参阅西洋秘传奥义（Western esotericism），现代“秘密宗教”在西方文化领域中的发展。

秘密宗教（Mystery religions）、神圣的奥秘（sacred mysteries）或单纯直接的名之为奥义、秘密（mysteries），为希腊罗马世界（Greco-Roman world）的宗教教派，是由一群信徒参与的隐密神圣启蒙仪式或秘仪 （initiates or mystai）。主要的特色是这的一宗派是秘密的聚会并举行着启蒙礼与宗教仪式，他们的教仪未必会向外人透露。希腊罗马古典时代最具着的秘密宗教为厄琉息斯秘仪。

See Western esotericism for modern "mystery religions" in Western culture

Mystery religions, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates (mystai). The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and the ritual practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders. The most famous mysteries of Greco-Roman antiquity were the Eleusinian Mysteries, which were of considerable antiquity and predated the Greek Dark Ages. The mystery schools flourished in Late Antiquity; Julian the Apostate in the mid 4th century is known to have been initiated into three distinct mystery schools — most notably the Mithraic Mysteries. Due to the secret nature of the school, and because the mystery religions of Late Antiquity were persecuted by the Christian Roman Empire from the 4th century, the details of these religious practices are derived from descriptions, imagery and cross-cultural studies. "Because of this element of secrecy, we are ill-informed as to the beliefs and practices of the various mystery faiths. We know that they had a general likeness to one another".