A Mason (or Freemason) is a member of a fraternity known as Masonry (or Freemasonry).
A fraternity is a group of men (just as a sorority is a group of women) who join together because:
- there are things they want to do in the world,
- there are things they want to do "inside their own mind",
- they enjoy being together with men they like and respect.
Let us expand on this under the following headings
- What's Masonry?
- What's a lodge?
- What goes on in a lodge?
- What's a degree?
- Freemasonry and Society
- Is Masonry a religion?
- If Masonry isn't a religion, why does it use ritual?
- Why does Masonry use symbols?
- So, is Masonry education?
- What does Masonry teach?
- What are the requirements for membership?
- So, what's a Mason?
- Conclusion
Freemasonry is a fraternity of men bound together by vows of morality in public and private life, who believe in a Supreme Being and the constitutional rights of members to free choice of religion and political persuasion.
Its basic tenets are :
Brotherly Love |
Relief (philanthropy) |
Truth |
| Every true Freemason will show tolerance and respect for the opinions of others and behave with kindness and understanding to his fellow creatures. | Freemasons are taught to practise charity, and to care, not only for their own, but also for the community as a whole, both by charitable giving, and by voluntary efforts and works as individuals. | Freemasons strive for truth, requiring high moral standards and aiming to achieve them in their own lives. |
Freemasons believe that these principles represent a way of achieving higher standards in life.
Masonry (or Freemasonry) is the largest and oldest secular fraternity in the world. No one knows just how old it is because the actual origins have been lost in time. Probably, it arose from the guilds of stonemasons who built the castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Possibly, they were influenced by the Knights Templar, a group of Christian warrior monks formed in 1118 to help protect pilgrims making trips to the Holy Land.
In 1717, Masonry created a formal organisation in England when the first Grand Lodge was formed. A Grand Lodge is the administrative body in charge of Masonry in some geographical area. In Australia, there is a Grand Lodge in each state. A similar situation exists in the USA with a Grand Lodge in each state and in the District of Columbia, and in Canada there is a Grand Lodge in each province. In many countries, such as England, Scotland, Ireland, New Zealand, there is one Grand Lodge for the whole country.
Local organisations of Masons are called lodges. There are lodges in most towns, and large cities usually have several. There are about
- 480 lodges of 25,000 masons in NSW & ACT,
- 1700 lodges of 80,000 in Australia,
- 10,000 lodges of 5,000,000 masons in the UK and Ireland, and
- 13,200 lodges in the United States.
The word "lodge" means both a group of Masons meeting in some place and the room or building in which they meet. Masonic buildings are also sometimes called "temples" because much of the symbolism Masonry uses to teach its lessons comes from the building of King Solomon's Temple in the Holy Land.
The term "lodge" itself comes from the structures which the stonemasons built against the sides of the cathedrals during construction. In winter, when building had to stop, they lived in these lodges and worked at carving stone and increased their knowledge through education.
This is a good place to repeat what we said earlier about why men become Masons:
Masonry does things in the world.
Masonry teaches that each person has a responsibility to make things better in the world. Most individuals won't be the ones to find a cure for cancer, or eliminate poverty, or help create world peace, but every man and woman and child can do something to help others and to make things a little better.
With projects large (usually through a group effort at the Grand Lodge level) or small, the Masons of a lodge try to help make the world a better place. The lodge gives them a way to combine with others to do even more good.
Masonry does things "inside" the individual Mason.
"Grow or die" is a great law of all nature. Most people feel a need for continued growth as individuals. Masonry lets men associate with other men of honour and integrity who believe that things like honesty, compassion, love, trust, and knowledge are important. In some ways, Masonry is a support group for men who are trying to make the right decisions. It's easier to practice these virtues when you know that those around you think they are important, too, and won't laugh at you. That's a major reason that Masons enjoy being together.
Masons enjoy each other's company.
It's good to spend time with people you can trust completely, and most Masons find that in their lodge. While much of lodge activity is spent in works of charity or in lessons in self-development, much is also spent in fellowship. Lodges have picnics, social evening events, and many events for the whole family. Simply put, a lodge is a place to spend time with friends.
