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Freemasonry teachings and practices of the secret fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Many people have heard of or are familiar with the order of Mason. Their formal name is the Free and Accepted Mason or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons. Although the names differ slightly the concept on which they are based remains rigid as it has for numerous years.

The oldest Lodge in existence is the Grand Lodge of England. They have their own set of bylaws instituted as far back as 1723. These laws are based on loyalty to the Government, and acceptance of various religious beliefs. Although this sounds basic of what most types of organizations or club would stand on, it goes beyond that. To begin with, they are the most secretive organization in the world. This high standard of secrecy as led some countries to ban the formation of the Freemasonry, or opening of a lodge.

Interestingly enough there is not one main leader. Each Grand Lodge has its only Grand Master. One would think without one person being in control that each Lodge would be a stand-alone unit forming their own concepts and way of doing things. On the contrary, these Lodges are very much like a franchise. Where each and every one has a code of rules and ethics to follow and apparently they do.

Although highly secretive about details regarding their organization they are known to conduct ritual, which includes the symbolic tools of the historic masons who built many of the old buildings such as castles and cathedrals dating as far back and the 1700.s. Part of these rituals, include the historical concepts of the building of King Solomon?s Temple.

All Mason members must believe in a supreme being. The Lodges have their own religious book albeit no reference to it being the Holy Bible, as we know it. It would seem the holy book they refer to is based on the religious beliefs of that particular Lodge?s members. This raises an interesting question. Does this mean that one Lodge may be comprised of all Catholics, while another is composed of the Jewish religion?

As we have mentioned that, this fraternity is a very organized body. There are degrees within the Freemasonry. To begin with, the lower level or basic unit is called the Blue lodge. This is found within the Masonic Temple. There are three degrees based on the mason?s level of training literally. They are the blue degrees and are as follows?

Level 1: First Degree -Entered apprentice

Level 2: Second Degree-Fellow Craft

Level three: Third Degree - Master Mason

You can see how these marry up with the three levels of the historic Masons being the apprentice, journeyman and the master. It?s very seldom that a regular Mason would advance beyond a Master Mason. That doesn?t mean he still cannot advance however.

The Master Mason if he so chooses to do so can participate in over 100 rites all-different in nature that can lead to in excess of a 1,000 higher degrees. Now the various rites can get somewhat complex as they differ according to Country. The following is a condensed summary of some of the more prominent orders.

Scottish Rite: 30 higher degrees are available to The Master. Starting at the fourth degree, which is Secret Master up to the Sovereign Grand Inspector General, which is the 33rd degree.

York Rite: 10 higher degrees available. Starting at Mark Master up to Knight?s Templar. This would be equal to the Sovereign Grand Inspector Master.

Prince Hall Grand Lodge The majority of members in this group are the African-Americans.

Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm. Known to be the fun group of the fraternity for the Blue Lodge Mason.

Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine They were formed in’72 to be a social order. They main purpose is to support the children?s Hospitals.

Order of the The Eastern Star Membership only open to Master Masons and their respective female relatives.

De Molay For boys only

Jobs Daughter or Rainbow Both for girls only

Over the years many Historic figures have been linked to the order of Masons such as Benjamin Franklin - Philadelphia order John Hancock & Paul revere - St Andrew?s Lodge Noston George Washington.

In all there have been about- Presidents publicly known to have been Masons, as well as numerous members of congress. The Mason Lodges are not welcome in all countries though or approved by all religions. The Roman Catholics are against their followers becoming members. The Lodges that were once found in Italy, Austria and German were considered to be offshoots of fascism and Nazism and were eradicated. No Lodges are in to be found in China.

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There has been much speculation as to what takes place at the Freemasons meetings. They are regarded as a highly secretive organization and what knowledge is known about them seems to be conflicting depending on where it?s coming from.

There has been quite a bit of material floating around concerning what a degree is when it comes to the Masons. They use this terminology for the level of standing one is at. It is portrayed by means of a ceremony when an individual member reaches a certain level or ?degree? as they call it. There are three degrees, which are the Entered Apprentice, Fellow craft and finally the Master Mason. These are not names that were just made up they are actually the names of the individual craft guilds found within the craft of Masonry.

Much as we do today with having apprenticeships in some of the trades, they did likewise in the old days. As the apprentice became adept at learning the trade he then moved up as fellow of the craft (journeyman) then once he had learned all there was to know he became a Master Mason. Hence, the purpose of the degrees in today?s Freemasons.

In order to get their point across the Mason conduct plays or rituals as they are called. The ritual includes the participation of the individual graduating to the next level. As a teaching aid, they will use tools of the trade as symbols.

It is said that the lessons taught in these rituals pertain to life itself and its integrity. It is to display trust and the spiritual nature that every man has within himself. It promotes the values and importance of self-control and the aspects of love. It values secrecy as confidence.

This takes us to the issue of the Freemasons being accused of being a secretive organization. Some say that Masons don?t hide from being one, yet others will say that you may have relatives that are Masons and you don?t really know it. Their main symbol is the Square and compasses, which depicts the tools of the trade. You will see these displayed on rings, and tie tacks for example. Therefore, for this reason they class this as openness. It is unclear however, at what degree one must be at in order to be given this priviledge.

They don?t hide their meeting places as they are most often beautiful Lodges but there is speculation that there is a secret knock in order to gain entry.

The reason for this secret knock according to their explanation is to keep non-members out. This way assistance isn?t given out to the wrong persons. It?s unclear though what the meaning of assistance is.

