Possible influences of Bree's religion
Throughout the series, Bree's religion has been the focus of much speculation. The Creators have identified Bree's religion, The Order of Denderah, as something completely fictional. Over the course of the series, fans have speculated about the influences that real-world cults, secret societies and religions have had on the creation of the Order.
Contents
Cults
Secret Societies
Illuminati
The Illuminati generally refers to a shadowy conspiratorial organization which is reputed to secretly control world affairs. The Illuminati are believed by some conspiracy theorists to be an organization attempting to take over the world with a single, fascist government. The Illuminati supposedly derives from very old secret societies.
However, there were historical Illuminati. The Illuminati, also called the Bavarian Illuminati, was a freemasonic group started in Germany by Adam Weishaupt. The organization was very secretive and, due to paranoia by outsiders, was accused of many conspiracies due to the fact that no one knew anything about the inner workings of the order. However, among the intellectual elite there were Illuminati sympathizers who claimed that Weishaupt's organization existed to spread morality to the common man. One such sympathizer was none other than the president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, who said of Weishaupt:
- "As Wishaupt lived under the tyranny of a despot & priests, he knew that caution was necessary even in spreading information, & the principles of pure morality. He proposed therefore to lead the Free masons to adopt this object & to make the objects of their institution the diffusion of science & virtue. He proposed to initiate new members into his body by gradations proportioned to his fears of the thunderbolts of tyranny.
- This has given an air of mystery to his views, was the foundation of his banishment, the subversion of the masonic order, & is the colour for the ravings against him of Robinson, Barruel & Morse, whose real fears are that the craft would be endangered by the spreading of information, reason, & natural morality among men."
Some fans believe The Order of Denderah has similar characteristics to the Illuminati. The Order of Denderah, according to Gemma, is an ancient secret society that traces its roots back to ancient Egyptian times. Like the Illuminati rumors, the Order of Denderah has members placed in many positions of influence. Evidence of this was given by Bree when she stated that politicians and police officers often met at her house with her parents over Order business. Aleister Crowley is sometimes mentioned as having been involved with Illuminati activities.
Freemasons
Freemasonry is a fraternal organization whose membership is held together by shared moral and metaphysical ideals and—in most of its branches—by a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being". Freemasonry does not attempt to make all members one religion, but rather attempts to make all men good religious people, whatever their religion may be.
Freemasonry works upon a degree system. Through successive degrees, a person is lead from a state of total cluelessness through initiations which operate as plays, illustrating morals and aspects of character which are considered desirable in many of the world's major religions as well as society in general. After the initiation, the individual is presented with study material by which he can identify the symbolism of the initiation and decide for himself what life lessons are communicated to him through the ritual.
Freemasonry has come up in discussion of the lonelygirl15 series because it was mentioned that Bree's religion is not a religion at all, but an order. Many fraternal orders, occult or otherwise, actually borrow in some way from Freemasonry since it is the oldest surviving fraternal order in the world. The list of organizations that borrow from Freemasonry include the Ordo Templi Orientis, the Golden Dawn, and the A.: A.:, which were all organizations that Aleister Crowley had membership in. They also include orders such as the Knights Columbus which was actually put forth as an alternative to Freemasonry by the Catholic Church. So, there is a chance that the order that Bree's family is involved with somewhat resembles the structure of Freemasonry.
