Freemasonry, sometimes spelled Free-Masonry, is made up of groups that began in medieval times with guilds of stonemasons. It is considered the oldest existing secular fraternal organization, with records and traditions from the 14th century. Modern Freemasonry includes three main traditions.
Each tradition has changed over time from its original form. All three call themselves Regular and refer to other Grand Lodges as Irregular. The basic unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. These private Lodges are usually managed by a Grand Lodge or Grand Orient at the regional level. There is no single worldwide Grand Lodge that oversees all Freemasonry. Each Grand Lodge operates independently and may not recognize others as legitimate.
The degrees of Freemasonry are based on the three grades of medieval craft guilds: Entered Apprentice, Journeyman or Fellow of the Craft, and Master Mason. Members are taught the meanings of Freemasonry symbols and given grips, signs, and words to show others they have been initiated. These degrees mix stories with moral lessons and lectures. These three degrees form Craft Freemasonry, and members are called Free-Masons, Freemasons, or Masons. After completing the Craft degrees, a Mason may join "Concordant bodies" that offer extra degrees. These groups are usually run separately from the Grand Lodges that handle Craft degrees. The additional degrees vary by location and region. There are also other organizations outside traditional Freemasonry rites that require someone to be a Master Mason to join.
Throughout its history, Freemasonry has faced criticism and opposition for religious, moral, and political reasons. The Catholic Church, some Protestant groups, and certain Islamic countries or groups have opposed or banned Freemasonry membership. Opposition sometimes comes from antisemitism or conspiracy theories, and Freemasons have been persecuted by authoritarian governments.
Lodge activities and meetings
The Masonic Lodge meets regularly to perform various activities. While practices differ based on location, tradition, and specific groups within Freemasonry, there are shared elements across all Masonic organizations.
In many areas, Lodges handle the typical tasks of any small group during regular meetings. These tasks include reviewing previous meeting notes, choosing new members, selecting leaders, listening to reports, discussing letters, checking financial records, and planning social or charitable events.
However, in some places, Lodges are considered sacred spaces where non-religious tasks are not allowed. In these traditions, administrative work is done before the Lodge officially begins, during separate meetings, or by special groups outside regular Lodge sessions.
Whether or not business is handled during meetings, all Masonic gatherings include rituals and educational activities, such as:
– Performing Masonic ceremonies
– Granting Masonic degrees
– Teaching about Masonic history or rituals
– Reading Masonic papers (sometimes called "Piece of Architecture" or "Planche" in some areas) on topics like Masonry, philosophy, technology, or personal interests
– Discussing philosophical ideas
– Researching specific subjects
– Sharing personal Masonic experiences
– Demonstrating skills to earn a new degree (sometimes called a "wage increase")
At the end of meetings, the Lodge may hold a formal dinner, called an Agape or festive board, which sometimes includes toasting and singing. These events are usually held in a Masonic temple, though other locations may be used.
Most Masonic rituals involve ceremonies for new members. Candidates are first introduced to the degree of Entered Apprentice. Later, they are advanced to the degree of Fellow Craft and then to the degree of Master Mason. In each ceremony, members take new promises and learn secret knowledge, such as passwords, signs, and handshakes, which are only known to their rank. While these symbols are considered private, they are often found in public sources, including those published by Masonic groups.
Another ceremony is the annual appointment of the Lodge’s leader and other officers. In some areas, the Lodge leader is given special recognition with unique titles and secrets, and after one year, the leader passes these responsibilities to a new member, becoming a Past Master. In other areas, this rank is not recognized, and no new secrets are shared during the appointment.
Most Lodges organize social events where members, their partners, and non-Masonic guests can meet. These events often include efforts to support charity, such as through donations, fundraising, or community projects. Contributions may be managed at the local Lodge level, regionally, or by larger Masonic organizations. Masons and their charities help people in need in areas like education, health care, and support for the elderly.
Private Lodges are the basic units of Freemasonry and operate independently. They choose their own members and may have special rights based on their location. Some Lodges meet for specific purposes, such as hobbies, sports, research, or professional groups. The title of Master Mason allows members to explore additional degrees outside the basic Lodge structure, though these degrees usually follow a similar format.
