He has been widely recognized as a leading scholar in the fields of religion, mythology, mysticism, and the occult.
Masonic membership
Initiated: June 28, 1954
Passed: September 20, 1954
Raised: November 22, 1954
Jewel Lodge No. 374
Manly P. Hall in 1973 was recognized as a 33º Mason (the highest rank possible in the Scottish Rite), at a ceremony held at Philosophical Research Society on December 8th. No doubt this honor is due to Mr. Hall’s lifelong study of the philosophical basis of Freemasonry, writing several books on the subject, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, Masonic Orders of Fraternity, Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptian, The Secret Destiny of America, and his belief our continent was set aside for a great experiment of enlightened self-government by ancient philosophers, and that the seeds of this plan for the founding of America were planted one thousand years before the Christian era and is partly revealed in the symbolism of the Great Seal of the United States. (http://prs.org/mphbio.htm)
In 1934, Hall founded the Philosophical Research Society (PRS) in Los Angeles, California, dedicating it to an idealistic approach to the solution of human problems. The PRS claims to be non-sectarian and entirely free from educational, political, or ecclesiastical control, and the Society’s programs stress the need for the integration of philosophy, religion, and science into one system of instruction. The PRS Library, a public facility devoted to source materials in obscure fields, has many rare and scarce items now impossible to obtain elsewhere.
