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Freemasonry: The Study of a Phenomenon (Harvill Press editions)
 
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Freemasonry: The Study of a Phenomenon (Harvill Press editions) (Paperback)

by Alexander Piatigorsky (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Harvill P.; New ed of "Who's Afraid of Freemasons?" edition (21 Sep 1999)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1860462650
  • ISBN-13: 978-1860462658
  • Product Dimensions: 22.3 x 14.9 x 3.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,673,536 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Synopsis
This study considers the institution of Freemasonry from the point of view of both masons and their critics, as well as from the author's own. In the first section, it gives an outline of masonic history, from the foundation of the Grand Lodge in Covent Garden in 1717 through its major role in Enlightenment Europe and the American War of Independence, its many tribulations and schisms in the 19th century to the present day. The book looks at one of the main sources of masonic history, Anderson's "Constitutions", which documents masonic practice and the masons' mythical history back to Hiram Abiff, the first Master Mason in the reign of King Solomon.

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A refreshingly serious piece of academic work on freemasonry, 23 Jul 2001
By A Customer
Despite generating a massive (and seemingly unending) popular literature, freemasonry has often not received much in the way of serious academic attention. And on the whole, where scholarly works DO exist, they have been produced primarily by historians of one kind or another.

So this book, by a University of London academic with expertise in comparative religion, is a welcome attempt to begin to analyse freemasonry from a religious studies perspective, with probing discussions of freemasonry's historical consciousness, its disputed relationship with christianity (the notion of 'natural religion' etc), and a psychological/sociological analysis of its ritual.

Piatigorsky doesn't seem to me always convincing (in his interpretation of the hiramic rite, for example, which relies far too much on comparative mythology), but can be forgiven not least because he is (to my knowledge) one of the first religious studies scholars even to attempt such an analysis. And he certainly succeeds in showing that there is interesting work here to be done for future anthropologists, sociologists, and religious studies scholars.

In short, a serious and innovative work, with careful scholarship and a degree of academic jargon. Not one for the occultists and conspiracy theorists !

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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Dense and opaque, but with some interesting parts., 8 Feb 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Who's Afraid of Freemasons? (Hardcover)
I gather from reading this book that the author has developed and previously published some theoretical or psychological model for analyzing religions. In this volume, he applies his analytical approach to Freemasonry, which seems appropriate enough given its ritual and esoteric content. He attempts to explain his model and findings in his own private jargon, the explaination of which is even more impenetrable than the jargon itself. The book becomes a bit more worthwhile in discussing why men join the fraternity, why they stay, who they are, what they get out out of it, and what they do behind those closed doors...
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The book and subject are congenitally curious., 26 Jan 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Who's Afraid of Freemasons? (Hardcover)
This book is a curious consideration of whether Freemasonry is a religion. The mixed but clear conclusion is reached more from a position of religious indifference rather than elusive objectivity. This should be filed under History of Religion, not Secret Society Hype. The content is substantial yet this is a light read.
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