolerated. Satanism is now allowed in the Royal Navy of the British Armed Forces, despite opposition from Christians,[4][5][6] and in 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States debated over protecting the religious rights of prison inmates after a lawsuit challenging the issue was filed to them.[7][8]
Contemporary Satanism is mainly an American phenomenon, the ideas spreading with the effects of globalization and the Internet.[9] The Internet promotes awareness of other Satanists, and is also the main battleground for the definitions of Satanism today.[9] Satanism started to reach Eastern Europe in the 1990s, in time with the fall of the Soviet Union, and most noticeably in Poland and Lithuania, predominantly Roman Catholic countries.[10][11]


Contents  [hide]
1 Historical background
2 Theistic Satanism 2.1 Luciferianism
2.2 Palladists
2.3 Our Lady of Endor Coven
3 Atheistic Satanism
4 Accusations of Satanism 4.1 Christianity
4.2 Islam
5 Popular music
6 Organizations 6.1 The Church of Satan
6.2 First Satanic Church
6.3 Temple of Set
6.4 Order of Nine Angles
6.5 The Satanic Temple
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links

Historical background[edit]



 Satan in Paradise Lost, as illustrated by Gustave Doré
Particularly after the European Enlightenment, some works, such as Paradise Lost, were taken up by Romantics like Byron and described as presenting the biblical Satan as an allegory representing a crisis of faith, individualism, free will, wisdom and enlightenment.[citation needed] Those works actually featuring Satan as a heroic character are fewer in number but do exist. George Bernard Shaw and Mark Twain (cf. Letters from the Earth) included such characterizations in their works long before religious Satanists took up the pen. From then on, Satan and Satanism started to gain a new meaning outside of Christianity.[9]
Theistic Satanism[edit]



 The full sigil of Lucifer, as it originally appeared in the Grimorium Verum


 A more symmetrical version of the symbol to the left, used by some modern Satanists
Main article: Theistic Satanism
Theistic Satanism (also known as traditional Satanism, Spiritual Satanism or Devil worship) is a form of Satanism with the primary belief that Satan is an actual deity or force to revere or worship.[12][13] Other characteristics of theistic Satanism may include a belief in magic, which is manipulated through ritual, although that is not a defining criterion, and theistic Satanists may focus solely on devotion. Unlike LaVeyan Satanism, theistic Satanism believes that Satan is a real being rather than a symbol of individualism.
Luciferianism[edit]
Main article: Luciferianism
Luciferianism can be understood best as a belief system or intellectual creed that venerates the essential and inherent characteristics that are affixed and commonly given to Lucifer. Luciferianism is often identified as an auxiliary creed or movement of Satanism, due to the common identification of Lucifer with Satan. Some Luciferians accept this identification and/or consider Lucifer as the "light bearer" and illuminated aspect of Satan, giving them the name of Satanists and the right to bear the title. Others reject it, giving the argument that Lucifer is a more positive and easy-going ideal than Satan. They are inspired by the ancient myths of Egypt, Rome and Greece, Gnosticism and traditional Western occultism.
Palladists[edit]
Main article: Palladists
Palladists are an alleged theistic Satanist society or member of that society. The name Palladian comes from Pallas and refers to the Greco-Roman goddess of wisdom and learning.
Our Lady of Endor Coven[edit]
Main article: Our Lady of Endor Coven
Our Lady of Endor Coven, also known as Ophite Cultus Satanas (originally spelled "Sathanas"), was a satanic cult founded in 1948 by Herbert Arthur Sloane in Toledo, Ohio. The group was heavily influenced by gnosticism (especially that found in the contemporary book by Hans Jonas, The Gnostic Religion), and worshiped Satanas, their name for Satan (Cultus Satanas is a Latin version of Cult of Satan). Satanas (or Satan) was defined in gnostic terms as the Serpent in the Garden of Eden who revealed the knowledge of the true God to Eve. That it called itself "Ophite" is a reference to the ancient gnostic sect of the Ophites, who were said to worship the serpent.
Atheistic Satanism[edit]