The Lodge is the centre of these activities.
The members of a lodge hold regular meetings (normally around Australia monthly).
To open and close the meeting, there is a ceremony whose purpose is to remind us of the virtues by which we are supposed to live. After the opening there is the normal business matters of any organisation :
- reading of the minutes,
- dealing with correspondence and accounts;
- voting on petitions (applications of men who want to join the fraternity);
- planning for charitable functions, family events, and other lodge activities; and \
- sharing information about members (called "Brothers," as in most fraternities) who are ill or have some sort of need.
Then the philosophical or ceremonial part of the meeting is held. The ceremonial part deals with people joining or advancing in their level of membership in the fraternity -- one at which the "degrees" are performed. On occasions when no person is ready to join or advance in membership, lectures or discussions are held on moral, philosophical, or practical matters of interest and importance to the members of the lodge and the community.
After the formal meeting, it is usual for refreshments to be served to the members and any visitors who may have been admitted to the meeting. The refreshments normally take the form of food served at tables or as finger food, and may be accompanied in some lodges by beverages. This time provides the opportunity for normal social activity between those present.
But every lodge serves more than its own members. Frequently, there are meetings open to the public. Examples are Ladies' Nights, "Brother Bring a Friend Nights," public installations of officers, cornerstone laying ceremonies, and other special meetings supporting community events and dealing with topics of local interest.
Non-Masons observing the social, civic and philanthropic activity of Masons frequently comment on the close bond that exists among Masons and the obvious belief that they are their brothers' keepers. They notice that Masons are quick to assist their fellows in misfortune with encouragement, kindness and tangible assistance. The bond of faith and confidence among Masons is largely the result of the common knowledge that all, having experienced the memorable rituals, accept the high ethical standards as guides to their conduct.
This bond is difficult to describe. Perhaps, like the Tao, when looked for it cannot be seen; reached for, it cannot be grasped; listened for, it cannot be heard. And yet, it is there - undeniably present and unshakeable.
A degree is a stage or level of membership. It's also the ceremony by which a man attains that level of membership. There are three levels, called Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master Mason. As you can see, the names are taken from the craft guilds. In the Middle Ages, when a person wanted to join a craft, such as the goldsmiths or the carpenters or the stonemasons, he was first apprenticed. As an apprentice, he learned the tools and skills of the trade. When he had proved his skills, he became a "Fellow of the Craft" (today we would say "Journeyman"), and when he had exceptional ability, he was known as a Master of the Craft.
The degrees are plays in which the candidate participates. Each degree uses symbols to teach, just as plays did in the Middle Ages and as many theatrical productions do today. The Masonic degrees teach the great lessons of life
- the importance of honour and integrity,
- of being a person on whom others can rely, of being both trusting and trustworthy,
- of realising that you have a spiritual nature as well as a physical or animal nature,
- of the importance of self-control,
- of knowing how to love and be loved,
- of knowing how to keep confidential what others tell you so that they can "open up" without fear.
Freemasonry demands from its members a respect for the law of the country in which a man works and lives. Its principles do not in any way conflict with its members' duties as citizens, but should strengthen them in fulfilling their private and public responsibilities.
The use by a Freemason of their membership to promote his own or anyone else's business, professional or personal interests is condemned, and is contrary to the conditions on which he sought admission to Freemasonry.
His duty as a citizen must always prevail over any obligation to other Freemasons, and any attempt to shield a Freemason who has acted dishonourably or unlawfully is contrary to this prime duty.
The answer to that question is simple. No.
We do use ritual in meetings, and because there is always an altar or table with the Volume of the Sacred Law open if a lodge is meeting, some people have confused Masonry with a religion, but it is not. That does not mean that religion plays no part in Masonry -- it plays a very important part.
A person who wants to become a Mason must have a belief in God. Meetings open with prayer, and a Mason is taught, as one of the first lessons of Masonry, that one should pray for divine counsel and guidance before starting an important undertaking. But that does not make Masonry a "religion."
