Why is Ritual secret?
 

This was a question posed to me a while back

As of lately, there have been several Greek Letter Organizations who have had their ritual leaked on the internet.

After those secrets were released, the Greek Organizations still continued to flourish. Having ritual that is exposed and open to the public seemed to not have hurt them in the slightest.

Is it merely a psychological effect? Are we keeping it secret simply for the sake of making it feel special to everyone that knows it?

Is it just because of tradition? Do we really have no logical reason for not exposing it other than the fact that our forefathers did not?

Or is it because of something completely different?

When I was posed this question originally, the person asking suggested that the reason why we keep our rituals secret is so that we don't have to be accountable to others when we break our vows.

It seemed like a silly accusation to me, but I really didn't have any kind of reply. So, why do we keep our ritual secret

i think it adds a deeper, more special meaning to the values that you and your brothers or sisters share. Even if a ritual or meaning is leaked, it really only has real value in the context of when the ceremony is performed. Its kinda like one of those 'you had to be there jokes'.

secrets dont make friends =(

True, but best friends tell each other and only each other their deepest secrets!

Hmm, interesting question. Clearly a lack of secrets dosen't kill a group (look a DU!). That being said, I really think that the shared experience of Ritual is what creates the bonds of brotherhood and sisterhood so I think secrecy deepens that. I don't want you to think I'm saying non-secret groups are any less valid, I'm just speaking from my own experience.

I once read a question that was something like, "Do you keep your Ritual secret so others don't know that you don't uphold it?" Not really the reason for keeping it secret, but a good challenge to live your Ritual.

Open rituals don't make friends either...so, there's that.

The reasons for the secret rituals have been explored in a number of places - it deepens the bonds between brothers, it is part of what makes the org what it is, etc. Each group probably has its own reasons for keeping its ritual (and, for that matters, other aspects of its operations) secret, reasons that aren't going to be discussed on an open message board.

Do you really need to identify the groups whose rituals have been leaked?

I too have heard the claim that we keep our rituals secret so that no one will know if we don't live up to our values. I think that's a valid criticism, not of secrecy per se, but of whether we do live up to our rituals. My response is that we should all try to live up to our rituals so that even if an outsider doesn't know our secrets, they'll be able to see what we value.

I think there are several reasons that most fraternities and sororities have kept their rituals secret.

The first is tradition, pure and simple. Fraternity and sorority rituals grew out the ritual practices of Freemasonary and similar groups and fall in a tradition that goes back to ancient times. (I'm not saying that GLO rituals are modern day reincarnations of ancient rites, just that they are modern-day rites of a kind that has ancient roots.) If there's one thing that typically matters to GLOs, it's tradition.

When the granddady of GLOs, the Societas Philosophiae (alias FBK) was founded, it followed the pattern of similar organizations before it and was a secret society. In part, this was because they were doing something somewhat rebellious -- they were providing a place for the free discussion of ideas, something the faculty might find threatening. The original Phi Beta Kappa induction ceremony said: "Here then you may for a while disengage yourself from scholastic cares and communicate without reserve whatever reflections you have made upon various objects; remembering that every thing transacted within this room is transacted sub rosa, . . . here, too, you are to indulge in matters of speculation that freedom of enquiry which ever dispels the clouds of falsehood by the radiant sunshine of truth."

As other fraternities came along, they copied the pattern set by Phi Beta Kappa, even after Phi Beta Kappa ceased to be a fraternity/literary society and became an honor society. In some cases, secrecy was in a sense necessary -- be secret or be expelled. (Although that secrecy could be abused -- thus the founding of Delta Upsilon as non-secret.)

Part of the secret nature of the fraternity involved recognition signs -- passwords, grips and the like. (Trivia question -- Anyone know the original Phi Beta Kappa grip?) Again, GLOs followed Freemasonary and other fraternal organizations in this regard. These recognition signs were important, particularly as Phi Beta Kappa and others spread to more than one campus. Members needed ways to identify one another and satisfy themselves that others were indeed members. This was especially so if for fear of punsihment you couldn't come out and say, "I belong to ABG."

