Q What is Freemasonry?
A Freemasonry is the U.K.'s
largest secular, fraternal and charitable organisation. It teaches
moral lessons and self-knowledge through participation in a progression
of allegorical two-part plays.
Q Why are you a secret society?
A We are not, but lodge meetings,
like those of many other groups, are private and open only to members.
The rules and aims of Freemasonry are available to the public. Meeting
places are known and in many areas are used by the local community
for activities other than Freemasonry. Members are encouraged to
speak openly about Freemasonry.
Q What are the secrets of Freemasonry?
A The secrets in Freemasonry
are the traditional modes of recognition which are not used indiscriminately,
but solely as a test of membership, e.g. when visiting a Lodge where
you are not known.
Q What happens at a lodge meeting?
A The meeting is in two parts.
As in any association there is a certain amount of administrative
procedure - minutes of last meeting, proposing and balloting for
new members, discussing and voting on financial matters, election
of officers, news and correspondence. Then there are the ceremonies
for admitting new Masons and the annual installation of the Master
and appointment of officers. The three ceremonies for admitting
a new Mason are in two parts - a slight dramatic instruction in
the principles and lessons taught in the Craft followed by a lecture
in which the candidate's various duties are spelled out.
Q Isn't ritual out of place in modern
society?
A No. The ritual is a shared
experience which binds the members together. Its use of drama, allegory
and symbolism impresses the principles and teachings more firmly
in the mind of each candidate than if they were simply passed on
to him in matter-of-fact modern language.
Q Why do grown men run around with their
trousers rolled up?
A It is true that candidates
have to roll up their trouser legs during the three ceremonies when
they are being admitted to membership. Taken out of context, this
can seem amusing, but like many other aspects of Freemasonry, it
has a symbolic meaning.
Q Why do Freemasons take oaths?
A New members make solemn promises
concerning their conduct in Lodge and in society. Each member also
promises to keep confidential the traditional methods of proving
that he is a Freemason which he would use when visiting a lodge
where he is not known. Freemasons do not swear allegiances to each
other or to Freemasonry. Freemasons promise to support others in
times of need, but only if that support does not conflict with their
duties to God, the law, their family or with their responsibilities
as a Citizen.
Q Why do your 'obligations' contain hideous
penalties?
A They no longer do. When Masonic
ritual was developing in the late 1600s and 1700s it was quite common
for legal and civil oaths to include physical penalties and Freemasonry
simply followed the practice of the times. In Freemasonry, however,
the physical penalties were always symbolic and were never carried
out. After long discussion, they were removed from the promises
in 1986.
Q Are Freemasons expected to prefer fellow
Masons at the expense of others in giving jobs, promotions, contracts
and the like?
A Absolutely not. That would
be a misuse of membership and subject to Masonic discipline. On
his entry into Freemasonry each candidate states unequivocally that
he expects no material gain from his membership. At various stages
during the three ceremonies of his admission and when he is presented
with a certificate from Grand Lodge that the admission ceremonies
have been completed, he is forcefully reminded that attempts to
gain preferment or material gain for himself or others is a misuse
of membership which will not be tolerated. The Book of Constitutions,
which every candidate receives, contains strict rules governing
abuse of membership which can result in penalties varying from temporary
suspension to expulsion.
Q Isn't it true that Freemasons only look
after each other?
A No. From its earliest days,
Freemasonry has been involved in charitable activities. Since its
inception, Freemasonry has provided support not only for widows
and orphans of Freemasons but also for many others within the community.
Whilst some Masonic charities cater specifically but not exclusively
for Masons or their dependents, others make significant grants to
non-Masonic organisations. On a local level, lodges give substantial
support to local causes.
Q Aren't you a religion or a rival to
religion?
A Emphatically not. Freemasonry
requires a belief in God and its principles are common to many of
the world's great religions. Freemasonry does not try to replace
religion or substitute for it. Every candidate is exhorted to practise
his religion and to regard its holy book as the unerring standard
of truth. Freemasonry does not instruct its members in what their
religious beliefs should be, nor does it offer sacraments. Freemasonry
deals in relations between men; religion deals in a man's relationship
with his God.
Q Why do you call it the VSL and not the
Bible?
A To the majority of Freemasons
the Volume of the Sacred Law is the Bible. There are many in Freemasonry,
however, who are not Christian and to them the Bible is not their
sacred book and they will make their promises on the book which
is regarded as sacred to their religion. The Bible will always be
present in an English lodge but as the organisation welcomes men
of many different faiths, it is called the Volume of the Sacred
Law. Thus, when the Volume of the Sacred Law is referred to in ceremonies,
to a non-Christian it will be the holy book of his religion and
to a Christian it will be the Bible.
Q Why do you call God the Great Architect?
A Freemasonry embraces all
men who believe in God. Its membership includes Christians, Jews,
Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims, Parsees and others. The use of descriptions
such as the Great Architect prevents disharmony. The Great Architect
is not a specific Masonic god or an attempt to combine all gods
into one. Thus, men of differing religions pray together without
offence being given to any of them.
Q Why don't some churches like Freemasonry?
A There are elements within
certain churches who misunderstand Freemasonry and confuse secular
rituals with religious liturgy.
Although the Methodist Conference and the General Synod of the
Anglican Church have occasionally criticised Freemasonry, in both
Churches there are many Masons and indeed others who are dismayed
that the Churches should attack Freemasonry, an organisation which
has always encouraged its members to be active in their own religion.