 The Sigil of Baphomet, the official insignia of the Church of Satan and LaVeyan Satanism.
Main article: LaVeyan Satanism
LaVeyan Satanism, as codified in The Satanic Bible and overseen by the Church of Satan, was founded in 1966 by Anton Szandor LaVey. It is an atheistic and materialistic religion that champions individualism, epicureanism, secularism, and egoism, and propagates a worldview of naturalism, Social Darwinism, and Lex Talionis.[14][15][16][17][18] Adherents describe it as a non-spiritual religion of the flesh, or "...the world's first carnal religion".[19][20]
Contrary to popular belief, it does not involve "devil worship" or worship of any deities. The Church of Satan asserts that "In Satanism each individual is his or her own god—there is no room for any other god and that includes Satan, Lucifer, Cthulhu or whatever other name one might select or take from history or fiction.".[21] Adherents instead see the character of Satan as a symbol of pride, carnality, liberty, enlightenment, and undefiled wisdom, and serves as a conceptual framework and an external metaphorical projection of the Satanist's highest personal potential. Satan (Hebrew: שָּׂטָן satan, meaning "adversary") is seen as a symbol of defiance to the conservatism of mainstream philosophical and religious currents, mainly the Abrahamic religions, that see this character as their antithesis.[22][23][24][25][26]
The prefix "LaVeyan" was never used by Anton LaVey or by the Church of Satan, nor does the term appear in any of its literature.[27] The church has stated its contention that they are the first formally organized religion to adopt the term "Satanism" and asserts that Satanism and the 'worship of Satan' are not congruent.[28] The term "Theistic Satanism" has been described as "oxymoronic" by the church and its High Priest.[21] The Church of Satan rejects the legitimacy of any other organizations who claim to be Satanists, dubbing them reverse-Christians, pseudo-Satanists or Devil worshipers.[29][30] Today, the Church of Satan promotes itself as the only authentic representation of Satanism, and it routinely publishes materials underscoring this contention.[31][32]
The fundamentals of the religion's creed are synthesized in The Nine Satanic Statements,[33] The Nine Satanic Sins,[34] and The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth.[35]
Accusations of Satanism[edit]
Historically, some people or groups have been specifically described as worshiping Satan or the Devil, or of being devoted to the work of Satan. The widespread preponderance of these groups in European cultures is in part connected with the importance and meaning of Satan within Christianity.
Christianity[edit]