Of course, the time came when membership in a fraternity did not have to be kept secret. But by that time, secret rituals were part of the tradition.

I think three things contribute to the ongoing secrecy of most fraternity rituals. The first is the belief that the fact that members of ABG, and only the members of ABG, know and have shared a bonding experience in some way deepens that bond. The second is pedagogical: a belief that disclosure of the values of a fraternity only in the context of a shared experience of the initiate/initiated serves to underscore the seriousness with which the GLO views those values. Finally, and frankly, there's an element of . . . fun? . . . to it. Fun may not be the right word, but from time immemorial people have been drawn to organizations with secrets. (What kid doesn't love passwords for their club?)

Put all those things together, and I think you're getting at why most GLOs have secret rituals. No, disclosure of those rituals won't "kill" the organization. (I think, though, that most GLOs would say that it can severely lessen the impact of a ritual if an initiate goes in knowing what will happen.) The Masons have gotten along for almost two centuries with their secret rituals available to anyone who looks around to find them, which isn't too hard, especially in these internet days.

The bottom line: For all of the above reasons, most GLOs find that secrecy makes initiation an experience that it wouldn't be and gives ritual a power that it wouldn't have if it weren't secret.

Some things are just meant to be confidential, whether in a sorority/fraternity, club, company, etc. because the information is best understood by those who have knowledge regarding the subject.

Rituals are understood within the context of the organization. If someone openly witnessed my org's rituals, they would have no clue what things mean to us and what it means within the context of my org.

Allowing others to publicly witness your rituals would only allow for personal interpretation/perception by those on the outside looking in who have no knowledge of your organization's inner workings. It would also allow for criticism and judgement on things that again, the public has no extensive knowledge of.

haha, touche.

having no secrets within my org, id assume its comparable to sharing an inside joke. not to say that secrets are a joke, but the bond between the people that share them are similar. The closeness between the people is what makes the joke funny to them ie. the secret special between them. the privilege of knowing meaning behind it is rooted in the strength of friendship.

I think we keep it secret because it's fun that way. If it gets out, so what? It's really just not that big a deal if other people know. Also, I think it's kind of odd when people say things like "only Tri Deltas can possibly understand the true meaning, even if other people read the ritual." I mean, there's no reason to think that a girl in another sorority wouldn't understand the ritual... at a different school going through a different recruitment, she might have been a Tri Delta. Plus, they're all pretty similar anyways. Not necessarily the theatrics of the rituals, but the words and the meanings and the symbolism are definitely comparable. I think we keep them secret because that's just the way they've always been and we wouldn't want to betray our founders as a whole.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't want any part of my ritual getting out. And, my headquarters thinks it's such a big deal that a girl was recently expelled because she leaked part of the ritual.

I mean, I don't want my ritual getting leaked, but if it does, it's not the end of the world.

I think it's important to note that many rituals, initiation, etc weren't always secretive. Much of our (social Greeks) information was published for members and non-members to read. There are songs that included much of our rituals as well. If you are lucky enough to locate books from the turn of the century you can find information that is now considered secretive. I've seen a few of these books, Tri Delt, Chi Omega...about 4 others. Oddly, I found out I know which sorority tried to absorb mine - TWICE - because they published it.

I don't want to know others rituals (though I know some from just hearing things over the years. But they have no value to me. If I knew someone else knew my ritual (and they do), I don't think I'd be upset. My ritual is important to me because I've lived it.

I understand why people want it to be a secret and everything. Everyone wants their sercrest, lets be real. Its fun to think about that this ritual has been happening for 100+ years, with thousands going through the same "secret ritual" that you have. I mean, i see another Tri Delta on the street, its like an understanding, if that makes sense.

I think the coolest part of Tri Delta's ritual is that Sarah Ida Shaw wrote them when Tri Delta was founded. 120 years ago, its CRAZY to think about sometimes.

Secrets are what keep these organizations appealing. If people want to dedicate their lives to unveiling Fraternity and Sorority secrets, so be it. Even if they do uncover secrets, they'll never have the privilege or honor of actually know what they mean.