Then there is the secrecy that arises from not being able to put certain aspects into words. For example the changes that apparently take place in a member as they grow in the brotherhood of the organization. Most anyone will admit that the Freemasons fraternity is definitely well known. There is no secret about that. What the secrecy centers around is what takes place within the walls of the Freemasons temples?

Freemasonry is a structured organization that has been around since at least the 1700?s. They claim to be a Fraternity dedicated to the masonry trade of years ago. There are many Lodges all around the world. These lodges go under a variety of names, but they all have the basics in common.

They explain themselves as being comprised of a membership of men only emphasizing moral and spiritual values. Members are taught meanings to these values through what they call rituals. These rituals are somewhat like play acting but utilizing the stonemason?s customs and tools of year ago.

They believe in using allegory as a teaching aid. Allegory is a method used to explain things that are difficult to put into words. It is a way of using everyday terminology to explain a spiritual meaning. To become a member of the Freemasonry you do not have to be a tradesperson. You do have to believe in a ?supreme being?. They indicate a prospective member can be of any race or religion as long as they believe in a ?supreme being?. In addition, they must have a good reputation. It is claimed that the Freemasonry will not allow religion to be discussed at their meetings and being as they claim it is non-political means politics may not be discussed either.

It would appear that the concept of the Freemasons is to be able to live a higher quality of life that what many would consider the norm. Their whole foundation according to them is based on three major principles.

1. They are expected to respect others in true brotherly love. They must portray a tolerance for other people?s opinions. (Almost a live and let live concept)

2. Caring for those that have less or are in need is a priority to the Freemasons. They are very dedicated to their community and feel it is their responsibility to serve them by way of charity events for example.

3. They believe in living by example. By striving for the truth and maintaining high moral standards. As we pointed out charity is of crucial importance to the Freemasons. They believe they have a responsibility to looking after children that have been abandoned, individuals who are ill, and the seniors. They work hard to be able to donate large sums of money in support of local charities as well as national. The Freemasons society puts several expectations on their membership such as?

(a) All members must adhere and respect the laws of the country they reside in.

(b) Being a member of the Freemasons does not affect the private lives of its members in regards to the social expectations as citizens. It is believed that being a Freemason means to have those expectations strengthened.

Freemasons are strictly forbidden to use any influence they may have as a Freemason for personal gain.

d) His citizen duties must always take priority over any type of relations with fellow members. They are not allowed to protect fellow members who have not acted according to the foundations practices or rules.

There has been much speculation of the secrecy of the Freemasons. They themselves deny any type of secrecy. They state that all members are free to acknowledge themselves as members of the Freemasonry. All of the constitutions and rules are open to the public. It does however regard its internal affairs for members only.

Over the years there have been many independent Grand Lodges surfacing. According to the United Grand Lodge of England, some Lodges do not meet the true standards of the Freemasons. Therefore, they are not recognized by the Leaders. It would seem that some of these lodges do not require a belief in a ?Supreme being? and they can discuss Politics. These are two areas that go against what the Freemasons stand for. According to the Freemason, members must put God first (although members can use whatever they perceive him as being. Then he is to serve his community but not at the expense of his family.

Freemasonry is by far not a new organization or religious group. Its been around for many many years although having slight variation in names according to the country and state they are related to. It’s an organization that has always had a mysticism attached to it as the participants do not openly discuss the intricate workings of their organization.

They started off as a simple group of Masons who were responsible for the spectacular building of the old abbeys and castles that were famous for their grandeur during the 17th century. They formed their own guilds and called themselves Operative Masons which was fitting being as to the type of work them were in. Then there was a reduction in the building of cathedrals which played a large part in their work. This led the Operative Masons to open their doors for membership for non Masons. They were given the name of Speculative or Accepted Masons. The groups became mostly made of the Accepted Mason and their groups were officially known as Lodges. There were several groups or lLdges and in 1717 there were four of these groups that held regular meetings in London England. They amalgamated and formed the first Grand Lodge which was sphere headed by one Grandmaster. This was the beginning of the Freemasonry as it stands today. Not only has this organization withstood the passing of time they have grown where they now boast of having around 150 of these Grand Lodges throughout the world. Their total membership is in excess of four million Masons.

Their organization is built on the concept of all men are brothers and come under the rule of a Supreme Being, although they do not promote themselves as a religious group. They serve no one denomination but expect their members to serve the God of their choice according to their personal beliefs. Although there are Grand Masters for each lodge there is no Supreme Master that rule over the whole body of lodges. In order for a lodge to be considered a true freemasonry lodge it must adhere to the code that has been set for the mason. Most often one Grand Master will preside over several lodges that reside within a specified jurisdiction.

Their general function is somewhat like any men?s club. In fact some have been known to refer to the Freemasonry as a fraternity. The men have regular meetings as a form of companionship. They encourage strong moral ethics. The mysticism comes into play with their well known secrecy. They are known to have rituals that center on the purpose of life and where morals take the lead. The whole basis of this organization is self improvement center on brotherly love, and truth. They must put every effort into applying this to their daily lives. They put heavy emphasis on charitable acts.

Membership is not granted easily. They do not advertise for new members but that doesn?t mean they aren?t approachable. Any prospective member must be at least 18 years of age and possess the expected character and reputation that all Freemasonry members do. They must be morally strong and believe in a higher being. This group is so adamant about their requirement they actually investigate the character of anyone being considered for membership. When one looks upon Freemasonry it depicts a very high standard way of life. Having a membership in a Lodge means that a learning experience will begin. Not only does a mason have to talk morally but must live what they believe. Patriotism is essential by respecting authority figures. He must also possess a willingness to stay active in his Lodge and participate in whatever endeavors that particular lodge takes on.