 Title illustration of Johannes Praetorius (writer) (de) Blocksbergs Verrichtung (1668) showing many traditional features of the medieval Witches' Sabbath
See also: European witchcraft, Maleficium (sorcery) and Witch-cult hypothesis
Pagans celebrating Pan, Odin, Perkūnas, or other pagan deities were often claimed by the Catholic Church to be worshiping the Devil and his crones and minions.[36]
Many gnostic groups have been regarded as Satanic, with its prominent details implying Lucifer, or the serpent, as being a true god or prophet that liberated Adam and Eve while the god of the Old Testament is regarded as a demiurge. Hegemonius accused Mani, founder of Manicheanism, of being Satanic when Mani said that Jehovah is "the devil god which created the world"[37] and that "he who spoke with Moses, the Jews, and the priests … is the [Prince] of Darkness, … not the god of truth."[38]
The witch trials in early modern Europe, in particular, the notion that witches congregated at a Witches' Sabbath in order to serve the Devil.[36]
Gilles de Rais (15th century, France) was a French nobleman who was tried and executed for the murders of hundreds of children in quasi-Satanic rituals.[36]
Johann Georg Faust. (16th century, Germany)[36] Many instructions, in German and in Latin, for making a pact with the Devil were attributed to him. These were collected and published in Germany in a few of the volumes of Das Kloster (1845–1849).
Urbain Grandier (17th century, France). Although set up by the Catholic Church, a very famous document, in Latin, of a pact with the Devil he allegedly wrote has been preserved.[36]
People involved in the Poison Affair, such as Catherine Deshayes and Étienne Guibourg (17th century, France). The documentation from their trial is the principal Early Modern source for information on the Black Mass.[39][40]
The Marquis de Sade (18th century, France), described by Iwan Bloch as being a fanatic Satanist.[41] His works graphically described blasphemy against the Catholic Church, such as an orgy resembling a Black Mass conducted by Pope Pius VI in the Vatican (in his novel Juliette).
In 1865, the anti-Vatican Italian poet Giosuè Carducci published his poem Inno a Satana ("Hymn to Satan"), praising Satan as the god of reason and expressing religious hatred towards Christianity.
Many adherents of the Decadent movement, such as the Polish author Stanisław Przybyszewski, the Belgian artist Félicien Rops, and the French poet Charles Baudelaire (who published Les Litanies de Satan in 1857) either called themselves Satanists, or created overtly Satanist artwork and literature.[42]
Some French movements widely described as being Satanist by French writers of the time (late 19th to early 20th centuries). The most well-known description available in English is the 1891 novel Là-bas by Joris-Karl Huysmans. However, there were numerous other well-known personalities in France that were related to the circles Huysmans describes, such as Joseph-Antoine Boullan, Stanislas de Guaita, Henri Antoine Jules-Bois, and Joséphin Péladan, who either wrote about Satanism in France, or were accused of being Satanists themselves.[43][44]
Freemasonry was described as being Satanist in the completely discredited Taxil hoax.[45]
At least two Satanic (or "Luciferian") sects existed in France in the 1930s. One was led by Maria de Naglowska, and had rituals dedicated to Satan and Lucifer.[46] Another, led by a former Catholic priest, celebrated an inversion of the Latin Mass (a "Luciferian Mass"), which included the phrase "In nomine Domini Dei nostri Satanae Luciferi Excelsi" (a phrase that re-appeared 30 years later in Anton LaVey's Satanic Bible).[47]
Islam[edit]
The Yazidis, a minority religion of the Middle East who worship Melek Taus, are often referred to as Satan worshippers by some Muslims.[48] Due to this, they have been targeted for conversion and extermination by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.[49]
Popular music[edit]
Black metal has often been connected with Satanism, in part for the lyrical content of several bands and their frequent use of imagery often tied to left hand path beliefs (such as the inverted pentagram). More often than not musicians associating themselves with black metal say they do not believe in legitimate Satanic ideology and often profess to being atheists, agnostics, or religious skeptics. In some instances, followers of right hand path religions use Satanic references for entertainment purposes and shock value.[50] Most of black metal's "first wave" bands only used Satanism for shock value; one of the few exceptions is Mercyful Fate singer King Diamond, who follows LaVeyan Satanism[51] and whom Michael Moynihan calls "one of the only performers of the '80s Satanic Metal who was more than just a poseur using a devilish image for shock value".[52] One early precursor to Satanic metal was the 1969 rock album Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls, which contained numerous references to Satanism that reappeared in later Satanic rock music.
