History Main / MysteryCult

Popular in ancient Greece and Rome, Mystery Cults are ultra-exclusive "clubs" that require total secrecy on the part of participants and may tell new members little or nothing about their ethos before they join, and often long after. Generally speaking only long-time members will know what the cult is actually about, and even then the "Inner Circle" will be the only ones who know everything.

In this respect they are the opposite of religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, which are more evangelistic and make materials relating to their beliefs freely available and are happy to explain what they believe. Indeed, because such religions view their beliefs as having the potential to transform someone's life and save them, they typically consider it sinful to ''not'' be willing to share it.

* The best-known modern example would be the UsefulNotes/Freemasons, a loose fraternal association of secret societies which conduct their own private rituals. One difference is that the Freemasons aren't required to keep the simple fact of their membership secret, and many members display Masonic emblems on their jewelry, houses, cars, etc. However, they do tend to be more low-key about it than some of their auxiliary bodies. One of these is the "Shriners", whose members can frequently be seen wearing fezzes with the name of their "temple" (local organization) emblazoned on it in sequins and driving miniature cars around in parades. The Freemasons say that they aren't hiding anything profound, but maintain their secrecy simply because [[IGaveMyWord they promised to do so]]. Whether that's actually the case, only Freemasons themselves know. While in the past they kept a very valuable secret (the techniques of stone masonry; the predecessors of the Freemasons were European trade guilds of stonemasons), whether they also kept ''religious'' secrets from non-members and new initiates remains, well, a mystery.

* In ''Literature/UnlimitedFafnir'', a dragon cult exists, which has been brainwashing Tear and causing her to believe she's really a dragon, not a human. Having horns on her head only further validates it as far as she knows. The main characters attempt to un-brainwash her, by having her live as a human. Unfortunately the cult leader, also a human, has instead chosen to live the life of a "dragon", hurting and killing people using their powers, much like the real dragons that showed up 25 years before the current events in the show.

* In ''ComicBook/HackSlash'', the Society of the Black Lamp began as a mystery cult founded by Akakios of Panopolis--the world's first Slasher--in ancient Greece.
* Creator/AlanMoore's ''ComicBook/{{Providence}}'' reimagines Lovecraft's Church of Starry Wisdom as a mystery cult called the Order of Stella Sapiente. Boggs and Wheatley complain about the main leaders not listening to all the suggestions of its members because the former two are despised by the more snobby figures in charge. The leaders which includes Ephraim Wade have their own plans with the Booke of the Wisdom of the Star and ensure that the knowledge is kept out of reach of the Wheatleys and others.

* {{Implied|Trope}} in ''Film/TheFactsInTheCaseOfMisterHollow,'' an unseen investigator researches "paganism" revolving around a secret Greco-Roman religion, with its practitioners having spread as far as northern Ontario, where they're suspected in the disappearances of over one-hundred children.

* In ''Literature/{{Elantris}}'', the aptly-named Mysteries is an enigmatic cult with a very unpleasant (and largely deserved) reputation. Turns out that it's a corrupted knockoff of the peaceful Jesker religion, but where Jesker is dedicated to living in harmony with the Dor, the Mysteries is just about hacking into it to gain supernatural powers. [[spoiler: King Iadon of Arelon is a follower of the Mysteries, and when he's caught in the middle of sacrificing a servant as part of a ritual, his already-shaky reign outright collapses]].
* Apuleius's ''Literature/TheGoldenAss'' ends with the main character restored to human form by the goddess Isis and entering her cult. He undergoes a number of initiations into deeper mysteries, each costing more money than the last.

* ''Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant'' features so many that they might as well be the entire premise....and in fact may be. Villains in Literature/SkulduggeryPleasant books are almost invariably part of some evil cult bent on destroying the world or killing everyone in it. It's getting so it feels like that is the only possible motivation, out side of maybe revenge, which exists in this series.
* In Creator/RudyardKipling's ''Literature/PuckOfPooksHill'', the Cult of Mithras is depicted as analogous to the Freemasons, to whom Kipling belonged.
* In the universe of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', the Free City of Norvos is [[TheTheocracy ruled by]] the Bearded Priests, a religion so secretive that no one outside the Priests themselves knows anything about its practices. Not even the ''name'' of the god they worship.