Freemasonry has many differences because each group sets its own rules. Grand Lodges have limited control over individual Lodges, which are private organizations. Details like the wording of rituals, the number of leaders, and the layout of meeting rooms vary by location.
Most Lodge leaders are chosen or assigned each year. Every Lodge has a Master, two Wardens, a treasurer, and a secretary. A Tyler, or guard, stands outside the Lodge to protect its privacy and may be paid for this role. Other positions depend on the area.
Each Lodge operates according to its own rules and the guidelines of its Grand Lodge. These rules are not the same everywhere and do not have a single, universal definition.
Organisation
Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent groups that manage Freemasonry in specific countries, states, or regions (called a jurisdiction). There is no one central group that controls Freemasonry worldwide. Communication and cooperation between different jurisdictions depend only on agreements between them.
In the early 2000s, the number of Freemasons worldwide was estimated to be between 2 million and 6 million.
Freemasonry is organized into separate Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients). Each group manages its own jurisdiction, which includes local Lodges.
The largest jurisdiction by membership is the United Grand Lodge of England, which has about 175,000 members across its local areas. The Grand Lodge of Ireland reports having approximately 19,000 members.
In the United States, there are 51 Grand Lodges (one in each state and the District of Columbia). Together, these groups have about 875,000 members, according to the Masonic Service Association of North America.
Grand Orient de France, the largest group in Continental Freemasonry, claims to have more than 50,000 members.
Other degrees, orders and bodies
Blue Lodges, also called Craft Lodges in the United Kingdom, provide only the three traditional degrees. In most areas, the title of past or installed master is also given in Blue/Craft Lodges. Master Masons can continue their Masonic journey by joining additional degrees through other approved or independent groups.
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a system with 33 degrees, including the three Blue Lodge degrees. It is managed by a local or national Supreme Council and is common in North America, South America, and parts of Europe. In America, the York Rite offers similar degrees through three groups: the Royal Arch, Cryptic Masonry, and the Knights Templar.
In Britain, different groups manage each order. Freemasons are encouraged to join the Holy Royal Arch, which connects to Mark Masonry in Scotland and Ireland but is separate in England. In England, the Royal Arch is closely linked to the Craft, sharing many leaders, including Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, who serves as both Grand Master of the Craft and First Grand Principal of the Royal Arch. In England, the Knights Templar and Cryptic Masonry share offices and staff with the Mark Grand Lodge at Mark Masons' Hall in London. The Ancient and Accepted Rite, similar to the Scottish Rite, requires members to declare belief in the Trinitarian Christian faith and is managed from Duke Street in London. In contrast, the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia is an independent group that requires members to be Master Masons of the United Grand Lodge of England.
In the Nordic countries, the Swedish Rite is most common. A version of this rite is also used in parts of Germany.
Ritual and symbolism
Freemasonry describes itself as a "beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols." The symbols are mostly based on tools used by stonemasons, such as the square and compasses, the level and plumb rule, the trowel, and the rough and smooth ashlars. Each tool is connected to moral lessons, though the meanings are not always the same. These symbols are taught and explained through rituals, lectures, and writings by individual Freemasons who share their own interpretations.
According to Jan A. M. Snoek, a scholar who studies Western esoteric traditions, Freemasonry is best described by what it is not, rather than what it is. All Freemasons begin their journey in the "craft" by being "initiated," "passed," and "raised" through three degrees of Craft, or Blue Lodge Masonry. During these rituals, candidates learn about Masonic symbols and are given grips, signs, and words to show other Masons which degrees they have completed. The ceremonies use dramatic stories and focus on the building of the Temple of Solomon and the life and death of its chief architect, Hiram Abiff. The three degrees are "Entered Apprentice," "Fellowcraft," and "Master Mason." While different lodges may use slightly different versions of the rituals and stories, all Freemasons recognize these traditions regardless of where they live.