Glen Benton, vocalist and bassist of the band Deicide, once openly claimed to be a practitioner of theistic Satanism, and has spoken publicly to profess staunch anti-Christian sentiment. The controversial Dissection frontman Jon Nödtveidt openly spoke about his "chaos-gnostic" satanic beliefs, being a member of the Misanthropic Luciferian Order, and called his band "the sonic propaganda unit of the MLO".[53] Norwegian black metal artists such as Euronymous from Mayhem and Infernus from Gorgoroth have also identified themselves as Satanists and actively promoted their beliefs.[54] Numerous church burnings that covered parts of Norway in the early 1990s were also attributed to youths involved in the black metal movement, which included people promoting theistic Satanic beliefs and strong anti-LaVeyan attitudes.[55] However, the legitimacy of such actions as Satanic endeavors, rather than simply rebellious actions done for publicity, is something that has been doubted by even some of those who contribute to the genre.[56]
Organizations[edit]
The Church of Satan[edit]
Main article: Church of Satan
On Walpurgisnacht, April 30, 1966, Anton LaVey founded the "The Satanic Church" (which he would later rename the "Church of Satan"). The Church of Satan is an organization dedicated to the acceptance of the carnal self, as articulated in The Satanic Bible, written in 1969 by Anton Szandor LaVey.
First Satanic Church[edit]
Main article: First Satanic Church
After LaVey's death in 1997 the Church of Satan was taken over by a new administration and its headquarters was moved to New York. LaVey's daughter, the High Priestess Karla LaVey, felt this to be a disservice to her father's legacy. The First Satanic Church was re-founded on October 31, 1999 by Karla LaVey to carry on the legacy of her father. She continues to run it out of San Francisco, California.
Temple of Set[edit]
Main article: Temple of Set
The Temple of Set is an initiatory occult society claiming to be the world's leading left-hand path religious organization. It was established in 1975 by Michael A. Aquino and certain members of the priesthood of the Church of Satan,[57] who left because of administrative and philosophical disagreements. ToS deliberately self-differentiates from CoS in several ways, most significantly in theology and sociology.[58] The philosophy of the Temple of Set may be summed up as "enlightened individualism" — enhancement and improvement of oneself by personal education, experiment and initiation. This process is necessarily different and distinctive for each individual. The members do not agree on whether Set is "real" or not, and they're not expected to.[58]
Setianism, in theory, is similar to theistic Satanism. The principle deity of Setianism is the ancient Egyptian god Set, or Seth, the god of adversary. Set supposedly is the Dark Lord behind the Hebrew entity Satan. Set, as the first principle of consciousness, is emulated by Setians, who symbolize the concept of individual, subjective intelligence distinct from the natural order as the "Black Flame". (Some people who are not members of the Temple of Set find spiritual inspiration in the Egyptian god Set, and may share some beliefs with the organization. The belief system in general is referred to as Setianism.)
Members of the Temple of Set are mostly male, between the ages of twenty and fifty.[58]
Order of Nine Angles[edit]
Main article: Order of Nine Angles
The authors Per Faxneld and Jesper Petersen write that the Order of Nine Angles (ONA, O9A) "represent a dangerous and extreme form of Satanism".[59] The ONA first attracted public attention during the 1980s and 1990s after being mentioned in books detailing fascist Satanism. They were initially formed in the United Kingdom and are presently organized around clandestine cells (which it calls traditional nexions)[60][61] and around what it calls sinister tribes.[62][63]
The Satanic Temple[edit]
The Satanic Temple uses the literary Satan as a mythological foundation for a non-supernatural religion,[64] in order to construct a cultural narrative that can usefully contextualize life experiences and promote pragmatic skepticism, rational reciprocity, personal autonomy, and curiosity.
As it lacks the creed of elitism and Social Darwinism that define the Church of Satan[65] in favor of other characteristics of the literary Satan, it contrasts[66] itself by actively participating in public affairs and providing outreach to the wider public. This has manifested in several public political actions[67][68] and efforts at lobbying,[69] with a focus on the separation of church and state and using satire against religious organizations that it believes interfere with freedom and the pursuit of happiness.[70]
The only requirements to be a member are to support the tenets and beliefs of the organization, and to name yourself a member.[71]
The group has held "worship" services that include dance music, porn rooms, phallic imagery, S&M behaviors and nudity. [72] It also considers gay marriage a religious sacrament, and therefore argues that bans on the practice violate Satanists' freedom of religion. [73] Because the group regards "inviolability of the body" as a key doctrine, it also views all restrictions on abortion, including mandatory waiting periods, as an infringement on the rights of Satanists to practice their religion. [74]
See also[edit]