* Monotheism in ''Series/{{Caprica}}'' is this by necessity: monotheism is illegal on Caprica.
* ''The Silence'' in ''Series/DoctorWho'' is portrayed as a Mystery Religion dedicated to stopping the asking of a Question - though really it is more of a SinglePreceptReligion than anyting.
** Much later it's revealed to be a RenegadeSplinterFaction of the Papal Mainframe, a far-future Catholicish-Anglicanish mainstream religion.

* {{UsefulNotes/Mormonism}}'s relationship with this has evolved over time. In addition to churches (used for weekly meetings), Mormons also have temples (used for performing special rituals). One part of the temple ritual is that members vow not to reveal temple secrets. Traditionally, this meant that Mormons refrained from talking about what happened in the temple ''at all''. Eventually the church realized that NothingIsScarier; without information about what ''actually happens'' in the temple, people -- both non-Mormons and young Mormons who hadn't yet been initiated -- were imaging the worst and freaking themselves out. The church noticed that the ExactWords of the vow ''actually'' only stipulated secrecy around a ''couple'' details, not the ''entire'' ritual, so the church proceeded to publish a fair amount of information about the temple for a broad audience. Since across-the-board secrecy was the custom for so long, there's been some tension in Mormon communities as they adjust to the new openness. The phrase "sacred not secret" is commonly used, although people differ in their interpretations of it.

* ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedOdyssey'' features the Cult of Kosmos as the main antagonists of the game. Wearing masks to conceal their identities, and plotting the takeover of the entire Greek world during the [[UsefulNotes/ThePeloponnesianWar Peloponnesian War]] by using an ancient Isu artifact and the PC's sibling as a brainwashed weapon.
* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'': The Healing Church is one. People outside the church generally only know that they worship Old Blood and practice Blood Ministration. Lower levels of the church know that their purpose is experimenting with the Old Blood, and the inner circle, known as the Choir, know that they're an offshoot of Byrgenwerth College dedicated to making use of the Old Blood to ascend themselves to Great One status, and they keep the existence of the Great Ones and all related things hidden from the general populace.
* The cult the player starts in ''VideoGame/CultistSimulator'' qualifies, as worship of the Hours is illegal.
* The Triune from ''VideoGame/{{Diablo}}'' worked a lot like this. New initiates were led to believe that they worshiped benevolent Spirits of Determination, Love and Creation, before gradually being initiated into the true teachings of the Triune and the true evil of the Prime Evils who the Spirits actually were.
* Olivia Pierce's demon cult in ''VideoGame/Doom2016'' works a lot like this. There are multiple tiers of being an "Advocate" or employee of the UAC. The higher tier you are, the more involved you are not only in the inner workings of the corporation, but also in the cult that Pierce has gathered within.

** It also turns out that the ThievesGuild of Skyrim also hides a mystery cult that worships Nocturnal and acts as guardians of her temple in exchange for good luck. Most of the thieves guild does not know this. Those who have been initiated into serving Nocturnal are known as Nightingales.
* Some religions player can create in ''VideoGame/DominionOfDarkness'' like Cabal of the Undomitable Knowledge or Cult of Pleasure Seekers - other like Community of the Humble are more mainstream.
* The Morninglight of ''VideoGame/TheSecretWorld''; already distinctly reminiscent of Scientology, the cult maintains a level of uplifting-but-vague ideology that serves to hide their true motives and methods from outsiders. As such, initiates have no idea what they've gotten themselves into, and little chance to resist once the MindRape starts. For good measure, any defectors are labelled "Obstructive Persons" and quietly eliminated.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': The League of Robots -- a secret society of well-to-do wealthy robots (that somehow ends up having Bender as a member), that ostensibly exists to mastermind the robot dream of [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters killing all humans]], but in actuality turns out to be more like a stagnant gentleman's social club.

* The best-known modern example would be [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry the Freemasons]], a loose fraternal association of secret societies which conduct their own private rituals. One difference is that the Freemasons aren't required to keep the simple fact of their membership secret, and many members display Masonic emblems on their jewelry, houses, cars, etc. However, they do tend to be more low-key about it than some of their auxiliary bodies. One of these is the "Shriners", whose members can frequently be seen wearing fezzes with the name of their "temple" (local organization) emblazoned on it in sequins and driving miniature cars around in parades. The Freemasons say that they aren't hiding anything profound, but maintain their secrecy simply because [[IGaveMyWord they promised to do so]]. Whether that's actually the case, only Freemasons themselves know. While in the past they kept a very valuable secret (the techniques of stone masonry; the predecessors of the Freemasons were European trade guilds of stonemasons), whether they also kept ''religious'' secrets from non-members and new initiates remains, well, a mystery.