In some areas, the main ideas of each degree are shown on tracing boards. These are painted diagrams displayed in the lodge to help explain the themes and symbolism of each degree to new members.
The idea of Masonic brotherhood likely comes from a 16th-century legal term for "brother," meaning someone who has promised to support another person. Freemasons take oaths at each degree to protect and support their fellow members. In most lodges, these oaths are taken on a Volume of Sacred Law, which is a holy book chosen based on the member's religious beliefs (often the Bible in Anglo-American traditions). In some parts of the world, books other than religious texts are allowed, which has caused disagreements between different groups of Freemasons.
History
Since the middle of the 19th century, Masonic historians have looked for the origins of Freemasonry in a group of old documents called the Old Charges. These documents, which date from around 1425 to the early 1800s, were written for members of working masons' groups. They describe the history of the craft, the duties of different levels within the group, and how new members were expected to take oaths of loyalty. The 15th century also shows the first signs of ceremonial clothing and symbols used by members.
There is no clear explanation of how local trade groups became today's Masonic Lodges. The earliest known rituals and passwords from working lodges around the 1600s and 1700s show a connection to the rituals later developed by speculative Masons, who were members who did not work as masons. Records from the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland show a connection from an old working lodge in 1598 to a modern speculative Lodge. This Lodge is believed to be the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world.
In 1803, a German professor named J. G. Buhle suggested that Freemasonry might have developed from Rosicrucianism, an idea later supported by Thomas De Quincey.
The first Grand Lodge, called the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, was created on June 24, 1717, which was St. John's Day. This date marks when four London Lodges met for a shared dinner. Over the next ten years, most existing lodges in England joined this new group, which then focused on growing and spreading its influence. New lodges were formed, and the organization expanded.
During the 18th century, as aristocrats and artists replaced the original working masons, Freemasonry became popular across Europe and the American colonies.
Between 1730 and 1750, the Grand Lodge approved changes that some lodges did not support. A rival group formed on July 17, 1751, calling itself the "Antient Grand Lodge of England" to claim it was preserving older traditions. This group insulted the original Grand Lodge by calling it "modern." Historians now use the terms "Premiere Grand Lodge" and "Antient Grand Lodge" to describe the two groups. These two lodges competed for control until they reached an agreement in 1813 to reunite as the United Grand Lodge of England.
The Grand Lodge of Ireland was formed in 1725, and the Grand Lodge of Scotland was formed in 1736. However, neither group persuaded all existing lodges in their countries to join immediately.
During the Enlightenment in the 18th century, Freemasons formed an international network of men who shared similar ideas. They often met in secret to discuss Enlightenment values, such as liberty, equality, and fraternity. British Freemasonry created its own beliefs, rituals, and rules. It promoted new ideas about how people should treat each other, including a shared understanding of freedom and equality. Scottish soldiers and Jacobite Scots spread ideas about friendship that were linked to the English Revolution against royal control. Freemasonry was especially common in France, where between 50,000 and 100,000 members existed by 1789, making it the most popular Enlightenment group.
Jacob argued that Masonic lodges likely influenced society by creating models of self-government with rules, elections, and representatives. This was especially true in Europe, where lodges were sometimes seen as a threat by rulers. For example, a Parisian lodge in the 1720s was made up of English Jacobite exiles. Many lodges across Europe referenced Enlightenment ideas, such as the French phrase "As the means to be enlightened I search for the enlightened" used in initiation rites. British lodges aimed to "initiate the unenlightened." Many lodges honored the "Grand Architect," a term for the divine being who created the universe.
However, historian Robert Roswell Palmer noted that lodges operated independently, and Masons did not act together politically. American historians mention that Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were important Masons, but whether Freemasonry played a major role in the American Revolution is debated. Daniel Roche argued that lodges were not truly equal, as they mainly attracted men from similar social backgrounds.
