Handbook of Freemasonry

Freemasonry is the largest, oldest, and most influential secret society in the world. The Brill Handbook of Freemasonry is a pioneering work that brings together, for the first time, leading scholars on Freemasonry. The first section covers historical perspectives, such as the origins and early history of Freemasonry. The second deals with the relationship between Freemasonry and specific religious traditions such as the Catholic Church, Judaism, and Islam. In the third section, organisational themes, such as the use of rituals, are explored, while the fourth section deals with issues related to society and politics - women, blacks, colonialism, nationalism, and war. The fifth and final section is devoted to Freemasonry and culture, including music, literature, modern art, architecture and material culture.

Henrik Bogdan, Ph.D. (2003), is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at University of Gothenburg. He is the author of Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation (2007), and co-editor of several works, including Occultism in a Global Perspective (2013).

Jan A.M. Snoek, Ph.D. (1987) in the Sciences of Religions, University of Leiden (The Netherlands), is attached to the Institute for the Sciences of Religions at the University of Heidelberg (Germany), and published widely about the development of masonic rituals. Among his publications are Initiating Women in Freemasonry, The Adoption Rite (Brill, 2012).

Contributors include: Marijo Ariens-Volker, José A. Ferrer Benimeli, Henrik Bogdan, Matthew Crow, James Stevens Curl, Malcolm Davies, Mark J.R. Dennis, Robert A. Gilbert, Jessica Harland-Jacobs, Kristiane Hasselmann, Arturo de Hoyos, Massimo Introvigne, Margaret Jacob, Guy Liagre, Pierre Mollier, Robert Jan van Pelt, Charles Porset, Andrew Prescott, Cecile Révauger, François Rognon, Matthew Scanlan, Jan A.M. Snoek, David Stevenson, Jeffrey Tyssens, Jean-François Var, Daniel Weinbren, and Thierry Zarconne.

"The Handbook of Freemasonry is a formidable and provocative collection of the thoughts of many of the most accomplished scholars of Freemasonry in Europe and America. Anyone involved in serious Masonic research will find it to be a valuable resource."
Shawn Eyer, FPS, Philalethes, Summer 2014

"At 669 pages, meticulously indexed, and boasting detailed bibliographies at the end of each chapter, the Handbook of Freemasonry functions as a valuable and insightful compendium of a remarkable quantity of knowledge about an often misunderstood and yet strangely ubiquitous initiatory society. Those looking for a detailed study or help in inspiring their own research on Freemasonry would do well to tackle the Handbook."
Nathan Schradle, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Nova Religio, Vol. 20, No. 2

"To sum up, the volume contributes significantly to the understanding of Freemasonry with its diverse entries and points of focus. The Handbook of Freemasonry likely qualifies as the most significant work to have been published on Freemasonry in recent years, and will be a source of great importance for years to come, both in terms of its theoretical developments and as a reliable source for consultation."

Peter Olsson, Correspondence 4 (2016).