Freemasonry: A Very Short Introduction - Andreas Önnerfors 2017

Two approaches to freemasonry

Idealization

Distrust

Striking a balance

Freemasonry—a short overview

Terminology

Three centuries of freemasonry

The 18th century

The 19th century

The 20th century

The 21st century

Historical legacies

Guild traditions

Knighthood imagined

Hieroglyphs, emblems, and vision: the Renaissance heritage

Enlightenment foundations

The ideas of modern freemasonry: the 1723 Constitutions

Secrecy and society

Philanthropy, charity, and cosmopolitanism

From darkness to light

The craft degrees of freemasonry

Development and motives of higher degrees

Masonic rites between inclusion, delimitation, and authority

Purpose of rituals

Organizational culture

Regularity and recognition

A culture of self-governance

Lodge organization, numbers, and names

Brotherhood challenged

Organization and development of female freemasonry

The female adoption ritual

Perceptions, prejudices, and persecutions

Freemasonry and the press—topics and trends

Regulation and suppression

The modern conspiracy myth

Freemasonry and anti-Semitism

References to the masonic conspiracy myth in pop culture

The attractiveness of the myth

Timeline

Further reading