In the long term, Norman Davies said Freemasonry was a strong force in Europe from about 1700 to the 20th century. It spread quickly during the Enlightenment, reaching nearly every European country and its colonies in the Americas and Asia. Davies stated that in the 19th century and beyond, Freemasonry was closely linked to Liberalism. In Catholic countries, it faced strong opposition from the Church. In the 20th century, it was banned by Fascist and Communist governments. Freemasonry attracted royalty, aristocrats, politicians, businessmen, intellectuals, artists, and activists. Prominent members included Montesquieu, Voltaire, Sir Robert Walpole, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington. In the late 18th century, English lodges were led by the Prince of Wales, Prussian lodges by King Frederick the Great, and French lodges by royal princes. Napoleon, as Emperor of France, chose his brother to be the Grand Master of France.
English Freemasonry reached France in the 1720s, first through lodges of expatriates and exiled Jacobites, and later through French lodges that followed the rituals of the Premier Grand Lodge of England. From France and England, Freemasonry spread across Europe in the 18th century. The Grande Loge de France was formed under the leadership of the Duke of Clermont, who had limited authority. His successor, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, reorganized the central group as the Grand Orient de France in 1773. French Freemasonry briefly declined during the French Revolution but grew again in the following century, led first by Alexandre Francois Auguste de Grasse, Comte de Grassy-Tilly.
In the 18th century, French politicians who supported liberal ideas met in Masonic lodges to develop ideas that later influenced the French Revolution of 1789. Avner Halpern noted that French Freemasonry played a key role in creating France's first modern political party in 1901, the Radical Party. This party used two Masonic ideas: the "civil leadership model" developed in late 19th-century France and local Masonic congresses organized by the Grand Lodge.
Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry, also known as Anti-Freemasonry, refers to the opposition to Freemasonry. It includes individuals or groups who criticize or disagree with Masonic beliefs. There has never been a single, unified anti-Masonic movement. Critics have come from religious, political, and conspiracy theory groups, especially those who believe in Masonic or Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theories. Some anti-Masons, like Nesta Helen Webster, criticized only "Continental Masonry" while accepting "Regular Masonry" as honorable.
Many books and articles about Freemasonry have been written since the 18th century. Some lack context, are outdated, or are hoaxes, such as the Taxil hoax. These works often form the basis for religious or political criticism of Freemasonry or claims about secret, corrupt groups. The term "Anti-Masonry" originated in the United States after the "Morgan Affair" in 1826 and is still used today by both Freemasons and their critics.
Freemasonry has faced criticism from religious groups and governments that believe it challenges religious beliefs or practices. The Catholic Church has the longest history of opposing Freemasonry, claiming it promotes a religion that conflicts with Church teachings and involves practices like blood oaths. Some Catholics believe these oaths cause harm to future generations, though this idea is debated.
Over 600 official statements from the Pope have condemned Freemasonry. The first was issued in 1738 by Pope Clement XII, and the most recent was in 2023 by Pope Francis. The 1917 Code of Canon Law stated that joining Freemasonry automatically led to excommunication. In 1983, a new code did not explicitly name Freemasonry but warned against joining groups that oppose the Church. This caused confusion, but the Church later clarified that Freemasonry remains forbidden. In 2023, Pope Francis reaffirmed the ban, citing irreconcilable differences between Catholic teachings and Freemasonry.
Freemasonry has not opposed Catholics joining their organization. Some groups claim Freemasonry does not replace a member's religion. However, certain rituals require members to reject the papacy, and some Freemasons in government have limited Catholic religious freedom.
Protestant criticism of Freemasonry often focuses on claims of occult practices or connections to Satanism. Albert Pike, a Masonic scholar, is sometimes cited by Protestants, though his views were personal and not official. In 1993, the Southern Baptist Convention said some aspects of Freemasonry conflict with Christianity, but others do not, leaving the decision to individual members.
The Free Methodist Church, founded by B.T. Roberts, opposed Freemasonry in the 19th century, calling it an "alternate" religion. Many Anglican bishops have been Freemasons, but recent years have seen more concern within Anglicanism, especially among evangelical groups. In 2003, former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams apologized to Freemasons after stating their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity.
In 1933, the Orthodox Church of Greece declared that being a Freemason is an act of apostasy, meaning members cannot participate in the Eucharist until they repent.