Portal icon Occult portal
Portal icon Spirituality portal
Portal icon Philosophy portal
Satan in literature
Satanic ritual abuse
Shaitan
Prometheus
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ B.A. Robinson (March 2006). "Religious Satanism, 16th century Satanism, Satanic Dabbling, etc". Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved March 24, 2013.
2.Jump up ^ Lewis, James R. (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. p. 553. ISBN 1573922226.
3.Jump up ^ Gilmore, Peter. "Science and Satanism". Point of Inquiry Interview. Retrieved 9 December 2013.
4.Jump up ^ Royal Navy to allow devil worship CNN
5.Jump up ^ Carter, Helen. The devil and the deep blue sea: Navy gives blessing to sailor Satanist. The Guardian
6.Jump up ^ Navy approves first ever Satanist BBC News
7.Jump up ^ Linda Greenhouse (March 22, 2005). "Inmates Who Follow Satanism and Wicca Find Unlikely Ally". New York Times.
8.Jump up ^ "Before high court: law that allows for religious rights". Christian Science Monitor.
9.^ Jump up to: a b c Jesper Aagaard Petersen (2009). "Introduction: Embracing Satan". Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-5286-1.
10.Jump up ^ Alisauskiene, Milda (2009). "The Peculiarities of Lithuanian Satanism". In Jesper Aagaard Petersen. Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 0-7546-5286-6.
11.Jump up ^ "Satanism stalks Poland". BBC News. 2000-06-05.
12.Jump up ^ Partridge, Christopher Hugh (2004). The Re-enchantment of the West. p. 82. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
13.Jump up ^ Prayers to Satan
14.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/Enema.html
15.Jump up ^ "Church of Satan FAQ 18. DRUG ABUSE". Churchofsatan.com. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
16.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/CShistory7LR.html
17.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/satanism-the-feared-religion.php
18.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/walpurgisnacht-xxxvii.php
19.Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEnxnINMkPE&list=UUTTM5rdQA-E78nSkOnUluug
20.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/support-the-organization.php
21.^ Jump up to: a b http://www.churchofsatan.com/faq-fundamental-beliefs.php
22.Jump up ^ http://altreligion.about.com/od/alternativereligionsaz/a/satanism.htm
23.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/WhatTheDevil.html
24.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/_FAQ03.html
25.Jump up ^ [1][dead link]
26.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/Pages/ChaplainsHandbook.html
27.Jump up ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkmuV5R_O6g
28.Jump up ^ http://news.churchofsatan.com/post/101945623742/why-satanism-must-not-be-confused-with-devil
29.Jump up ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/national/wp/2014/11/07/the-church-of-satan-wants-you-to-stop-calling-these-devil-worshipping-alleged-murderers-satanists/
30.Jump up ^ "Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore". Wikinews. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
31.Jump up ^ Gilmore, Peter H. (2007). The Satanic Scriptures. Scapegoat Publishing.
32.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/rebels-without-cause.php
33.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/nine-satanic-statements.php
34.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/nine-satanic-sins.php
35.Jump up ^ http://www.churchofsatan.com/eleven-rules-of-earth.php
36.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Robbins, Rossell Hope, The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology, 1959.
37.Jump up ^ Manichaeism by Alan G. Hefner in The Mystica, undated
38.Jump up ^ Acta Archelai of Hegemonius, Chapter XII, c. AD 350, quoted in Translated Texts of Manicheism, compiled by Prods Oktor Skjærvø, page 68. History of the Acta Archelai explained in the Introduction, page 11
39.Jump up ^ Extensively described in: Zacharias, Gerhard, Der dunkle Gott: Satanskult und Schwarze Messe, München (1964).
40.Jump up ^ Original sources: Ravaisson, François Archives de la Bastille (Paris, 1866-1884, volumes IV, V, VI, VII)
41.Jump up ^ Dr. Iwan Bloch, Marquis de Sade: His Life and Work, 1899: "The Marquis de Sade gave evidence in his novels of being a fanatic Satanist."
42.Jump up ^ Jullian, Philippe, Esthétes et Magiciens, 1969; Dreamers of Decadence, 1971.
43.Jump up ^ Bois, Jules, Le Satanisme et la Magie - avec une étude de J.-K. Huysmans, Paris, 1895.
44.Jump up ^ Huysmans, J.-K., Là-Bas, 1891
45.Jump up ^ Waite, A.E., Devil Worship in France, London: George Redway 1896.
46.Jump up ^ Medway, Gareth (2001). Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism. p. 18.
47.Jump up ^ Messe Luciférienne, in Pierre Geyraud, Les Petites Églises de Paris, 1937 (Source here: Messe Luciférienne).
48.Jump up ^ “The Devil Worshipers of the Middle East : Their Beliefs & Sacred Books” Holmes Pub Group LLC (December 1993) ISBN 1-55818-231-4 ISBN 978-1-55818-231-8
49.Jump up ^ O'Loughlin, Ed (16 August 2014). "Devil in the detail as Yazidis look to Kurds in withstanding Islamic radicals’ advance". Irish Times. Retrieved 16 August 2014.
50.Jump up ^ Baddeley, Gavin (1993). Raising Hell!: The Book of Satan and Rock 'n' Roll.
51.Jump up ^ Götz Kühnemund: A History of Horror. In: Rock Hard, no. 282, November 2010, pp. 20-27.
52.Jump up ^ Michael Moynihan, Didrik Søderlind: Lords of Chaos: The Bloody Rise of the Satanic Metal Underground, Feral House 1998, pp. 15f.
