Initiating Women in Freemasonry ─ The Adoption Rite

This scholarly volume on Adoption Rite rituals and female Freemasonry examines historical issues surrounding the use of traditional ritual in the induction and promotion of women Masons and explores general issues of gender in the ancient fraternal organization. Spanning periods from the seventeenth century to the present, the volume covers specific collections of documents and ritual sets and includes numerous illustrations as well as a collection of color plates. The book will appeal to Masonic scholars and those interested in the history of ritual. Snoek is a researcher of Masonic history and the co-author of Theorizing Rituals and Women's Agency and Rituals in Mixed and Female Masonic Orders. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Dr. Jan 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. With Jens Kreinath and Michael Stausberg he published Theorizing Rituals (two volumes), Brill 2006 & 2007, and with Alexandra Heidle Women’s Agency and Rituals in Mixed and Female Masonic Orders, Brill 2008.