If you're referring to the Second Klan (1915-1930's), it was certainly both. William Joseph Simmons Invisible Empire of the Ku Klux Klan was a religious, political, business and fraternal organization. Created during the Golden Age of Fraternal Orders, it was modeled on the multitude of existing fraternal orders like the Freemasons and the Elks, Simmons would often recruit members into the new Klan wearing the badges signifying he was a member of other organizations and Klansmen who recruited new members (Kleagles) specifically sought new members through Fraternal Orders they were already a part of. In addition to this, the Klan meeting was highly ceremonial and even had assigned room placements for each member.

Even in the KKK rule manual, the Kloran, (no, I have no clue why they would have modeled it on the Qur'an) it states firstly, "We avow the disctinction between the races of mankind...and we shall ever be true in the faithful maintenance of White Supremacy" followed almost immediately by "We appreciate the intrinsic value of a real practical fraternal relationship." Politically speaking, the Second Klan was Nativist, anti-Catholic, anti-black, anti-communist, anti-Jewish and Prohibitionist. It absolutely was more dedicated to keeping White American hegemony. The Second Klan was almost certainly more a brotherhood and social organization than the First Klan (1868-1871) who were dedicated to restoring white supremacy to the Reconstruction South, and the Third Klan (1950s-1970s) who were dedicated to preventing black progress during the Civil Rights Era.

I can only really speak confidently on the 'First Klan', which was prominent in the US from 1866 to around 1871, but I still found this question really interesting. When the Klan was first founded in Pulaski, Tennesse in 1866, it was by a number of former Confederate soldiers that were frustrated and outraged by the Republican's government hold over the South, and particularly the implications this had for African-American agency post-emancipation. So originally, Klan members were enraged racists that sought to take what they saw as natural law into their own hands, by reinstating the paternalistic system of dominance of white over black. Having lost faith in the US government (which most had fought to resist in the Civil War anyway) these people were attempting to enforce their own vision of justice by intimidating, assaulting and killing those that were insulting to their vision of white supremacy. You can read the Klan's original 'Organization and Principles' here, where they describe themselves as defenders of American values: http://www.albany.edu/history/history316/kkk.html (Not the most reliable looking site I know, but it is an exact copy of a version I found when reading Henry Steele Commager's 'Documents of American History') So to answer your question directly, original Klan members were indeed acting in what they saw as the interests of good, honest (i.e., white) American citizens by reinstating the subjugation of black people. But, the opportunity for networking and socialising was absolutely a contributing factor to the Klan's popularity and widespread prominence; Elaine Parsons' excellent article 'Midnight Rangers: Costume and Performance in the Reconstruction-Era Ku Klux Klan' explains how the more expressive and performance based aspects of the Klan's terroristic acts lent their members an exclusive identity and a certain level of prestige, particularly in Southern communities that had not yet reconciled themselves to the idea of independent black agency, and certainly not to the idea of racial equality. To conclude, there's no doubt that a significant number of Klan members enjoyed having a social outlet for the anger that had been created by Northern 'Yankee' government - but the fact also remains that they were vociferous racists hell bent on holding on to the system that had been the norm in the South for generations, and that this drove the Klan's growth with far more momentum than the idea that they enjoyed being part of a club.

I can't answer your question, but the Klan had several waves. can you be more specific for those that can?