* The cult the player starts in ''VideoGame/CultistSimulator'' qualifies.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'': The Secret Societies play with this trope to various degrees, with the Illuminati being the textbook example. Members know almost nothing about the group, and typically their only contact are random visits in the middle of the night by a single masked stranger delivering inexplicable orders. This being ''Paranoia'', it is entirely possible that the inner circle of any given society is just as commpletely clueless as the new recruits...

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': The League of Robots -- a secret society of well-to-do wealthy robots (that somehow ends up having Bender as a member), that ostensibly exists to mastermind the robot dream of killing all humans, but in actuality turns out to be more like a stagnant gentleman's social club.

** [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraic_mysteries The Mithraic Mysteries]] was a cult dating to about the first-fourth centuries. Because of their [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mysterious nature]] we know almost nothing about them beyond what we can guess from statues, reliefs, and the like. We're pretty sure that their god was born from a rock as a fully-formed adult, but other than that it gets pretty vague. A popular myth rose up about hundred years ago in connection with the cult which says that Christianity was based on it (it's highly unlikely, as Christianity seems to have started first, while the little which can be gleaned shows scant beliefs in common). One theory is that the religion was a response to the discovery of Axial Precession, the phenomenon that how long it takes for the positions of the stars in the sky to travel around the sun is not quite the same as a year, such that the positions of the constellations on the solstices change a little bit each year, which would have been a big surprise to people at the time and would have had some big religious implications.

Popular in ancient Greece and Rome, Mystery Cults are ultra-exclusive "clubs" that require total secrecy on the part of participants and may tell new members little or nothing about their ethos before they join, and often long after. Generally speaking only long-time members will know what the cult is actually about, and even then the "Inner Circle" will be the only ones who know everything. In this respect they are the opposite of some religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, which are more evangelistic and make materials relating to their beliefs freely available and are happy to explain what they believe (indeed, because such religions view it as a matter of salvation and damnation, they typically consider it sinful to ''not'' be as upfront about it as possible).

* ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'': Cults dedicated to demigods tend to operate this way. While the faiths of true deities are widespread and operate in the open, those who revere [[CelestialParagonsAndArchangels empyreal lords]], DemonLordAndArchdevils, the Eldest of the fey, the Great Old Ones and similar beings instead gather in secretive groups, practicing their rites in private locations and keeping the mysteries of their faiths hidden from outsiders.

The word "cult" is an example of HaveAGayOldTime. In modern English, "cult" is a term used to describe groups perceived as being deviant, fringe, or illegitimate. In an ancient context, however, "cult" refers to the Latin word ''cultus'' meaning care, protection, nurture (as seen in the English word "cultivate") and metaphorically, worship. Thus, the "Cult of Apollo" just means the veneration of the god Apollo. When the details of that veneration are kept secret, it's a "mystery cult".

* ''TabletopGame/WarhammerFantasy'': Both humans and elves are prone to forming these, with the Empire having multiple ones in each major city. Many turn out to be Chaos cults of one kind or another (and half of the rest usually belong to some other forbidden religion, like worship of Khaine or a Skaven spy operation), but some of them are genuinely just esoteric cults devoted to unusual aspects or worship of legitimate deities. Practically all cults to the TricksterGod Ranald are mystery cults, despite worship of Ranald not being forbidden or harmful in any way.

* Creator/NgaioMarsh's ''Death In Ectasy'' features a cult in the mid 1930s. The murder victim is poisoned in the special beverage she drinks during a ritual. Naturally, the investigation is hampered a bit by the secrecy of the cult members.

To an ingroup, secrecy can feel scared, respectful, and powerful. To an outgroup, though, secrecy often feels sketchy. What do these people have to hide?

* Some religions player can create in ''VideoGame/DominionOfDarkness''like Cabal of the Undomitable Knowledge or Cult of Pleasure Seekers - other like Community of the Humble are more mainstream.