Masonry encourages every Mason to be active in the religion and church of his own choice. Masonry teaches that without religion a man is alone and lost, and that without religion, he can never reach his full potential. But Freemasonry does not tell a person which religion he should practice or how he should practice it. That is between the individual and his God. That is the function of his house of worship, not his fraternity. And Masonry is a fraternity, not a religion.
If Masonry isn't a religion, why does it use ritual?
Many of us may think of religion when we think of ritual, but ritual is used in every aspect of life. It's so much a part of us that we just don't notice it. Ritual simply means that some things are done more or less the same way each time.
Almost all business meetings of every sort call the group to order, have a reading of the minutes of the last meeting, deal with old business, then with new business. That's a ritual. Most groups use Robert's 'Rules of Order' to conduct a meeting. That's probably the best-known book of ritual in the world.
There are social rituals which tell us how to meet people (we shake hands), how to join a conversation (we wait for a pause, and then speak), how to buy tickets to a concert (we wait in line and don't push in ahead of those who were there first). There are literally hundreds of examples, and they are all rituals.
Masonry uses a ritual because it's an effective way to teach important ideas -- the values we've talked about earlier. And it reminds us where we are, just as the ritual of a business meeting reminds people where they are and what they are supposed to be doing.
Masonry's ritual is very rich because it is so old. It has developed over centuries to contain some beautiful language and ideas expressed in symbols. But there's nothing unusual in using ritual. All of us do it every day.
Masonic ritual events are often considered by Masons as having been the most moving experience of their lives. Employing the tools of the stone mason as symbols of basic moral truths, Masonic ritual dramatises a philosophy of life based on morality.
Everyone uses symbols every day, just as we do ritual. We use them because they communicate quickly. When you see a stop sign , you know what it means, even if you can't read the word "stop." The circle and line mean "don't" or "not allowed." In fact, using symbols is probably the oldest way of communication and the oldest way of teaching.
Masonry uses symbols for the same reason. Some form of the "Square and Compasses" is the most widely used and known symbol of Masonry. In one way, this symbol is a kind of trademark for the fraternity, as the "golden arches" are for McDonald's.
When you see the Square and Compasses on a building, you know that Masons meet there. And like all symbols, they have a meaning.
The Square symbolises things of the earth, and it also symbolises honour, integrity, truthfulness, and the other ways we should relate to this world and the people in it.
The Compasses symbolise things of the spirit, and the importance of a well-developed spiritual life, and also the importance of self-control -- of keeping ourselves within bounds.
The G stands for Geometry, the science which the ancients believed most revealed the glory of God and His works in the heavens, and it also stands for God, Who must be at the centre of all our thoughts and of all our efforts.
Yes. In a very real sense, education is at the centre of Masonry. We have stressed its importance for a very long time. Back in the Middle Ages, schools were held in the lodges of stonemasons. You have to know a lot to build a cathedral -- geometry, and structural engineering, and mathematics, just for a start. And that education was not very widely available.
All the formal schools and colleges trained people for careers in the church, or in law or medicine. And you had to be a member of the social upper classes to go to those schools. Stonemasons did not come from the aristocracy, and so the lodges had to teach the necessary skills and information. Freemasonry's dedication to education started there.
And it has continued. Masons started some of the first public schools in Europe, America, and in Australia. We supported legislation to make education universal. Across the world today we give millions of dollars in scholarships each year. We encourage our members to give volunteer time to their local schools, help with literacy programs, and do everything they can to help assure that each person, adult or child, has the best educational opportunities possible.
And Masonry supports continuing education and intellectual growth for its members, insisting that learning more about many things is important for anyone who wants to keep mentally alert and young.
Masonry teaches some important principles. There's nothing very surprising in the list. Masonry teaches that:
Since God is the Creator, all men and women are the children of God. Because of that, all men and women are brothers and sisters, entitled to dignity, respect for their opinions, and consideration of their feelings.
Each person must take responsibility for his/her own life and actions. Neither wealth nor poverty, education nor ignorance, health nor sickness excuses any person from doing the best he or she can do or from being the best person possible under the circumstances.
