# What is the value of a "Secret Society"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109 "2015-02-08T12:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/41 "2015-02-09T22:15:36Z")
> [@Snnipe\_70E](#): > > Yes they are not secret organizations. They are organizations with secrets. > By knowing the secrets of an organization you can prove to others that you are a member of the organization and are entitled to be treated as a member. > > As we have people claiming to be former service members and wanting to have the benefits of a veteran people will claim to be a member of an organization for their benefit. It is simple to test someone to see if they are truly a member or not… > [@kopek](#): > > … > 2) It adds to the mystique and to some degree the fun… > [@Trinopus](#): > > There’s been a lot of leakage. People have written books giving away all the Masonic secrets. Heck, some of their ceremonies have been televised… These. Several of these organizations started up as places to 1) have fun, and 2) provide a social safety net to each other. As for #1, who here _didn’t_ have a “Super-Secret Treehouse Friends Club” as a kid? There’s a mystique there that many (most?) people don’t fully grow out of. For #2, the secrets could serve as an easy way to determine membership when someone comes asking for help. Some guy shows up at your lodge saying that he lost his job and could he have some money. You think he’s a non-member hitting up all the organizations in town for money, so you test him on some of the secrets. Can he do the secret handshake? Does he know the name of the mystical 15th century guru who established X ritual? Does he have a Violet Badge of the Everlasting Army Commission of the Legions of Truth? And does he know where on his coat he is supposed to wear it? And, of course, many, if not all, of the “secrets” have been leaked over time. In some cases, secrets were leaked over a hundred years ago. There are also several “mystery religions” that are similar to these groups but that are organized as a full religion, as opposed to merely a social club. Well-known examples of these are Scientology (which was previously mentioned) and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (“Mormons”). These faiths give out plenty of public information about themselves. They also have some inner teachings that are only supposed to be given to people who have already somehow demonstrated themselves worthy. Of course, human nature being what it is, there have already been massive leaks. There is an expectation, however, that people who actually believe in the faith will honor the prohibitions on accessing certain knowledge until the leadership has deemed them worthy. ---
**Author:** ![Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blue_blistering_barnacle/32/3386_2.png) [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blue_Blistering_Barnacle)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/42 "2015-02-09T22:58:50Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The fact that you describe Skull and Bones as “famous” belies the idea that it’s a secret society. It’s one of about ten “secret” societies at Yale, but no one develops conspiracy theories around the others. (Of course the ones holding the _real_ power are The Whiffenpoofs. Why do you think they spend all that time touring?) Correction: I think you meant 'Hufflepuffs". 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/43 "2015-02-09T23:04:45Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > What would be the value to members? [They confuse the hell out of conspiracy theorists!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=748757) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/44 "2015-02-10T01:54:28Z")
In his live standup routine, George ‘Goober’ Lindsey used to tell a joke about Mayberry: “Mayberry is so small… _the Masons and the Knights of Columbus there know each others’ secret!_” ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Goob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@Mr.Goob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Goob)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/45 "2015-02-10T03:21:47Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > A few years ago, I actually looked into joining the Masons just for the heck of it. (AIUI, having a father who was a Mason can serve as an introduction, and I figured that 1947 state convention photograph would verify my claim). I decided against it when I learned that you have to swear to belief in a supreme being, and I’m an atheist. Same reason I didn’t join. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/46 "2015-02-10T11:39:09Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > A few years ago, I actually looked into joining the Masons just for the heck of it. (AIUI, having a father who was a Mason can serve as an introduction, and I figured that 1947 state convention photograph would verify my claim). I decided against it when I learned that you have to swear to belief in a supreme being, and I’m an atheist. > [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > You could always lie. It’ll be your secret. If I were willing to do that, it probably would have made more sense to just join a church. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2015, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/47 "2015-02-10T14:30:46Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > And, of course, many, if not all, of the “secrets” have been leaked over time. In some cases, secrets were leaked over a hundred years ago. Interestingly, the Knights of Columbus supposed “secrets” have been widely publicized, but they’re phony. In particular, there was a bogus “Fourth Degree oath,” attributed to the Knights of Columbus circulated as far back as the 1920s by the KKK, and in similar fashion to the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion,” the faux oath has been repeated and reprinted so often that it’s hard to even see why it would be a secret. It was read into the Congressional Record, in fact, and subsequent circulations of it sought to buttress their verisimilitude by noting “…from the Congressional Record.” So far as I am aware, the actual K of C secrets have not been published, although I could well have simply missed them somewhere. The only links I’ve seen have been to dramatic, but false, claims about the K of C ritual. I may not have a perfect memory, but I assure you that I remember enough about my Fourth Degree ceremony to be certain that I never promised to wage “relentless war” against Protestants and Masons, up to and including “ripping up the stomachs and wombs of their women” and crushing their infants’ heads against the walls. (As seen in the Congressional Record. 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/48 "2015-02-12T08:14:15Z")
I suppose it’s like a fraternity. Since ancient times they are places where men have endeavored to shatter the stone of ignorance and to bring forth the light of truth. But mostly it’s to get drunk and play Ping-Pong. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/49 "2015-02-12T09:40:12Z")
Fun? If the Dark Brotherhood existed in real life, I would join it. But I’d be squeamish about actually killing anyone… ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2015, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/50 "2015-02-12T09:52:29Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > Well, you can’t very well control the British crown, keep the metric system down, keep Atlantis off the maps and the Martians under wraps, hold back the electric car, make Steve Gutenberg a star, rob cavefish of their sight, and rig every Oscar night if your meetings are open to the public, now can you? Hello! Area 51, anybody!!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109.md?page=2)