* {{UsefulNotes/Mormonism}}'s relationship with this has evolved over time. In addition to churches (used for weekly meetings), Mormons also have temples (used more sparingly). Mormon temples are for performing special rituals, and one part of the ritual is that members vow not to reveal temple secrets. Traditionally, this meant that Mormons refrained from talking about what happened in the temple ''at all''. Eventually the church realized that NothingIsScarier; without information about what ''actually happens'' in the temple, people -- both non-Mormons and young Mormons who hadn't yet been initiated -- were imaging the worst and freaking themselves out. The church noticed that the ExactWords of the vow ''actually'' only stipulated secrecy around a ''couple'' details, not the ''entire'' ritual, so the church proceeded to publish a fair amount of information about the temple for a broad audience. Since across-the-board secrecy was the custom for so long, there's been some tension in Mormon communities as they adjust to the new openness. The phrase "sacred not secret" is commonly used, although people differ in their interpretations of it.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pompeiifresco.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:A fresco of the rite of the goddess Isis found in Herculaneum]]

The word "cult" is an example of HaveAGayOldTime. In modern English, "cult" is a pejorative term people use to accuse groups they don't like of being deviant, fringe, or illegitimate. In an ancient context, however, "cult" refers to the Latin word ''cultus'' meaning care, protection, nurture (as seen in the English word "cultivate") and metaphorically, worship. Thus, the "Cult of Apollo" just means the veneration of the god Apollo. When the details of that veneration are kept secret, it's a "mystery cult".

The word "cult" is an example of HaveAGayOldTime. In modern English, "cult" is a term people use to accuse groups they don't like of being deviant, fringe, or illegitimate. In an ancient context, however, "cult" refers to the Latin word ''cultus'' meaning protected or nurtured (as seen in the English word "cultivate") and metaphorically, worshipped or cherished. Thus, the "Cult of Apollo" just means the veneration of the god Apollo. When the details of that veneration are kept secrecy, it's a "mystery cult". The formal term for an initiate of a mystery cult is ''mystes'' (plural ''mystae'').

In fiction, this combination of secrecy being seen as sketchy and the misunderstanding of the term "cult" often leads in to a really obvious ReligionOfEvil. The PathOfInspiration is a particular type of evil mystery cult which employs trappings of a benevolent religion to disguise itself. Compare and contrast AncientConspiracy. See also SecretCircleOfSecrets. A joke version is often a BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats.

The word "cult" in this context is an example of HaveAGayOldTime. In modern English, "cult" is a term people use to accuse groups they don't like of being deviant, fringe, or illegitimate. In an ancient context, however, "cult" refers to the Latin word ''cultus'' meaning protected or nurtured (as seen in the English word "cultivate") and metaphorically, worshipped or cherished. Thus, the "Cult of Apollo" just means the veneration of the god Apollo. When the details of that veneration are kept secrecy, it's a "mystery cult". The formal term for an initiate of a mystery cult is ''mystes'' (plural ''mystae'').

The word "cult" in this context is an example of HaveAGayOldTime. In modern English, "cult" is a term people use to accuse groups they don't like of being deviant, fringe, or illegitimate. In an ancient context, however, "cult" refers to the Latin word ''cultus'' meaning worship, reverence, or cherishing (as seen in the English word "cultivate"). Thus, the "Cult of Apollo" just means the veneration of the god Apollo. When the details of that veneration are kept secrecy, it's a "mystery cult". The formal term for an initiate of a mystery cult is "mystes" (plural "mystae").

In fiction, this is often a lead in to a really obvious ReligionOfEvil. The PathOfInspiration is a particular type of evil mystery cult which employs trappings of a benevolent religion to disguise itself. Compare and contrast AncientConspiracy. See also SecretCircleOfSecrets. A joke version is often a BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats.

Incidentally, the formal term for an initiate of a mystery cult is "mystes" (plural "mystae").

As a general rule initiates don't have a clue what they have gotten themselves into and the inner circle won't be keen on telling. This is often a lead in to a really obvious ReligionOfEvil. The PathOfInspiration is a particular type of evil mystery cult which employs trappings of a benevolent religion to disguise itself. Compare and contrast AncientConspiracy. See also SecretCircleOfSecrets. A joke version is often a BrotherhoodOfFunnyHats.

* {{UsefulNotes/Mormonism}}'s relationship with this has evolved over time. In addition to churches (used for weekly meetings), Mormons also have temples (used more sparingly). Mormon temples are for performing special rituals, and one part of the ritual is that members vow not to reveal temple secrets. Traditionally, this meant that Mormons refrained from talking about what happened in the temple ''at all''. Eventually the church realized that NothingIsScarier; without information about what ''actually happens'' in the temple, people -- both non-Mormons and young Mormons who hadn't yet been initiated -- were imaging the worst and freaking themselves out. To an ingroup, secrecy feels scared, but to the outgroup, secrecy feels sketchy. The church noticed that the ExactWords of the vow ''actually'' only stipulated secrecy around a ''couple'' details, not the ''entire'' ritual, so the church proceeded to publish a fair amount of information about the temple for a broad audience. Since across-the-board secrecy was the custom for so long, there's been some tension in Mormon communities as they adjust to the new openness. The phrase "sacred not secret" is commonly used, although people differ in their interpretations of it.