Q Why will Freemasonry not accept Roman
Catholics as members?
A It does. The prime qualification
for admission into Freemasonry has always been a belief in God.
How that belief is expressed is entirely up to the individual.
Four Grand Masters of English Freemasonry have been Roman Catholics.
There are many Roman Catholic Freemasons.
Q Isn't Freemasonry just another political
pressure group?
A Emphatically not. Whilst
individual Freemasons will have their own views on politics and
state policy, Freemasonry as a body will never express a view on
either. The discussion of politics at Masonic meetings has always
been prohibited.
Q Are there not Masonic groups who are
involved in politics?
A There are groups in other
countries who call themselves Freemasons and who involve themselves
in political matters. They are not recognised or countenanced by
the United Grand Lodge of England and other regular Grand Lodges
who follow the basic principles of Freemasonry and ban the discussion
of politics and religion at their meetings.
Q Is Freemasonry an international Order?
A Only in the sense that Freemasonry
exists throughout the free world. Each Grand Lodge is sovereign
and independent, and whilst following the same basic principles,
may have differing ways of passing them on. There is no international
governing body for Freemasonry.
Q What is the relationship between Freemasonry
and groups like the Orange Order, Odd Fellows and Buffaloes?
A None. There are numerous
fraternal orders and Friendly Societies whose rituals, regalia and
organisation are similar in some respects to Freemasonry's. They
have no formal or informal connections with Freemasonry.
Q Why don't you have women members?
A Traditionally, Freemasonry
under the United Grand Lodge of England has been restricted to men.
The early stonemasons were all male, and when Freemasonry was organising,
the position of women in society was different from today. If women
wish to join Freemasonry, there are two separate Grand Lodges in
England restricted to women only.
Q Why do you wear regalia?
A Wearing regalia is historical
and symbolic and, like a uniform, serves to indicate to members
where they rank in the organisation.
Q How many Freemasons are there?
A Under the United Grand Lodge
of England, there are 330,000 Freemasons, meeting in 8,644 lodges.
There are separate Grand Lodges for Ireland (which covers north
and south) and Scotland, with a combined membership of 150,000.
Worldwide, there are probably 5 million members.
Q How and when did Freemasonry start?
A It is not known. The earliest
recorded 'making' of a Freemason in England is that of Elias Ashmole
in 1646. Organised Freemasonry began with the founding of the Grand
Lodge of England on 24 June 1717, the first Grand Lodge in the world.
Ireland followed in 1725 and Scotland in 1736. All the regular Grand
Lodges in the world trace themselves back to one or more of the
Grand Lodges in the British Isles.
There are two main theories of origin. According to one, the operative
stonemasons who built the great cathedrals and castles had lodges
in which they discussed trade affairs. They had simple initiation
ceremonies and, as there were no City and Guilds certificates, dues
cards or trade union membership cards, they adopted secret signs
and words to demonstrate that they were trained masons when they
moved from site to site. In the 1600s, these operative lodges began
to accept non-operatives as "gentlemen masons". Gradually
these non-operatives took over the lodges and turned them from operative
to 'free and accepted' or 'speculative' lodges.
The other theory is that in the late 1500s and early 1600s, there
was a group which was interested in the promotion of religious and
political tolerance in an age of great intolerance when differences
of opinion on matters of religion and politics were to lead to bloody
civil war. In forming Freemasonry, they were trying to make better
men and build a better world. As the means of teaching in those
days was by allegory and symbolism, they took the idea of building
as the central allegory on which to form their system. The main
source of allegory was the Bible, the contents of which were known
to everyone even if they could not read, and the only building described
in detail in the Bible was King Solomon's Temple, which became the
basis of the ritual. The old trade guilds provided them with their
basic administration of a Master, Wardens, Treasurer and Secretary,
and the operative mason's tools provided them with a wealth of symbols
with which to illustrate the moral teachings of Freemasonry.
Q How many degrees are there in Freemasonry?
A Basic Freemasonry consists
of the three 'Craft' degrees (Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and
Master Mason) completed by the Royal Arch degree (Chapter). There
are many other Masonic degrees and Orders which are called 'additional'
because they add to the basis of the Craft and Royal Arch. They
are not basic to Freemasonry but add to it by further expounding
and illustrating the principles stated in the Craft and Royal Arch.
Some of these additional degrees are numerically superior to the
third degree but this does not affect the fact that they are additional
to and not in anyway superior to or higher than the Craft. The ranks
that these additional degrees carry have no standing with the Craft
or Royal Arch.
Q How much does it cost to be a Freemason?
A It varies from lodge to lodge
but anyone wishing to join can find a lodge to suit his pocket.
On entry, there is an initiation fee and an apron to buy. A member
pays an annual subscription to his lodge which covers his membership
and the administrative cost of running the lodge. It is usual to
have a meal after the meeting; the cost of this can be included
either in the annual subscription or paid for at the time.
It is entirely up to the individual member what he gives to Charity,
but it should always be without detriment to his other responsibilities.
Similarly, he may join as many lodges as his time and pocket can
allow as long as it does not adversely affect his family life and
responsibilities.
For further information and details of how to join, telephone or
write to:
The Grand Secretary
The United Grand Lodge of England
Freemason's Hall
60 Great Queen Street
London
WC2B 5AZ
Tel: 0207 831 9811
Fax: 0207 831 5719
This information is taken from a booklet entitled "Freemasonry:
An Approach to Life" issued by the United Grand Lodge of England,
from where printed copies may be obtained at the address above.
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