What is the society of Freemasonry?

Answer 1

A Freemason is a man who is a member of the fraternity of Freemasons. The earliest Freemasons were the medieval freestone mason who built the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe. Today, the fraternity builds its edifices in the hearts of men. There are several theories about the origin of the name:

1.) Early operative Freemasons worked in freestone, a type of quarry stone.

Early Freemasons were free men, and not serfs or indentured servants. So they were free to travel about, from one country to the next.

2.) Lodges of Masons that were employed in the erection of cathedrals, monasteries or preceptories were given a franchise by the church which freed them from government control or taxation. The term franchise, in French, gave rise to the term "franc-macon."

3.) Also, Masons call each other "Brother," and in French, the term "Frere Macon," meaning "Brother Mason," gave way to the term "Freemason." It is more likely that all these origins contributed to the acceptance of the term "Freemason."

During the 17th century, the fraternity began to accept non-operative, honorary members, who learned and passed on the traditions and moral code of the fraternity for the betterment of mankind. Today, Freemasonry is an entirely speculative fraternity, having left its operative origins in the past.

There are other misconceptions about the fraternity, which you may read about. The Freemasons do not claim to have their origins among the builders of the pyramids of Egypt. This is an unsubstantiated myth. Undoubtedly, the builders of the pyramids were stonemasons, because the pyramids are built of stone. But there is no evidence that the organization of stonemasons of ancient Egypt descended down to the Freemasons of 18th-century Europe.

It is true that you must be a Freemason to join the Shriners, but this rule has been challenged in recent years, and, although the rule still stands, it can be changed in coming years.

It is a myth that all lodges descend or "derive from a dinner between four existing lodges" which met at the Goose & Gridiron Alehouse in St. Paul's Churchyard in London on June 24, 1717 (not 1715). Although a meeting was held that day, and although those four lodges did form what they called a "Grand Lodge," there are many, many lodges today that descend from the lodges of Scotland and Ireland, and do not descend from that Grand Lodge formed in London in 1717. Freemasons lodges, practicing ceremonies of initiation, for which we have written records, date back to the very late 1500s and early 1600s in Scotland, a century before the silk-stockinged, upper-class "gentleman Masons" of London gathered at the Goose & Gridiron Alehouse in London and separated themselves from the middle-class Masons across town. They had political purposes, and wanted to distance themselves from those lodges with Scottish and Irish members who might be sympathetic with the Stewart Royal family. That Grand Lodge of 1717 was derisively referred to as "the Moderns' Grand Lodge" and was surpassed in numbers of members and lodges by the early 19th century when it was virtually swallowed by the Ancients Grand Lodge, which had been formed by lodges that had never been a part of the Moderns Grand Lodge. On the North American continent, Moderns lodges had all but disappeared by the beginning of the American Revolution, and were replaced by lodges of the Ancients variety. The Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania, for example, descends solely from the Ancients Grand Lodge, and not from the Grand Lodge of 1717.

Answer 2

First "Freemasons" is a shortening of the actual name which is Free and Accepted Masons. The Free and Accepted Masons are members of a fraternal organisation that has a history going back to at least the 1640s in England and Scotland.

It is often mistakenly described (usually by non-Freemasons) as a "secret" organisation, obviously it is not a secret as otherwise its name would appear in this very article as no one (other than members) would know about it.

Some also claim that it had it's beginnings in the times that the Ancient Egyptians were building the pyramids, this is based on a "romantic" rather than factual, connection and is due to the fact that Ancient Egyptian civilization is best known for its buildings and architecture.

Serious researchers point out that the organization can only be documented back to the seventeenth century, with the Initiations of Elias Ashmole in 1646 and Sir Robert Moray in 1641.

Freemasonry has an elaborate initiation ceremony, which amongst other things equips a Freemason with the "signs, tokens and words" which are forms of recognition that prove one to be a Mason.

To join, you MUST ask a member who will then go on to be your Proposer into the Lodge. Prospective members are NOT invited to join this is actually against the rules.

Any further discussion on the subject is continued on the discussion page:

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry says

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around 5 million, with around 480,000 in England, Scotland and Ireland alone, and just under two million in the United States.[1][2] The various forms all share moral and metaphysical ideals, which include, in most cases, a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being.[

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fraternal_and_service_organizations goes on to say:

A fraternal organization, sometimes also known as a "fraternity", is an organization or club that represents the relationship between its members as akin to brotherhood. There is a great deal of overlap between the terms "friendly society" and fraternal organization. Most mystical organizations are also fraternal.

Masonic fraternity: Freemasonry is a fraternal organization of good men striving to become better men.

Answer 4

The fraternity of Freemasons originated among the stonemasons of Scotland in the late 1500s and 1600s. The name "Freemasons" stems from several sources: "Freestone masons" worked in freestone, a type of quarry stone; they were free men, and were not indentured servants; and in France, they acquired the name "franc-maçons," when given a franchise from the church to build church buildings, and so, they were free from taxation or control by local authorities. In the very late 1500s, and early 1600s, the Freemasons of Scotland developed lodges, governed by a Master and two Wardens. These lodges were separate from the local incorporations of masons that were controlled by the municipalities. These lodges operated as local chapters of a fraternal society that eventually spread to England and other European countries. They sought to teach and inculcate moral lessons based on the symbolism of their working tools, i.e. they used the square to teach that members should deal "squarely" with their fellow man, etc. The three principle tenets of Freemasonry are "Brother Love, Charity, and Truth." During the 1700s, groups of lodges formed into "grand lodges," presided over by "grand masters." The fraternity spread throughout the world during the 18th and early 19th centuries, and men like George Washington, Voltaire, Benjamin Franklin, Simon Bolivar, and Giuseppe Garibaldi were Freemasons. Today, there are over 150 grand lodges in almost every free country in the world. Freemasonry has always been outlawed, suppressed and persecuted under dictators and in totalitarian regimes.

Answer 5

Term used to denote the fraternal organization known as Masons.

Answer 6

Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from the loose organisation of medieval masons. These days the Freemasons do a generous amount of charity work.

Answer 7

What is a free mason?