No one has the right to tell another person what he or she must think or believe. Each man and woman has an absolute right to intellectual, spiritual, economic, and political freedom. This is a right given by God, not by man. All tyranny, in every form, is illegitimate.
Each person must learn and practice self-control. Each person must make sure his spiritual nature triumphs over his animal nature. Another way to say the same thing is that :-
- Even when we are tempted to anger, we must not be violent.
- Even when we are tempted to selfishness, we must be charitable.
- Even when we want to "write someone off", we must remember that he or she is a human and entitled to our respect.
- Even when we want to give up, we must go on.
- Even when we are hated, we must return love, or, at a minimum, we must not hate back .
It isn't easy!
Faith must be in the center of our lives. We find that faith in our houses of worship, not in Freemasonry, but Masonry constantly teaches that a person's faith, whatever it may be, is central to a good life.
Each person has a responsibly to be a good citizen, obeying the law. That doesn't mean we can't try to change things, but change must take place in legal ways.
It is important to work to make this world better for all who live in it. Masonry teaches the importance of doing good, because we have a duty to all other men and women to make their lives as fulfilling as they can be.
Honour and integrity are essential to life. Life without honour and integrity is without meaning.
What are the requirements for membership?
The person who wants to join Masonry must
- be a man (it's a fraternity), sound in body and mind, who believes in God,
- be at least the minimum age required by Masonry in his state or country, and
- have a good reputation.
(Incidentally, the "sound in body" requirement -- which comes from the stonemasons of the Middle Ages -- doesn't mean that a physically challenged man cannot be a Mason; many are).
Membership is open to men of any race or religion who can fulfil this essential qualification, are of good repute, and want to grow and develop as a human being.
A Mason is a man who has decided that he likes to feel good about himself and others. He cares about the future as well as the past, and does what he can, both alone and with others, to make the future good for everyone.
Many men over many generations have answered the question, "What is a Mason?"
One of the most eloquent answers to this question was written by the Reverend Joseph Fort Newton, an internationally honoured minister of the first half of the 20th Century and Grand Chaplain, Grand Lodge of Iowa, 1911-1913.
When is a man a Mason?
When he can look out over the rivers, the hills, and the far horizon with a profound sense of his own littleness in the vast scheme of things, and yet have faith, hope, and courage -- which is the root of every virtue.
When he knows that down in his heart every man is as noble, as vile, as divine, as diabolic, and as lonely as himself, and seeks to know, to forgive, and to love his fellowman.
When he knows how to sympathise with men in their sorrows, yea, even in their sins -- knowing that each man fights a hard fight against many odds.
When he has learned how to make friends and to keep them, and above all how to keep friends with himself.
When he loves flowers, can hunt birds without a gun, and feels the thrill of an old forgotten joy when he hears the laugh of a little child.
When he can be happy and high-minded amid the meaner drudgeries of life.
When star-crowned trees and the glint of sunlight on flowing waters subdue him like the thought of one much loved and long dead.
When no voice of distress reaches his ears in vain, and no hand seeks his aid without response.
When he finds good in every faith that helps any man to lay hold of divine things and sees majestic meanings in life, whatever the name of that faith may be.
When he can look into a wayside puddle and see something beyond mud, and into the face of the most forlorn fellow mortal and see something beyond sin.
When he knows how to pray, how to love, how to hope.
When he has kept faith with himself, with his fellowman, and with his God; in his hand a sword for evil, in his heart a bit of a song -- glad to live, but not afraid to die!
Such a man has found the only real secret of Masonry, and the one which it is trying to give to all the world.
A Freemason is encouraged to do his duty first to God (by whatever name he is known) through his faith and religious practice; and then, without detriment to his family and those dependent on him, to his neighbour through charity and service.
None of these ideas is exclusively Masonic, but all should be universally acceptable. Freemasons are expected to follow them.
Thousands of books have been published on the subject of Freemasonry. The matters discussed on this website are just a few of the things about the fraternity, but they are enough to show that Freemasonry is one of the great organisations of the world and a steadying influence in a faltering civilisation.