* {{UsefulNotes/Mormonism}}'s relationship with this has evolved over time. To an ingroup, secrecy feels scared, but to the outgroup, secrecy feels sketchy. In addition to churches (used for weekly meetings), Mormons also have temples (used more sparingly). Mormon temples are for performing special rituals, and one part of the ritual is that members vow not to reveal temple secrets. Traditionally, this meant that Mormons refrained from talking about what happened in the temple ''at all''. Eventually the church realized that NothingIsScarier; without information about what ''actually happens'' in the temple, people -- both non-Mormons and young Mormons who hadn't yet been initiated -- were imaging the worst and freaking themselves out. The church noticed that the ExactWords of the vow ''actually'' only stipulated secrecy around a ''couple'' details, not the ''entire'' ritual, so the church proceeded to publish a fair amount of information about the temple for a broad audience. Since across-the-board secrecy was the custom for so long, there's been some tension in Mormon communities as they adjust to the new openness. The phrase "sacred not secret" is commonly used, although people differ in their interpretations of it.

* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithraic_mysteries The Mithraic Mysteries]] was a cult dating to about the first-fourth centuries. Because of their [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin mysterious nature]] we know almost nothing about them beyond what we can guess from statues, reliefs, and the like. We're pretty sure that their god was born from a rock as a fully-formed adult, but other than that it gets pretty vague. A popular myth rose up about hundred years ago in connection with the cult which says that Christianity was based on it (it's highly unlikely, as Christianity seems to have started first, while the little which can be gleaned shows scant beliefs in common). One theory is that the religion was a response to the discovery of Axial Precession, the phenomenon that how long it takes for the positions of the stars in the sky to travel around the sun is not quite the same as a year, such that the positions of the constellations on the solstices change a little bit each year, which would have been a big surprise to people at the time and would have had some big religious implications.
* The best known example were the Eleusinian Mysteries, which is believed to have been a Demeter cult that had the story of Persephone at its center, as an explanation for the passing of seasons and possibly a cyclic nature of life. There are also records of a cult of Isis in Ancient Greece.
* The Orphic Mysteries, another ancient Greek mystery cult with its own variation on the canon of Myth/ClassicalMythology, that focused primarily on chthonic (underworld) figures, named after Orpheus, the legendary bard who entered the Underworld to retrieve his wife. Its central deity seems to have been Dionysus-- specifically, the god Zagreus who was dismembered, eaten, and reborn as Dionysus (or something-their relationship is hard to pin down). They also apparently taught {{reincarnation}}.

* There is a serious scholarly debate about whether the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_of_the_Mysteries Villa of the Mysteries]] in Pompeii shows initiation into a Dionysian cult, or an allegory for marriage/a rite of passage. The rest of us just look at the pretty pictures. If the art is of an initiation, the process involves being whipped by a winged woman in thigh-high boots, which was probably some sort of symbolic punishment or purification.
* Scientology ranks its members according to their level of spiritual enlightenment, starting with Clear and then progressing through various "Operating Thetan" or "OT" levels. As members progress up the ranks (which--and even the Church does not deny this--usually costs money), they are said to be capable of handling more advanced Scientology teachings. The most famous of these advanced teachings is the Xenu story that leaked onto the Internet and has been parodied in various media. That's only OTIII; the later ones start to get weirder and increasingly esoteric.

* In ''LightNovel/UnlimitedFafnir'', a dragon cult exists, which has been brainwashing Tear and causing her to believe she's really a dragon, not a human. Having horns on her head only further validates it as far as she knows. The main characters attempt to un-brainwash her, by having her live as a human. Unfortunately the cult leader, also a human, has instead chosen to live the life of a "dragon", hurting and killing people using their powers, much like the real dragons that showed up 25 years before the current events in the show.

Popular in ancient Greece and Rome, Mystery Cults are ultra-exclusive "clubs" that require total secrecy on the part of participants and may tell new members little or nothing about their ethos before they join, and often long after. Generally speaking only long-time members will know what the cult is actually about, and even then the "Inner Circle" will be the only ones who know everything. In this respect they are the opposite of some religions such as Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism, which are more evangelistic and make materials relating to their beliefs freely available and are happy to explain what they believe.