Brought to Light

Contemporary Freemasonry, Meaning, and Society

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Other Practices, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Sociology
Cover of the book Brought to Light by J. Scott Kenney, Wilfrid Laurier University Press
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Author: J. Scott Kenney ISBN: 9781771121965
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press Publication: April 2, 2016
Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press Language: English
Author: J. Scott Kenney
ISBN: 9781771121965
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Publication: April 2, 2016
Imprint: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Language: English

Secret societies are becoming increasingly controversial—thrust into public awareness by popular books, films, the Internet, and a host of recent documentaries. In academia, this exposure finds a parallel in the proliferation of research, institutes, and conferences. Yet the media depictions tend to be caricatures, a playing to pervasive stereotypes for public consumption, while the academic stress historical and philological matters. Indeed, to the extent a sociological focus exists, it largely emphasizes the roles these groups played in social history. And for the societies’ members themselves, there has been a paucity of work on the contemporary meaning of these groups—a neglect made mystifying by the vast social changes that have taken place over the past century. In this study, and for the first time by any scholar, Kenney moves beyond history and applies the methods and theoretical tools of contemporary sociology to study the lived world of freemasons in today’s society.

To provide a clear portrait of the patterned experiences of contemporary freemasons and the issues faced by “the Craft” today, Kenney draws on qualitative data from three primary sources: (1) extensive interviews with 121 contemporary freemasons in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia; (2) video footage shot for a feature film on contemporary freemasonry; and (3) his observations and experiences in nearly fifteen years as a freemason. Brought to Light provides a highly original contribution to sociology, Masonic scholarship, and the social sciences generally.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Secret societies are becoming increasingly controversial—thrust into public awareness by popular books, films, the Internet, and a host of recent documentaries. In academia, this exposure finds a parallel in the proliferation of research, institutes, and conferences. Yet the media depictions tend to be caricatures, a playing to pervasive stereotypes for public consumption, while the academic stress historical and philological matters. Indeed, to the extent a sociological focus exists, it largely emphasizes the roles these groups played in social history. And for the societies’ members themselves, there has been a paucity of work on the contemporary meaning of these groups—a neglect made mystifying by the vast social changes that have taken place over the past century. In this study, and for the first time by any scholar, Kenney moves beyond history and applies the methods and theoretical tools of contemporary sociology to study the lived world of freemasons in today’s society.

To provide a clear portrait of the patterned experiences of contemporary freemasons and the issues faced by “the Craft” today, Kenney draws on qualitative data from three primary sources: (1) extensive interviews with 121 contemporary freemasons in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia; (2) video footage shot for a feature film on contemporary freemasonry; and (3) his observations and experiences in nearly fifteen years as a freemason. Brought to Light provides a highly original contribution to sociology, Masonic scholarship, and the social sciences generally.

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