53.Jump up ^ INTERVIEW FOR THE FANS BY THE FANS. - Final Interview with Jon Nödtveidt -.
54.Jump up ^ Garry Sharpe-Young (2007). Metal: The Definitive Guide.
55.Jump up ^ Grude, Torstein (Director) (January 1, 1998). Satan rir media (motion picture). Norway: Grude, Torstein.
56.Jump up ^ Ihsahn Interview
57.Jump up ^ Aquino, Michael (2002). Church of Satan (PDF). San Francisco: Temple of Set.
58.^ Jump up to: a b c Harvey, Graham (2009). "Satanism: Performing Alterity and Othering". In Jesper Aagaard Petersen. Contemporary Religious Satanism: A Critical Anthology. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-5286-1.
59.Jump up ^ Per Faxneld: Post-Satanism, Left Hand Paths, and Beyond in Per Faxneld & Jesper Petersen (eds) The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity, Oxford University Press (2012), p.207. ISBN 9780199779246
60.Jump up ^ Senholt, Jacob. Secret Identities in The Sinister Tradition: Political Esotericism and the Convergence of Radical Islam, Satanism and National Socialism in the Order of Nine Angles, in Per Faxneld & Jesper Petersen (eds), The Devil's Party: Satanism in Modernity. Oxford University Press, 2012. ISBN 9780199779246
61.Jump up ^ FAQ About ONA
62.Jump up ^ Angular Momentum: from Traditional to Progressive Satanism in the Order of Nine Angles
63.Jump up ^ Sinister Tribes Of The ONA
64.Jump up ^ The Satanic Temple
65.Jump up ^ Peter, Magus (1966-04-30). "Satanism: The Feared Religion". churchofsatan.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
66.Jump up ^ "Church of Satan • Let’s You and Him Fight". News.churchofsatan.com. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
67.Jump up ^ Massoud Hayoun (2013-12-08). "Group aims to put 'Satanist' monument near Oklahoma capitol | Al Jazeera America". America.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
68.Jump up ^ "Satanists petition to build monument on Oklahoma state capitol grounds | Washington Times Communities". Communities.washingtontimes.com. 2013-12-09. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
69.Jump up ^ Bugbee, Shane (2013-07-30). "Unmasking Lucien Greaves, Leader of the Satanic Temple | VICE United States". Vice.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
70.Jump up ^ "The Satanic Temple Performs Ceremony at Westboro Baptist Church Family Gravesite". Thesatanictemple.com. 2013-07-17. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
71.Jump up ^ "Join". Thesatanictemple.com. Retrieved 2014-03-25.
72.Jump up ^ "Can the Satanic Temple Save America?".
73.Jump up ^ "THE SATANIC TEMPLE".
74.Jump up ^ "Satanist challenges Missouri’s 72-hour abortion wait: It’s “a burden on my sincerely held religious beliefs”".
Further reading[edit]
Michelet, Jules (1862). Satanism and Witchcraft: The Classic Study of Medieval Superstition. ISBN 978-0-8065-0059-1. Considered the first modern work to discuss Satanism.
Cavendish, Richard (1967). The Black Arts: An Absorbing Account of Witchcraft, Demonology, Astrology, and Other Mystical Practices Throughout the Ages. ISBN 978-0-399-50035-0. Summary of the history of Witchcraft, Satanism, and Devil Worship in the last part of the book.
Passantino, Bob and Gretchen: Satanism: Grand Rapids: Zondervan: 1995.
Zacharias, Gerhard (1980). The Satanic Cult. ISBN 978-0-04-133008-3. Translated from the 1964 German edition by Christine Trollope.
Chornyisyn, Mykhailo (2009). Hail Satan. ISBN 978-0-557-06489-2.
Wlodek, Nikodem (2004). Satans Raw.
Medway, Gareth (2001). Lure of the Sinister: The Unnatural History of Satanism. ISBN 978-0-8147-5645-4.
Noctulius, Emperor (2007). The Path to Satan. ISBN 978-1-4348-2055-6.
Massimo Introvigne, I satanisti. Storia, riti e miti del satanismo, Sugarco, 2010
External links[edit]
 Wikimedia Commons has media related to Satanism.
 Wikinews has related news: Satanism: An interview with Church of Satan High Priest Peter Gilmore
Religious Tolerance page on Satanism
Satanism at DMOZ
The Satanic Temple (official national website)


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Witchcraft and magic















































































































[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
New religious movements



























































































































































Authority control
GND: 4051735-4
 

  


Categories: Satanism
Left-Hand Path
Criticism of Christianity
Anti-Christianity
Philosophy of religion












Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















Main page
Contents
Featured content
Current events
Random article
Donate to Wikipedia
Wikipedia store

Interaction
Help
About Wikipedia
Community portal
Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
Wikidata item
Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Afrikaans
العربية
Arpetan
Azərbaycanca
বাংলা
Български
Boarisch
Català
Čeština
Cymraeg
Dansk
Deutsch
Eesti
Ελληνικά
Español
Esperanto
Euskara
فارسی
Français
한국어
हिन्दी
Hrvatski
Ido
Bahasa Indonesia
Italiano
עברית
ქართული
Latina
Latviešu
Lietuvių
Magyar
Македонски
Malti
Bahasa Melayu
Nederlands
日本語
Napulitano
Norsk bokmål
ਪੰਜਾਬੀ
Polski
Português
Română
Русский
Shqip
සිංහල
Simple English
Slovenčina
Slovenščina
Soomaaliga
کوردیی ناوەندی
Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
ไทย
Türkçe
Українська
吴语
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 19 June 2015, at 19:57.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
    
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanism