Freemasonry

{{Short description|Group of fraternal organizations}} {{Redirect-multi|3|Masonic|Freemason|Freemasons|the ghost town|Masonic, California|other uses|Freemason (disambiguation)}} {{AI-generated|date=August 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Use British English|date=January 2024}} [[File:Square and Compasses no G.svg|thumb|alt=Standard image of masonic square and compasses|The Square and Compasses, the main emblem of the Freemasons]] {{Freemasonry}} '''Freemasonry''' (sometimes spelled '''Free-Masonry''')<ref>{{cite web |title=Jachin and Boaz; or, an Authentic Key to the Door of Free-Masonry, Both Ancient and Modern. |url=https://linfordresearch.info/fordownload/Other%20Books/J%20and%20B%20exposure%201797%20edn.pdf |website=Linford Lodge of Research |access-date=10 October 2024 |date=September 1797 |archive-date=6 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240706045749/http://linfordresearch.info/fordownload/Other%20Books/J%20and%20B%20exposure%201797%20edn.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Free Masonry |url=https://www.mtnebo91wv.org/history-of-free-masonry |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=mtnebo91wv.org |language=en |archive-date=4 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204185536/https://www.mtnebo91wv.org/history-of-free-masonry |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Paine |first=Thomas |date=1818-01-02 |title=Thomas Paine Origin Free Masonry » Internet Infidels |url=https://infidels.org/library/historical/thomas-paine-origin-free-masonry/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Internet Infidels |language=en-US}}</ref> consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is considered the oldest existing secular fraternal organisation, with documents and traditions dating back to the 14th century.<ref>{{Cite web |title=History of Freemasonry {{!}} United Grand Lodge of England |url=https://www.ugle.org.uk/discover-freemasonry/history-freemasonry |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=www.ugle.org.uk |archive-date=4 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240904161851/https://www.ugle.org.uk/discover-freemasonry/history-freemasonry |url-status=live }}</ref> Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of three main traditions: *'''Anglo-American style Freemasonry''',<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://issuu.com/llewellyn/docs/9780738748481 |title=Esoteric Freemasonry, by Jean-Louis de Biasi by Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD. - Issuu |work=Issuu |date=8 February 2018 |access-date=16 January 2025 |archive-date=19 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119211042/https://issuu.com/llewellyn/docs/9780738748481 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.robertburns59.org/conservative-and-liberal-freemasonry/ | title=Conservative and Liberal Freemasonry - Robert Burns Lodge No. 59 | date=6 April 2025 }}</ref> which insists that a "volume of sacred law" (such as the Bible, Quran, or other religious text) should be open in a working lodge, that every member should profess belief in a supreme being, that only men should be admitted, and discussion of religion or politics does not take place within the lodge. *'''Continental style Freemasonry''' or Liberal style Freemasonry<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://freemasonry.network/liberals/ |title=Liberal Freemasons - Continental (Progressive) Freemasonry |access-date=16 January 2025 |archive-date=2 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202121616/https://freemasonry.network/liberals/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://adelaidebooks.org/liberal-masons-history-philosophy-practice-and-perspectives-of-the-adogmatic-freemasonry |title=Liberal Masons: History, Philosophy, Practice, and Perspectives of the Adogmatic Freemasonry |website=Adelaide Literary Magazine |access-date=20 March 2025 |archive-date=11 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241211125323/https://adelaidebooks.org/liberal-masons-history-philosophy-practice-and-perspectives-of-the-adogmatic-freemasonry |url-status=live }}</ref> which has continued to evolve beyond these restrictions, particularly regarding religious belief and political discussion. *'''Women's Freemasonry''' or Co-Freemasonry,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hfaf.org/|title=HFAF | Freemasonry for Women|website=hfaf.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-41804543 | title=The secret ceremonies and rituals of female Freemasons | date=8 November 2017 }}</ref> which includes organisations that either admit women exclusively (such as the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Masons in the UK) or accept both men and women (such as Le Droit Humain or Universal Co-Masonry). Women Freemasonry groups can lean Conservative or Liberal, requiring a religion or not as determined by their Grand Orient or Obedience.

All three traditions have evolved over time from their original forms and can all refer to themselves as ''Regular''<ref name="Constitution et règlement général">{{Cite book |url=https://www.en06.fr/info/wa_files/constitution%20godf.pdf |title=Constitution et Règlement Général |date=November 2016 |publisher=Grand Orient du France |location=Paris |language=fr |access-date=May 29, 2025}}</ref> and to other Grand Lodges as ''Irregular.'' The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. These private Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level by a Grand Lodge or a Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.

{{Anchor|degrees}}The degrees of Freemasonry are the three grades of medieval craft guilds: Entered Apprentice, Journeyman or Fellow of the craft,<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |title=The Second Degree: Fellow Craft |url=https://www.freemason.com/fellow-craft/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Freemasonry |language=en-US |archive-date=4 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804145814/https://www.freemason.com/fellow-craft/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Fellow Craft Degree Fee (NewMember) |url=https://www.paulreveremasons.org/product-page/fellow-craft-degree-fee |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Paul Revere Lodge |language=en |archive-date=4 December 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241204185015/https://www.paulreveremasons.org/product-page/fellow-craft-degree-fee |url-status=live }}</ref> and Master Mason. The candidate of these three degrees is progressively taught the meanings of the symbols of Freemasonry and entrusted with grips, signs, and words to signify to other members that he has been so initiated. The degrees are part allegorical morality play and part lecture. These three degrees form Craft Freemasonry, and members of any of these degrees are known as '''Free-Masons''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=General Regulations of a Free Mason 1723 – The Square Magazine |url=https://www.thesquaremagazine.com/mag/article/202303general-regulations-of-a-free-mason-1723/ |access-date=2024-11-07 |language=en-GB |archive-date=15 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915133232/https://www.thesquaremagazine.com/mag/article/202303general-regulations-of-a-free-mason-1723/ |url-status=live }}</ref> '''Freemasons''', or '''Masons'''. Once the Craft degrees have been conferred upon a Mason, he is qualified to join various "Concordant bodies" which offer additional degrees. These organisations are usually administered separately from the Grand Lodges who administer the Craft degrees. The extra degrees vary with locality and jurisdiction. In addition to these bodies, there are further organisations outside of the more traditional rites of Freemasonry that require an individual to be a Master Mason before they can join.

Throughout its history Freemasonry has received criticism and opposition on religious, moral and political grounds. The Catholic Church, some Protestant denominations and certain Islamic countries or entities have expressed opposition to or banned membership in Freemasonry. Opposition to Freemasonry is sometimes rooted in antisemitism or conspiracy theories,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Freemasonry |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/freemasonry |access-date=2024-08-19 |website=encyclopedia.ushmm.org |language=en |archive-date=19 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240719091039/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/freemasonry |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schreiber |first=Jean-Philippe |date=2010-11-09 |title=Jews and Freemasonry in the nineteenth century: An overview of current knowledge |url=https://www.cairn-int.info/article-E_AJ_432_0030--jews-and-freemasonry-in-the-nineteenth.htm |journal=Archives Juives |language=fr |volume=43 |issue=2 |pages=30–48 |doi=10.3917/aj.432.0030 |issn=0003-9837}}</ref> and Freemasons have been persecuted by authoritarian states.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Önnerfors |first=Andreas |title=Freemasonry: A Very Short Introduction |date=2017-01-24 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780198796275 |pages=105 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Ruiz |first=Julius |date=June 2011 |title=Fighting the International Conspiracy: The Francoist Persecution of Freemasonry, 1936–1945 |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21567689.2011.591981 |journal=Politics, Religion & Ideology |language=en |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=179–196 |doi=10.1080/21567689.2011.591981 |issn=2156-7689 |archive-date=10 November 2024 |access-date=19 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241110192733/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21567689.2011.591981 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Masonic lodge== {{Main|Masonic lodge}} [[File:Palazzo Roffia, galleria 00.JPG|thumb|alt=Italian lodge at Palazzo Roffia, Florence|Lodge in Palazzo Roffia, Florence, set out for French (Premiere Grand Lodge) ritual]] The Masonic lodge is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chevalierramsay.be/what-is-freemasonry/|title=What is Freemasonry|website=www.chevalierramsay.be|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=13 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713131234/http://www.chevalierramsay.be/what-is-freemasonry/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Lodge activities and meetings ==

The Masonic Lodge meets regularly to conduct various activities. While practices vary by jurisdiction, Rite and local tradition, there are common elements across Freemasonry.<ref>Hodapp, Christopher, ''Freemasons For Dummies'', 2013, p.145-150</ref>

In many jurisdictions, Lodges conduct the usual formal business of any small organisation during regular meetings. This includes approving minutes, electing new members, appointing officers and taking their reports, considering correspondence, reviewing bills and annual accounts, and organising social and charitable events.<ref name="UGLEFAQ">[http://www.ugle.org.uk/what-is-freemasonry/frequently-asked-questions "Frequently Asked Questions"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022154544/http://ugle.org.uk/what-is-freemasonry/frequently-asked-questions |date=22 October 2013 }} ''United Grand Lodge of England'' retrieved 30 October 2013</ref>

thumb|Kosmopolis Lodge: A young Freemason (Entered Apprentice) explains the symbols, Bratislava, 2025

However, some Lodges, Rites and jurisdictions consider an opened Lodge to be a sacred space where profane business activities are strictly forbidden.<ref>Pike, Albert, ''Morals and Dogma'', 1871</ref> In these traditions, administrative matters are typically conducted either before the Lodge is formally opened, in a separate business meeting or handled by special committees outside of Lodge meetings.<ref>Webb, Thomas Smith, ''The Freemason's Monitor'', 1818</ref>

thumb|Depiction of Masons at work in Lodge in the "three globes Lodge" in Berlin, circa 1740. Free-Masons can be seen measuring globes and discussing various topics whilst holding masonic instruments

Whether business is conducted during an opened Lodge or not, all Masonic meetings include ritual work and educational activities such as: * Performing Masonic ceremonies * Conferring Masonic degrees<ref name="UGLEFAQ" /> * Receiving lectures on aspects of Masonic history or ritual<ref name=":5">[http://www.pglel.co.uk/Education&Development/materials/MasonicLecturersAndTopics.asp "Materials: Papers and Speakers"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111133930/http://www.pglel.co.uk/Education%26Development/materials/MasonicLecturersAndTopics.asp |date=11 November 2016 }} ''Provincial Grand Lodge of East Lancashire'', retrieved 30 October 2013</ref> * Reading of Masonic papers (also called "Piece of Architecture" or "Planche" in some jurisdictions) - Can be on a wide variety of topics including Masonic, philosophical, technological or personal<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thesquaremagazine.com/mag/article/202201the-pieces-of-architecture-and-the-origin-of-masonic-study/ | title=The Pieces of Architecture and the Origin of Masonic Study – the Square Magazine }}</ref> * Philosophical discussions<ref>{{cite web | url=https://archive.org/details/cu31924030286466/mode/2up | title=Lectures on the philosophy of freemasonry | date=1915 }}</ref> * Research on a particular topic * Sharing personal Masonic experiences<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.midnightfreemasons.org/2018/12/my-masonic-journey.html | title=My Masonic Journey }}</ref> * Proving proficiency to the Lodge to obtain a new degree (also called a wage increase)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://carmel421.com/the-importance-of-proficiency-in-your-masonic-journey/ | title=The Importance of Proficiency in Your Masonic Journey | date=11 March 2024 }}</ref>

At the conclusion of the meeting, the Lodge may hold a formal dinner, called ''Agape''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esonet.com/News-file-article-sid-579.html|title=Esonet.com-Selected Esotericism Readings - The Agape or Masonic banquet|website=www.esonet.com}}</ref> or ''festive board'', sometimes involving toasting and song.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Toasts for the Festive Board |url=https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/toasts.html |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=freemasonry.bcy.ca |archive-date=10 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910084059/https://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/toasts.html |url-status=live }}</ref> These meetings are typically held in a Masonic temple, though other venues may occasionally be used.

The bulk of Masonic ritual consists of degree ceremonies. Candidates for Freemasonry are progressively ''initiated'' into Freemasonry, first in the degree of '''Entered Apprentice'''. At some later time, in separate ceremonies, they will be ''passed'' to the degree of '''Fellow Craft'''; and then ''raised'' to the degree of '''Master Mason'''. In each of these ceremonies, the candidate must first take the new obligations of the degree, and is then entrusted with secret knowledge including passwords, signs and grips (secret handshakes) confined to his new rank.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Symbolical Masonry: Part One: The First Step: Chapter XVIII. Words, Grips and Tokens |url=https://sacred-texts.com/mas/syma/syma22.htm |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=sacred-texts.com}}</ref> Although these symbols and gestures are nominally secret, they are readily found in public sources, including those published by Masonic organisations themselves.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AAONMS Ritual Book |url=https://www.shrinersinternational.org/en/news-and-events/news/2022/05/aaonms-ritual-book |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=www.shrinersinternational.org |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Learn about freemasonry: What is the freemason handshake? |url=https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/blog/learn-about-freemasonry-what-freemason-handshake |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=Museum of Freemasonry |language=en |archive-date=17 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240517180729/https://museumfreemasonry.org.uk/blog/learn-about-freemasonry-what-freemason-handshake |url-status=live }}</ref>

Another ceremony is the annual installation of the Master of the Lodge and his appointed or elected officers.<ref name="UGLEFAQ"/> In some jurisdictions, an ''Installed Master'' elected, obligated, and invested to preside over a Lodge, is valued as a separate rank with its own secrets and distinctive title and attributes; after each full year in the chair the Master invests his elected successor and becomes a Past Master with privileges in the Lodge and Grand Orient.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20150711032730/http://www.masonicdictionary.com/past.html "Past Master"]}} ''Masonic Dictionary'', retrieved 31 October 2013</ref> In other jurisdictions, the grade is not recognised, and no inner ceremony conveys new secrets during the installation of a new Master of the Lodge.<ref>[http://www.gadlu.info/macon-celebre-le-maitre-installe.html "Maçon célèbre : le Maître Installé"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181004062533/http://www.gadlu.info/macon-celebre-le-maitre-installe.html |date=4 October 2018 }} ''GADLU blog Maçonnique'', 3 March 2013, retrieved 2 November 2013</ref>

Most Lodges also hold purely social functions, allowing members, their partners, and non-Masonic guests to meet for fellowship.<ref>For instance [http://www.pglherts.org/about-freemasonry/introduction/ "Introduction into Freemasonry"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109023055/http://www.pglherts.org/about-freemasonry/introduction/ |date=9 November 2013 }}, ''Provincial Grand Lodge of Hertfordshire'', retrieved 8 November 2013</ref> Often coupled with these events is the discharge of every Mason's and Lodge's collective obligation to contribute to charity. This occurs at many levels, including in annual dues, subscriptions, and fundraising events; and may be organised at the local Lodge level, a regional/district level or at the Grand jurisdiction level. Masons and their charities contribute for the relief of need in many fields, such as education, health and old age.<ref>[http://www.ugle.org.uk/charity "Charitable work"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022081813/http://www.ugle.org.uk/charity |date=22 October 2013}}, ''UGLE'', retrieved 8 November 2013</ref><ref>(editors) John Hamill and Robert Gilbert, ''Freemasonry'', Angus, 2004, pp 214–220</ref>

Private Lodges, which serve as the foundational and most autonomous units within the broader structure of Freemasonry, form the backbone of the fraternity by exercising the exclusive authority to elect their own candidates for initiation as Masons or admission as joining Masons, often operating with localized jurisdictional privileges that may include sole rights over residents in proximity to their premises, thereby reinforcing both the independence and community-based nature of Masonic membership selection. There are non-local Lodges where Masons meet for wider or narrower purposes, such as in association with some hobby, sport, Masonic research, business, profession, regiment or college. The rank of Master Mason also entitles a Freemason to explore Masonry further through other degrees, administered separately from the basic Craft or "Blue Lodge" degrees described here, but generally having a similar structure and meetings.<ref name="Johnstone">Michael Johnstone, ''The Freemasons'', Arcturus, 2005, pp. 101–120</ref>

There is much diversity and little consistency in Freemasonry because each Masonic jurisdiction is independent and sets its own rules and procedures while Grand Lodges have limited jurisdiction over their constituent member Lodges, which are ultimately private clubs. The wording of the ritual, the number of officers present, the layout of the meeting room, etc. varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.<ref name="Johnstone"/><ref name="Maconnieke">[http://www.vrijmetselaarsgilde.eu/Maconnieke%20Encyclopedie/RMAP~1/Russmixte/officiers.htm "Les Officiers de Loge"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103023124/http://www.vrijmetselaarsgilde.eu/Maconnieke%20Encyclopedie/RMAP~1/Russmixte/officiers.htm |date=3 November 2013 }} ''Maconnieke Encyclopedie'', retrieved 31 October 2013</ref>

Almost all officers of a Lodge are elected or appointed annually. Every Masonic Lodge has a Master, two Wardens, a treasurer and a secretary. There is also always a Tyler, or outer guard, outside the door of a working Lodge, who may be paid to secure its privacy. Other offices vary between jurisdictions.<ref name="Johnstone" />

Each Masonic Lodge exists and operates according to its own by-laws and the rules and regulations of its own Grand Orient or Grand Lodge, which elude any universally accepted definition and vary depending on the jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PS Review of Freemasonry |url=http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/bernheim27.html |access-date=2024-11-07 |website=PS Review of Freemasonry |language=en-US |archive-date=9 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709203449/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/bernheim27.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Organisation==

===Grand Lodges=== {{Main|Grand Lodge}} [[File:Freemasons' Hall, London.JPG|thumb|Freemasons Hall, London, home of the United Grand Lodge of England|alt=Freemason's Hall, London]] [[File:Grand Orient de France 2.jpg|thumb|right|The Historical Grand Lodge of the Grand Orient de France]]

Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent and sovereign bodies that govern Masonry in a given country, state or geographical area (termed a ''jurisdiction''). There is no single overarching governing body that presides over worldwide Freemasonry; connections between different jurisdictions depend solely on mutual recognition.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jurisdictional Membership Statistics – Masonic Service Association of North America |url=https://msana.com/services/jurisdictional-totals/ |access-date=17 December 2023 |website=msana.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About Grand Lodge {{!}} Grand Lodge of Ireland |url=https://freemason.ie/about-grand-lodge/ |access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref>

Estimates of the worldwide membership of Freemasonry in the early 21st century ranged from about two million to more than six million.<ref>{{cite web |title=Notre histoire |url=https://godf.org/qui-sommes-nous/notre-histoire/ |access-date=17 December 2023 |website=Grand Orient de France |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

The fraternity is administratively organised  into independent Grand Lodges (or sometimes Grand Orients), each of which governs its own Masonic jurisdiction, which consists of subordinate (or ''constituent'') Lodges.

The largest single jurisdiction, in terms of membership, is the United Grand Lodge of England (with local organisation into Provincial Grand Lodges possessing a combined membership estimated at 175,000).<ref>{{cite web |title=Notre histoire |url=https://godf.org/qui-sommes-nous/notre-histoire/ |access-date=17 December 2023 |website=Grand Orient de France |language=fr-FR}}</ref> The Grand Lodge of Ireland claims it has approximately 19,000 members.<ref>{{cite web |title=About Grand Lodge {{!}} Grand Lodge of Ireland |url=https://freemason.ie/about-grand-lodge/ |access-date=17 December 2023}}</ref>

In the United States, there are 51 Grand Lodges (one in each state and the District of Columbia) which together have a total membership of around 875,000 according to the Masonic Service Association of North America.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jurisdictional Membership Statistics – Masonic Service Association of North America |url=https://msana.com/services/jurisdictional-totals/ |access-date=17 December 2023 |website=msana.com}}</ref>

Grand Orient de France, the largest jurisdiction in Continental Freemasonry in terms of membership, claims to have over 50,000 members.<ref>{{cite web |title=Notre histoire |url=https://godf.org/qui-sommes-nous/notre-histoire/ |access-date=17 December 2023 |website=Grand Orient de France |language=fr-FR}}</ref>

==Other degrees, orders and bodies== {{See also|Masonic bodies|List of Masonic rites}}

Blue Lodges, known as Craft Lodges in the United Kingdom, offer only the three traditional degrees. In most jurisdictions, the rank of past or installed master is also conferred in Blue/Craft Lodges. Master Masons are able to extend their Masonic experience by taking further degrees, in concordant or other bodies whether or not approved by their own Grand Lodge.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the "whether or not approved by their own Grand Lodge" part|date=November 2024}}<ref>Robert L.D. Cooper, ''Cracking the Freemason's Code'', Rider 2006, p. 229</ref>

The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite is a system of 33 degrees, including the three Blue Lodge degrees administered by a local or national Supreme Council. This system is popular in North America, South America and in Continental Europe. In America the York Rite, with a similar range, administers three orders of Masonry, namely the Royal Arch, Cryptic Masonry and Knights Templar.<ref>Michael Johnstone, ''The Freemasons'', Arcturus, 2005, pp. 95–98</ref>

In Britain separate bodies administer each order. Freemasons are encouraged to join the Holy Royal Arch, which is linked to Mark Masonry in Scotland and Ireland, but completely separate in England. In England the Royal Arch is closely associated with the Craft, automatically having many Grand Officers in common, including Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, as both Grand Master of the Craft and First Grand Principal of the Royal Arch. The English Knights Templar and Cryptic Masonry share the Mark Grand Lodge offices and staff at Mark Masons' Hall, London.<ref>[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/ward_HD_handbookfr.html J S M Ward, "The Higher Degrees Handbook"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627134520/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/ward_HD_handbookfr.html |date=27 June 2014 }}, ''Pietre Stones'', retrieved 11 November 2013</ref> The Ancient and Accepted Rite (similar to the Scottish Rite), requires a member to proclaim the Trinitarian Christian faith, and is administered from Duke Street in London.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Supreme Council|url=http://www.sc33.org.uk/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=www.sc33.org.uk|archive-date=2 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210802222023/http://sc33.org.uk/|url-status=live}}</ref> Conversely, the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia is a fully independent esoteric organisation that requires members be United Grand Lodge of England Master Masons.

In the Nordic countries the Swedish Rite is dominant; a variation of it is also used in parts of Germany.

==Ritual and symbolism== {{Main|Masonic ritual and symbolism}} [[File:Ahmad nami.jpg|thumb|The Ottoman noble Ahmad Nami dressed in full Masonic attire in 1925]] thumb|Freemasonry structure showing the symbols associated with the organisation {{Esotericism}}

Freemasonry describes itself as a "beautiful system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols".<ref>[http://www.mhebf.com/freemasonry.html "What is Freemasonry?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109020434/http://www.mhebf.com/freemasonry.html |date=9 January 2014 }} ''Grand Lodge of Alberta'' retrieved 7 November 2013</ref> The symbolism is mainly, but not exclusively, drawn from the tools of stonemasons—the square and compasses, the level and plumb rule, the trowel, the rough and smooth ashlars, among others. Moral lessons are attributed to each of these tools, although the assignment is by no means consistent. The meaning of symbolism is taught and explored through ritual,<ref name="Johnstone" /> and in lectures and articles by individual Masons who offer their personal insights and opinions.

According to the scholar of Western esotericism Jan A. M. Snoek: "the best way to characterize Freemasonry is in terms of what it is not, rather than what it is".<ref name="Theokritoff 2016">{{cite book |author-last=Snoek |author-first=Jan A. M. |year=2016 |chapter=Part III: The Renaissance and Early Modernity – Freemasonry |editor-last=Magee |editor-first=Glenn A. |title=The Cambridge Handbook of Western Mysticism and Esotericism |location=Cambridge and New York City |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=200–210 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139027649.018 |isbn=978-1139027649}}</ref> All Freemasons begin their journey in the "craft" by being progressively "initiated", "passed" and "raised" into the three degrees of Craft, or Blue Lodge Masonry. During these three rituals, the candidate is progressively taught the Masonic symbols, and is entrusted with grips or tokens, signs, and words to signify to other Masons which degrees he has taken. The dramatic allegorical ceremonies include explanatory lectures and revolve around the construction of the Temple of Solomon, and the artistry and death of the chief architect, Hiram Abiff. The degrees are those of "Entered apprentice", "Fellowcraft" and "Master Mason". While many different versions of these rituals exist, with various lodge layouts and versions of the Hiramic legend, each version is recognisable to any Freemason from any jurisdiction.<ref name="Johnstone" />

In some jurisdictions, the main themes of each degree are illustrated by tracing boards. These painted depictions of Masonic themes are exhibited in the lodge according to which degree is being worked on and are explained to the candidate to illustrate the legend and symbolism of each degree.<ref>[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/gmd1999/tb_history01.html Mark S. Dwor, "Some thoughts on the history of the Tracing Boards"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009060652/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/gmd1999/tb_history01.html |date=9 October 2013 }}, ''Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon'', 1999, retrieved 7 November 2013</ref>

The idea of Masonic brotherhood probably descends from a 16th-century legal definition of a "brother" as one who has taken an oath of mutual support to another. Accordingly, Masons swear at each degree to support and protect their brethren.<ref>Robert L.D. Cooper, ''Cracking the Freemason's Code'', Rider 2006, p. 79</ref> In most Lodges, the oath or obligation is taken on a ''Volume of Sacred Law'', whichever book of divine revelation is appropriate to the religious beliefs of the individual brother (usually the Bible in the Anglo-American tradition). In ''Progressive'' continental Freemasonry, books other than scripture are permissible, a cause of rupture between Grand Lodges.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060410074658/http://bessel.org/masrec/france.htm "Masonic U.S. Recognition of French Grand Lodges in the 20th century"]}}, ''Paul M. Bessel''. retrieved 8 November 2013</ref>

==History== {{Main|History of Freemasonry}}

===Origins=== Since the middle of the 19th century, Masonic historians have sought the origins of the movement in a series of similar documents known as the Old Charges, dating from the Regius Poem in about 1425<ref>[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott07.html Andrew Prescott, "The Old Charges Revisited"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927124756/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott07.html |date=27 September 2013 }}, from Transactions of the Lodge of Research No. 2429 (Leicester), 2006, ''Pietre-Stones Masonic Papers'', retrieved 12 October 2013</ref> to the beginning of the 18th century. Addressed to members of operative masons' lodges, they relate the craft to a mythologised history of the craft, the duties of its grades, and the manner in which oaths of fidelity are to be taken on joining.<ref>A. F. A. Woodford, preface to William James Hughan, ''The Old Charges of British Freemasons'', London, 1872</ref> The 15th century also saw the first evidence of ceremonial regalia.<ref>{{Cite book | author = John Yarker | title = The Arcane Schools | location = Manchester | year = 1909 | pages = 341–342}}</ref>

There is no clear mechanism by which these local trade organisations became today's Masonic Lodges. The earliest rituals and passwords known, from operative lodges around the turn of the 17th–18th centuries, show continuity with the rituals developed in the later 18th century by accepted or speculative Masons, as those members who did not practice the physical craft gradually came to be known.<ref>Robert L.D. Cooper, ''Cracking the Freemason's Code'', Rider 2006, Chapter 4, p. 53</ref> The minutes of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No. 1 in Scotland show a continuity from an operative lodge in 1598 to a modern speculative Lodge.<ref>David Murray Lyon, ''History of the Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel) No 1'', Blackwood 1873, Preface</ref> It is reputed to be the oldest Masonic Lodge in the world.<ref>{{cite book|last=Stevenson|first=David|title=The Origins of Freemasonry|year=1988|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0521396549|pages=38–44}}</ref>

[[File:Room at Masonic Hall Bury St Edmunds Suffolk England.jpg|thumb|left|View of room at the Masonic Hall, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, England, early 20th century, set up for a Holy Royal Arch convocation|alt=Royal Arch Chapter in England, beginning of c20]]

Alternatively, in 1803 German professor J. G. Buhle put forward the theory that Freemasonry may have been an outgrowth of Rosicrucianism,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.masonicdictionary.com/rosicrucian.html|title=Rosicrucians and Freemasonry {{!}} Masonic Dictionary |last=Dafoe|first=Stephen|website=www.masonicdictionary.com|language=en|access-date=14 June 2017|archive-date=28 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200128202245/http://www.masonicdictionary.com/rosicrucian.html|url-status=usurped}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ffW5P6NW1kC&q=Freemasonry+is+an+outgrowth+of+rosicrucians&pg=PA395|title=The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy|last=Hall|first=Manly P.|date=2010|publisher=Courier Corporation|isbn=978-0486471433|language=en}}</ref> an idea taken up by Thomas De Quincey.

The first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later called the Grand Lodge of England, was founded on St John's Day, 24 June 1717,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.ugle.org.uk/about-freemasonry/history-of-freemasonry |title=History of Freemasonry timeline |publisher=United Grand Lodge of England |access-date=12 June 2018 |archive-date=26 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826142101/https://www.ugle.org.uk/about-freemasonry/history-of-freemasonry |url-status=live }}</ref> when four existing London Lodges met for a joint dinner. Over the next decade, most of the existing Lodges in England joined the new regulatory body, which itself entered a period of self-publicity and expansion. New lodges were created, and the fraternity began to grow.

Over the course of the 18th century, as aristocrats and artists crowded out the craftsmen originally associated with the organisation, Freemasonry became fashionable throughout Europe and the American colonies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Greer |first=John Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c-T7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA26 |title=Druidry Handbook: Spiritual Practice Rooted in the Living Earth |date=2021|publisher=Weiser Books |isbn=978-1-63341-224-8 |pages=26 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bergreen |first=Laurence |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3B6zCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA119 |title=Casanova: The World of a Seductive Genius |date=2016 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4767-1652-7 |page=119 |language=en}}</ref>

Between 1730 and 1750 the Grand Lodge endorsed several significant changes that some Lodges could not endorse. A rival Grand Lodge was formed on 17 July 1751, which called itself the "Antient Grand Lodge of England" to signify that, in their opinion, these lodges were maintaining older traditions and rejected changes that the Premiere Grand Lodge had adopted. As an insult, the self proclaimed "Antient Grand Lodge" coined the term "modern" to designate the Premiere Grand Lodge (historians now use Premiere Grand Lodge and Antient Grand Lodge to differentiate the two bodies).<ref>{{cite web |title=Ars Quatuor Coronatorum – A Revised Style Guide |url=https://www.quatuorcoronati.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/AQC-Revised-Style-Guide-5-August-2011-2.pdf |website=Quatuor Coronati Lodge No. 2076 |access-date=19 November 2024 |pages=12–13 |archive-date=19 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119120924/https://www.quatuorcoronati.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/AQC-Revised-Style-Guide-5-August-2011-2.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> These two Grand Lodges vied for supremacy until the Premiere Grand Lodge made a compromise with the antient Grand Lodge to return to a ritual that worked for both Grand Lodges. They re-united on 27 December 1813 to form the United Grand Lodge of England.<ref>{{Cite book|author=S. Brent Morris|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry|publisher=Alpha/Penguin Books|isbn=1-59257-490-4|page=[https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu00morr/page/27 27]|year=2006|url=https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu00morr/page/27}}</ref><ref name="Clarke">[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/ancients.html I. R. Clarke, "The Formation of the Grand Lodge of the Antients"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623084114/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/aqc/ancients.html |date=23 June 2017 }}, Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, vol 79 (1966), pp. 270–273, ''Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon'', retrieved 28 June 2012</ref>

The Grand Lodge of Ireland and the Grand Lodge of Scotland were formed in 1725 and 1736, respectively, although neither persuaded all of the existing lodges in their countries to join for many years.<ref>[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/uk_grand_lodges.html H. L. Haywood, "Various Grand Lodges"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140730172543/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/uk_grand_lodges.html |date=30 July 2014 }}, ''The Builder'', vol X no 5, May 1924, ''Pietre Stones'' website, retrieved 9 January 2014</ref><ref>Robert L.D. Cooper, ''Cracking the Freemason's Code'', Rider 2006, Chapter 1, p. 17</ref>

===18th-century Enlightenment=== [[File:Goose and Gridiron.jpg|thumb|Goose and Gridiron, where the Grand Lodge of London and Westminster, later called the Grand Lodge of England, was founded]]

During the Age of the Enlightenment in the 18th century, Freemasons comprised an international network of like-minded men, often meeting in secret in ritualistic programs at their lodges. They promoted the ideals of the Enlightenment and helped diffuse these values across Britain and France and other places. British Freemasonry offered a systematic creed with its own myths, values and set of rituals. It fostered new codes of conduct—including a communal understanding of liberty and equality inherited from guild sociability—"liberty, fraternity, and equality."<ref>Margaret C. Jacob's seminal work on Enlightenment freemasonry, Margaret C. Jacob, ''Living the Enlightenment: Free masonry and Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe'' (Oxford University Press, 1991) p. 49.</ref> Scottish soldiers and Jacobite Scots brought to the Continent ideals of fraternity which reflected not the local system of Scottish customs but the institutions and ideals originating in the English Revolution against royal absolutism.<ref>Margaret C. Jacob, "Polite worlds of Enlightenment", in Martin Fitzpatrick and Peter Jones, eds. ''The Enlightenment World'' (Routledge, 2004) pp. 272–287.</ref> Freemasonry was particularly prevalent in France—by 1789, there were between 50,000 and 100,000 French Masons, making Freemasonry the most popular of all Enlightenment associations.<ref>Daniel Roche, ''France in the Enlightenment'' (Harvard U.P. 1998) p. 436.</ref>

Jacob argues that Masonic lodges probably had an effect on society as a whole, for they "reconstituted the polity and established a constitutional form of self-government, complete with constitutions and laws, elections and representatives". In other words, the micro-society set up within the lodges constituted a normative model for society as a whole. This was especially true on the Continent: when the first lodges began to appear in the 1730s, their embodiment of British values was often seen as threatening by state authorities. For example, the Parisian lodge that met in the mid-1720s was composed of English Jacobite exiles.<ref>Jacob, ''Living the Enlightenment,'' pp. 20, 73, 89.</ref> Furthermore, freemasons all across Europe made reference to the Enlightenment in general in the 18th century. In French lodges, for example, the line "As the means to be enlightened I search for the enlightened" was a part of their initiation rites. British lodges assigned themselves the duty to "initiate the unenlightened". Many lodges praised the Grand Architect, the masonic terminology for the divine being who created a scientifically ordered universe.<ref>Jacob, ''Living the Enlightenment,'' pp. 145–147.</ref>

On the other hand, the historian Robert Roswell Palmer noted that lodges operated separately and Masons politically did not act together as a group.<ref>Robert R. Palmer, ''The Age of the Democratic Revolution: The struggle'' (1970) p. 53</ref> American historians note that Benjamin Franklin and George Washington were leading Masons, but the significance of Freemasonry in the revolution is a topic of debate.<ref>Neil L. York, "Freemasons and the American Revolution", ''The Historian'' 55#2 (1993), pp 315+.</ref> Daniel Roche contests freemasonry's claims for egalitarianism, writing that "the real equality of the lodges was elitist", only attracting men of similar social backgrounds.<ref>Roche, 437.</ref>

In long-term historical perspective, Norman Davies has argued that Freemasonry was a powerful force in Europe from about 1700 to the twentieth century. It expanded rapidly during the Age of Enlightenment, reaching practically every country in Europe, as well as the European colonies in the New World and Asia. Davies states, "In the nineteenth century and beyond it would be strongly associated with the cause of Liberalism."<ref>{{cite book|author=Norman Davies|title=Europe: A History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jrVW9W9eiYMC&pg=PA634|year=1996|publisher=Oxford UP|pages=634|isbn=978-0-19-820171-7 }}</ref> In Catholic lands it was anti-clerical and came under heavy attack from the Catholic Church. In the 20th century, it was suppressed by Fascist and Communist regimes. It was especially attractive to royalty, aristocrats, politicians and businessmen, as well as intellectuals, artists and political activists. Davies notes that prominent members included Montesquieu, Voltaire, Sir Robert Walpole, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.<ref>Davis, ''Europe'' p. 634.</ref> Steven Bullock notes that in the late 18th century, English lodges were headed by the Prince of Wales, Prussian lodges by King Frederick the Great, and French lodges by royal princes. Napoleon as Emperor of the French selected his own brother as the Grand Master of France.<ref>Steven C. Bullock, "Initiating the enlightenment?: recent scholarship on European freemasonry." ''Eighteenth-Century Life'' 20#1 (1996): 80–92. [https://muse.jhu.edu/article/10377/summary online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617215840/https://muse.jhu.edu/article/10377/summary |date=17 June 2018 }}</ref>

===Emergence of Continental or Liberal Freemasonry=== {{Main|Continental Freemasonry}} thumb|Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745|alt=Masonic initiation, Paris, 1745

English Freemasonry spread to France in the 1720s, first as lodges of expatriates and exiled Jacobites, and then as distinctively French lodges that still follow the ritual of the Premier Grand Lodge of England. From France and England, Freemasonry spread to most of Continental Europe during the course of the 18th century. The Grande Loge de France was formed under the Grand Mastership of the Duke of Clermont, who exercised only nominal authority. His successor, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, reconstituted the central body as the Grand Orient de France in 1773. Briefly eclipsed during the French Revolution, French Freemasonry continued to grow in the next century,<ref>[http://www.godf.org/index.php/pages/details/slug/histoire-de-la-franc-maconnerie ''Histoire de la Franc-maçonnerie''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151226065508/http://www.godf.org/index.php/pages/details/slug/histoire-de-la-franc-maconnerie |date=26 December 2015 }}, Grand Orient de France, retrieved 12 November 2013</ref> at first under the leadership of Alexandre Francois Auguste de Grasse, Comte de Grassy-Tilly.

===France=== {{Further|Freemasonry in France}}

In the 18th century, liberal French politicians met together in Masonic lodges to develop some of the Enlightenment ideas that dominated the French Revolution of 1789.<ref>Margaret C. Jacob, ''Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry & Politics in Eighteenth-Century Europe'' (1992).</ref> Avner Halpern has traced French Freemasonry's major role in building France's first modern political party in 1901, the Radical Party. It used two Masonic devices: the "civil leadership model", which Freemasonry developed in late 19th century France, and the local Masonic congresses of the Grand Orient of France federations.<ref>Avner Halpern, "Freemasonry and party building in late 19th-Century France." ''Modern & Contemporary France'' 10.2 (2002): 197–210.</ref>

===Russia=== {{Further|History of Freemasonry in Russia}}

Freemasons had been active in Russia in the 18th century, working to introduce Enlightenment ideals; however, they were increasingly suppressed by the government.<ref>Douglas Smith, "Freemasonry and the public in eighteenth-century Russia." ''Eighteenth-century studies'' 29.1 (1995): 25–44.</ref> According to Ludwick Hass, Freemasonry was officially illegal in Tsarist Russia, but would later be introduced by exiles who returned after the 1905 revolution. These individuals had been active Masons in Paris, where lodges were politically active in the new Radical Party. In Russia, the Freemasons supported constitutional liberalism and maintained ties with France while simplifying many of the ceremonial rituals. Their secret meetings became a centre of progressive ideals, attracting politicians and activists. The lodges initially supported World War I, promoting close ties with France. The liberal activist Alexander Kerensky, who came to political power with the overthrow of the tsars in 1917, was a Mason. The organisation collapsed as the Bolsheviks took power and was again outlawed.<ref>Ludwik Hass, "The Russian Masonic Movement in the Years 1906–1918." ''Acta Poloniae Historica'' 48 (1983): 95–131.</ref>

===Italy=== {{Further|Freemasonry in Italy}}

According to Adrian Lyttelton, in the early 20th century, Freemasonry was an influential but semi-secret force in Italian politics; with a strong presence among professionals and the middle class across Italy, its appeal spread to the leadership of the parliament, public administration, and the army. The two main organisations were the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge of Italy. They had around 25,000 members in some 500 lodges. Politically, they promoted Italian nationalism, focused on unification, and undermining the power of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was a vigorous opponent of unification, and thus of the Freemasons; various national governments would repeatedly alternate and backpedal between the anticlerical side and the Church side.<ref>Adrian Lyttelton, "An Old Church and a New State: Italian Anticlericalism 1876–1915." ''European Studies Review'' 13.2 (1983): 225–248.</ref> Freemasons took on the challenge of mobilising the press, encouraging public opinion and the leading political parties in support of Italy's joining of the Allies of the First World War in 1914–1915. In 1919 they favoured a League of Nations to promote a new post-war, universal order based upon the peaceful coexistence of independent and democratic nations.<ref>Fulvio Conti, "From Universalism to Nationalism: Italian Freemasonry and the Great War." ''Journal of Modern Italian Studies'' 20.5 (2015): 640–662.</ref> In the early 1920s, many of Mussolini's collaborators, especially the leaders in organising the March on Rome, were Masons. The lodges hailed fascism as the saviour of Italy from Bolshevism; however, Mussolini decided he needed to come to terms with the Catholic Church, in the mid-1920s, outlawing Freemasonry.<ref>Martin Clark, ''Modern Italy 1871–1995'' (1996) p. 254.</ref>

===Germany=== {{Main|Freemasonry in Germany}} {{Expand section|date=November 2025}}

===North America=== [[File:Erasmus James Philipps, Old Burying Ground, Halifax, Nova Scotia.jpg|thumb|Erasmus James Philipps, first Freemason in present-day Canada, Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia)]] thumb|right|Federal Hall, New York City, site of George Washington's first inauguration, April 30, 1789.

thumb|right|Masonic Conescecration of Solder Monument Gettysburg PA July 1865 (Made from Alexander Gardner Photograph Harper's Weekly July 22,1865 p.453) thumb|right|upright=1.5|Illustration promoting African American ascent of the ladder of success, from a Prince Hall Masonic convention program book in 1920 The earliest known American lodges were in Pennsylvania. The collector for the port of Pennsylvania, John Moore, wrote of attending lodges there in 1715, two years before the putative formation of the first Grand Lodge in London. The Grand Lodge of England appointed a Provincial Grand Master for North America in 1731, based in Pennsylvania,<ref>[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/pennsylvania_freemasonry.html Francis Vicente, An Overview of Early Freemasonry in Pennsylvania] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520014313/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/pennsylvania_freemasonry.html |date=20 May 2013 }}, ''Pietre-Stones'', retrieved 15 November 2013</ref> leading to the creation of the Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania.

In Canada Erasmus James Philipps became a Freemason while working on a commission to resolve boundaries in New England and, in 1739 he became provincial Grand Master for Nova Scotia; Philipps founded the first Masonic lodge in Canada at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.grandlodgens.org/content/chapter-1-beginnings| title = History of Freemasons in Nova Scotia| access-date = 23 April 2019| archive-date = 23 April 2016| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160423005153/http://www.grandlodgens.org/content/chapter-1-beginnings| url-status = live}}</ref>

Other lodges in the colony of Pennsylvania obtained authorisations from the later Antient Grand Lodge of England, the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge of Ireland, which was particularly well represented in the travelling lodges of the British Army.<ref>[http://www.stjohns1.org/portal/lodge_history Werner Hartmann, "History of St. John's Lodge No. 1"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131207154541/http://www.stjohns1.org/portal/lodge_history |date=7 December 2013 }}, ''St. John's Lodge No. 1, A.Y.M.'', 2012, retrieved 16 November 2013</ref><ref>M. Baigent and R. Leigh, ''The Temple and the Lodge'', Arrow 1998, Appendix 2, pp. 360–362, "Masonic Field Lodges in Regiments in America", 1775–77</ref> Many lodges came into existence with no warrant from any Grand Lodge, applying and paying for their authorisation only after they were confident of their own survival.<ref>Robert L.D. Cooper, ''Cracking the Freemason's Code'', Rider 2006, p. 190</ref>

After the American Revolution independent US Grand Lodges developed within each state. Some thought was briefly given to organising an overarching "Grand Lodge of the United States", with George Washington, who was a member of a Virginian lodge, as the first Grand Master, but the idea was short-lived. The various state Grand Lodges did not wish to diminish their own authority by agreeing to such a body.<ref name=":2">{{cite book|title=Revolutionary brotherhood: Freemasonry and the transformation of the American social order, 1730–1840|last=Bullock|first=Steven C.|author2=Institute of Early American History and Culture (Williamsburg, Va.)|location=Chapel Hill|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-8078-4750-3|oclc=33334015}}</ref>

On 30 April 1789, Washington took his oath of office at his first inauguration upon a Bible belonging to St. John's Lodge No. 1 of New York.<ref>{{Cite web |title=George Washington Inaugural Bible |url=https://stjohns1.org/the-lodge/george-washington-inaugural-bible/ |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=St. John's Lodge No. 1 A.Y.M. |language=en-US |archive-date=28 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240428171143/https://stjohns1.org/the-lodge/george-washington-inaugural-bible/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Robert Livingston, Chancellor of the State of New York, also the first Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of New York, administered the oath.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-05-18 |title=President George Washington's First Inaugural Speech (1789) |url=https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-george-washingtons-first-inaugural-speech |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=National Archives |language=en |archive-date=26 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526205628/https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/president-george-washingtons-first-inaugural-speech |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Prince Hall Freemasonry==== {{Main|Prince Hall Freemasonry}}

Prince Hall Freemasonry exists because of the refusal of early American lodges to admit African Americans. In 1775, an African American named Prince Hall,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mindspring.com/~johnsonx/whoisph.htm|title=Who is Prince Hall? And other well known Prince Hall Masons|last=Johnson|first=Lawrence|year=1996|access-date=14 November 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070602065851/http://www.mindspring.com/~johnsonx/whoisph.htm|archive-date=2 June 2007|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref> along with 14 other African American men, was initiated into a British military lodge with a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Ireland, having failed to obtain admission from the other lodges in Boston. When the British military Lodge left North America after the end of the Revolutionary War, those 15 men were given the authority to meet as a Lodge, but not to initiate Masons. In 1784, these individuals obtained a Warrant from the Grand Lodge of England (Premiere Grand Lodge) and formed African Lodge, Number 459. When the two English grand lodges united in 1813, all U.S.-based Lodges were stricken from their rolls—largely because of the War of 1812. Thus, separated from both English jurisdiction and any concordantly recognised U.S. Grand Lodge, African Lodge retitled itself as the African Lodge, Number 1—and became a ''de facto'' Grand Lodge. (This lodge is not to be confused with the various Grand Lodges in Africa.) As with the rest of US Freemasonry, Prince Hall Freemasonry soon grew and organised  on a Grand Lodge system for each state.<ref>[http://www.princehall.org/History/Ray%20Colemans%20History.pdf "Prince Hall History Education Class" by Raymond T. Coleman(pdf)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303223554/http://www.princehall.org/History/Ray%20Colemans%20History.pdf |date=3 March 2016 }} retrieved 13 October 2013</ref>

Unlike other fraternal orders, there was never any blanket rule against the admission of men based on their race. Each lodge and grand lodge had their own rules, both written and unwritten. A few non-Prince Hall lodges did admit Blacks, with Angelo Soliman being one notable Masonic personality of African descent. Nonetheless, widespread racial segregation in 19th- and early-20th-century North America made it difficult for African Americans to join Lodges outside of Prince Hall jurisdictions.{{citation needed|date=June 2024}}

Today most (but not all) US Grand Lodges recognise their Prince Hall counterparts, and the authorities of both traditions are working towards full recognition.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bessel.org/masrec/phamapshistorical.htm|title=Prince Hall Masonry Recognition details: Historical Maps|last=Bessel|first=Paul M.|access-date=14 November 2005|archive-date=13 December 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101213215140/http://bessel.org/masrec/phamapshistorical.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref> The United Grand Lodge of England has no problem with recognising Prince Hall Grand Lodges.<ref>[http://www.ugle.org.uk/about/foreign-grand-lodges "Foreign Grand Lodges"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131022100731/http://ugle.org.uk/about/foreign-grand-lodges |date=22 October 2013 }}, ''UGLE Website'', retrieved 25 October 2013</ref> While celebrating their heritage as lodges of African Americans, Prince Hall is open to all men regardless of race or religion.<ref>[http://www.princehall-pa.org/GrandLodge/glhist.htm "History of Prince Hall Masonry: What is Freemasonry"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131119011047/http://www.princehall-pa.org/grandlodge/glhist.htm |date=19 November 2013 }}, ''Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge Free and Accepted Masons Jurisdiction of Pennsylvania'', retrieved 25 October 2013</ref>

===Latin America and Caribbean=== {{Further information|Freemasonry in Latin America}}

====Jamaican Freemasonry==== Freemasonry was imported to Jamaica by British settlers. In 1908 there were eleven recorded Masonic lodges, which included three Grand Lodges, two Craft lodges, and two Rose Croix chapters.<ref name="Handbook of Jamaica">{{cite book |date=1908 |title=Handbook of Jamaica |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-LwCAAAAYAAJ |location=Google Books |publisher=Jamaica Government |page=449 }}</ref> During slavery, the lodges were open to all "freeborn" men. After the full abolition of slavery in 1838, the Lodges were open to all Jamaican men of any race.<ref name="Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper">{{cite news |date=10 December 2017 |title=Charting The History Of Freemasons In Jamaica |url=http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/art-leisure/20171210/charting-history-freemasons-jamaica |work=Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper |archive-date=28 January 2019 |access-date=28 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190128191302/http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/art-leisure/20171210/charting-history-freemasons-jamaica |url-status=live }}</ref> Jamaica also kept close relationships with Masons from other countries. Jamaican Freemasonry historian Jackie Ranston noted that:

{{Blockquote|text=Jamaica served as an arms depot for the revolutionary forces when two Kingston Freemasons, Wellwood and Maxwell Hyslop, financed the campaigns of Simón Bolívar, the Liberator, to whom six Latin American Republics owe their independence". Bolívar himself was a Mason, enjoying contacts with Brethren in Spain, England, France, and Venezuela until after gaining power in Venezuela, he prohibited all secret societies in 1828 and included the Freemasons.<ref name="Jamaica Gleaner Newspaper"/>}}

The Spanish government outlawed Freemasonry in its overseas empire in the mid-18th century, and energetically enforced the ban. Nevertheless, many Freemasons were active in planning and plotting for independence.<ref>Miriam Erickson, "Don José Rossi y Rubí and Spanish Freemasonry in the Revolutionary Atlantic, 1785–1798." ''Latin Americanist'' 63.1 (2019): 25–47.</ref> Leaders with Freemason membership included Simón Bolivar, Grand Master Francisco de Miranda, José de San Martin, Bernardo O'Higgins and many others.<ref>Karen Racine, "Freemasonry" in Michael S. Werner, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Mexico: History, Society, and Culture'' (Fitzroy Dearborn, 1997) 1:538–540.</ref> The movement was important after independence was achieved in the 1820s.<ref>Bogdan and Snoek, eds., ''Handbook of Freemasonry'' (2014) pp. 439–440.</ref> In Brazil many prominent men were Freemasons, and they played a leading role in the abolition of slavery.<ref>Renata Ribeiro Francisco, "Os heróis maçônicos na historiografia da abolição em São Paulo" [Masonic heroes in the historiography of abolition in São Paulo] ''História da Historiografia'' (2020), 13#34 pp. 271–302.</ref>

====Mexico==== Freemasons were leaders in liberalism and anticlericalism in 19th and 20th-century Mexico. Members included numerous top leaders.<ref>Karen Racine, "Freemasonry" in Michael S. Werner, ed. ''Encyclopedia of Mexico'' (1997) 1:538–540.</ref> The Freemasons were divided regarding relations with the United States, with a pro-U.S. faction supported by the American ambassador Joel Poinsett known as the "Yorkinos".<ref>Lillian Estelle Fisher, "Early Masonry in Mexico (1806–1828)." ''Southwestern Historical Quarterly'' 42.3 (1939): 198–214. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/30235836 online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230307181615/https://www.jstor.org/stable/30235836 |date=7 March 2023 }}</ref><ref>Watson Smith, "Influences from the United States on the Mexican Constitution of 1824." ''Arizona and the West'' 4.2 (1962): 113–126.</ref> According to the historian Karen Racine, Freemasons in the presidency of Mexico included: Guadalupe Victoria, Valentín Gómez Farías, Antonio López de Santa Anna, Benito Juárez, Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, Porfirio Díaz, Francisco I. Madero, Venustiano Carranza, Plutarco Elías Calles, Lázaro Cárdenas, Emilio Portes Gil, Pascual Ortiz Rubio, Abelardo L. Rodríguez and Miguel Alemán Valdés.<ref>Racine, p. 1:540.</ref>

=== Freemasonry in the Middle East === {{Further|History of Freemasonry#Freemasonry in the Middle East|label1=Freemasonry in the Middle East}}

After the failure of the 1830 Italian revolution, a number of Italian Freemasons were forced to flee. They secretly set up an approved chapter of Scottish Rite in Alexandria, a town already inhabited by a large Italian community. Meanwhile, the French Freemasons publicly organised a local chapter in Alexandria in 1845.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=M. Landau|first=Jacob|date=1965|title=Prolegomena to a study of secret societies in modern Egypt|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00263206508700010?journalCode=fmes20|journal=Middle Eastern Studies|publisher=Routledge|volume=1|issue=2|page=139|doi=10.1080/00263206508700010|via=Tandfonline | issn = 0026-3206}}</ref> During the 19th and 20th century, Masonic lodges operated widely across all parts of the Ottoman Empire and numerous Sufi orders shared a close relationship with them. Many Young Turks affiliated with the Bektashi Order were members and patrons of Freemasonry. They were also closely allied against European imperialism. Many Ottoman intellectuals believed that Sufism and Freemasonry shared close similarities in doctrines, spiritual outlook and mysticism.<ref>{{Cite book|last=De Poli|first=Barbara|title=Freemansonry and the Orient: Esotericisms between the East and the West|publisher=Edizioni Ca' Foscari-Digital publishing|year=2019|isbn=978-8869693397|pages=75–86|chapter=Chapter 6: Sufi and Freemasons in the Ottoman Empire 6.1 ʿAbd Al-Qādir Al-Jazāʾirī}}</ref>

===Asia-Pacific===

====China==== The first lodge formed in China was the Amity Lodge which constituted at Canton in 1767. In 1875, District Grand Lodge of China split into two Districts, Northern China, and Hong Kong and South China. During the second world war, all Masonic activity in Hong Kong was brought to a halt due to the Japanese invasion. After 1949, when the new Chinese government (Communist) was established, some lodges moved to Hong Kong or closed due to a lack of new candidates.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hamill |first=John |title=The Craft: a history of English freemasonry |date=1986 |publisher=Crucible |isbn=978-0-85030-460-2 |location=Wellingborough, GB}}</ref> Freemasonry is currently outlawed by the Chinese Communist Party in mainland China. It is permitted in Hong Kong. Freemasonry survived on the island of Taiwan and the Grand Lodge of China is based in Taipei.<ref>{{cite web |title=A mason in China |url=https://masons.au/news/A-mason-in-China/ |website=masons.au}}</ref> Royal Sussex Lodge No. 501 was the first lodge established in Victoria City of Hong Kong on 29 April 1844. There are 20 (English Constitution) lodges under the District Grand Lodge of Hong Kong and Far East, United Grand Lodge of England that meet at Zetland Hall.<ref>{{Cite web |title=HOME |url=https://www.zetlandhall.com/ |access-date=2024-09-11 |website=Zetland Hall Website |language=en |archive-date=3 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230903224831/https://www.zetlandhall.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref> ====India==== [[File:Asansol Masonic lodge or Masonic Hall, founded in 1873 in Asansol 01.jpg|thumb|left|Fremasonary lodge in Asansol, India founded in 1873]]

===Schisms===

====Racial schism==== The relationship between English and French Freemasonry changed significantly during the formation of the United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. While the two jurisdictions maintained mutual recognition for several decades, events in the 1860s and 1870s led to a lasting division. In 1868 the ''Supreme Council of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the State of Louisiana'' established itself within the jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana. This body was recognised by the Grand Orient de France but considered irregular by the Grand Lodge of Louisiana because it admitted Black members. The following year, shocked by the Grand Lodge of Louisiana's discrimination practices, the Grand Orient de France clarified and cemented its positions by passing a resolution declaring that "neither colour, race, nor religion could disqualify a man from Masonry". This prompted the Grand Lodge of Louisiana to withdraw recognition and influenced other American Grand Lodges to do the same.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060410074658/http://bessel.org/masrec/france.htm Paul Bessel, "U.S. Recognition of French Grand Lodges in the 1900s"]}}, from ''Heredom: The Transactions of the Scottish Rite Research Society'', vol 5, 1996, pp. 221–244, ''Paul Bessel'' website, retrieved 12 November 2013</ref>

====Theological schism==== A philosophical debate during the Lausanne Congress of Supreme Councils of 1875 led the Grand Orient de France to examine its foundational principles. Following a report by a Protestant pastor, they concluded that Freemasonry, not being a religion, should not require religious belief.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brodsky |first1=Michael L. |title=A European View of Masonic Growth |url=https://skirret.com/papers/european_view_of_masonic_growth.html |website=The Skirret |access-date=23 January 2025}}</ref> The Grand Orient revised its constitution to emphasise "absolute liberty of conscience and human solidarity", removing previous requirements regarding belief in the existence of God and the immortality of the soul. The United Grand Lodge of England subsequently withdrew recognition of the Grand Orient de France, possibly influenced by contemporary political tensions between France and Britain. This separation continues today.<ref name="Buta">[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/masonic_foreign_recognitions.html Jack Buta, "The God Conspiracy, The Politics of Grand Lodge Foreign Relations"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711032237/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/masonic_foreign_recognitions.html |date=11 July 2011 }}, ''Pietre-Stones'', retrieved 23 November 2013</ref>

====Evolution of styles==== This philosophical development led to a diversification within French Freemasonry. In 1894, some lodges formed the Grande Loge de France, maintaining a reference to the Great Architect of the Universe while preserving many French Masonic traditions, representing a middle path between Liberal and Anglo approaches.<ref>[http://www.gldf.org/gldf-obedience-maconnique/gldf-qui-sommes-nous/historique-de-la-gldf.html ''Historique de la GLDF''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222222346/http://www.gldf.org/gldf-obedience-maconnique/gldf-qui-sommes-nous/historique-de-la-gldf.html |date=22 December 2015 }}, Grande Loge de France, retrieved 14 November 2013</ref> By 1913 the United Grand Lodge of England established relations with the newly formed "Grande Loge Nationale Indépendante et Régulière pour la France et les Colonies Françaises," which aligned more closely with Anglo-American Masonic practices.<ref>[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/bernheim27.html Alain Bernheim, "My approach to Masonic History"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230709203449/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/bernheim27.html |date=9 July 2023 }}, Manchester 2011, ''Pietre-Stones'', retrieved 14 November 2013</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Jacob |first=Margaret C. |title=The Origins of Freemasonry: Facts and Fictions |year=2007 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0812219883}}</ref>

This diversification allowed French Freemasonry to develop along multiple paths. The Grand Orient de France continued as a significant intellectual and progressive force in French society. Its Liberal emphasis on freedom of conscience and social progress has been particularly influential in the development of secular democratic values throughout Europe and beyond,{{citation needed|date=June 2025}} while Anglo-American bodies have maintained their own distinct approach to Masonic principles.

Modern Freemasonry encompasses three main approaches, which influence practice throughout Continental Europe:<ref>{{cite journal |last=Nord |first=Philip |title=Freemasonry, Civil Society, and Democracy− in Nineteenth-Century France |journal=Tocqueville Review |volume=37 |issue=2 |year=2016|doi=10.3138/ttr.37.2.161|doi-broken-date=1 July 2025 }}</ref>

* Liberal<ref>{{cite web |title=Liberals |url=https://freemasonry.network/liberals/ |website=FREEMASONRY.network |access-date=16 January 2025 |archive-date=2 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202121616/https://freemasonry.network/liberals/ |url-status=live }}</ref> (or adogmatic/progressive) – Emphasising liberty of conscience and laïcité, particularly regarding separation of Church and State.<ref>[http://www.frenchfreemasonry.org/grand-lodges/liberal-freemasonry "Liberal Grand Lodges"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120051953/http://www.frenchfreemasonry.org/grand-lodges/liberal-freemasonry |date=20 January 2015 }}, ''French Freemasonry'', retrieved 14 November 2013</ref> * Traditional – Following established French practices while maintaining requirement for belief in a supreme being.<ref>[http://www.frenchfreemasonry.org/grand-lodges/traditional-grand-lodges "Traditional Grand Lodges"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714115355/http://www.frenchfreemasonry.org/grand-lodges/traditional-grand-lodges |date=14 July 2014 }}, ''French Freemasonry'', retrieved 14 November 2013</ref> The Grande Loge de France exemplifies this approach. * Conservative<ref>{{cite web |last1=de Biasi |first1=Jean-Louis |author1-link=Jean-Louis de Biasi |title=Esoteric Freemasonry |url=https://issuu.com/llewellyn/docs/9780738748481 |website=Issuu |date=8 February 2018 |access-date=16 January 2025 |page=25 |archive-date=19 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250119211042/https://issuu.com/llewellyn/docs/9780738748481 |url-status=live }}</ref> – Following Anglo-American practices with mandatory belief in supreme being.<ref>[http://www.frenchfreemasonry.org/grand-lodges/regular-grand-lodges "Regular Grand Lodges"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120052209/http://www.frenchfreemasonry.org/grand-lodges/regular-grand-lodges |date=20 January 2015 }}, ''French Freemasonry'', retrieved 14 November 2013</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite book |last=Önnerfors |first=Andreas |title=Freemasonry: A Very Short Introduction |year=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0198796275}}</ref>

The term Continental Freemasonry historically described the diverse Masonic traditions that developed in Europe. While Albert Mackey's 1873 ''Encyclopedia of Freemasonry'' defined it from an Anglo-American perspective as lodges that "retain many usages which have either been abandoned by, or never were observed in, the Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland,"<ref>[http://encyclopediaoffreemasonry.com/c/continental-lodges/ "Continental Lodges"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203010710/http://encyclopediaoffreemasonry.com/c/continental-lodges/ |date=3 December 2013 }},''Mackey's Encyclopedia of Freemasonry'', retrieved 30 November 2013</ref> a more balanced view recognises that these represent distinct philosophical approaches to Masonic principles.

Today, Liberal Freemasonry encompasses traditions like the Grand Orient de France, which emphasises freedom of conscience and social progress, as well as bodies like the Grande Loge de France that maintain some traditional elements while embracing certain Liberal principles. These organisations have played significant roles in the development of democratic ideals, human rights, and social reform throughout Europe and Latin America, representing a dynamic interpretation of Masonic principles focused on human advancement and the betterment of society.<ref>For instance [http://cornwineoil.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/women-in-freemasonry-and-oriental.html "Women in Freemasonry, and Continental Freemasonry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203022322/http://cornwineoil.blogspot.co.uk/2009/06/women-in-freemasonry-and-oriental.html |date=3 December 2013 }}, ''Corn Wine and Oil'', June 2009, retrieved 30 November 2013</ref>{{better source needed|date=June 2025}}

Different approaches to recognition and interaction between Masonic bodies emerged in the 20th century. In 1961, several Grand Lodges and Grand Orients established the Centre de Liaison et d'Information des Puissances maçonniques Signataires de l'Appel de Strasbourg (CLIPSAS), creating an international forum for Masonic cooperation. CLIPSAS membership includes over 100 Masonic organisations worldwide, encompassing traditional, liberal, and mixed-gender organisations.<ref>{{cite book |last=Snoek |first=Jan A.M. |author2=Henrik Bogdan |title=Handbook of Freemasonry |year=2014 |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-9004273122}}</ref>

This development reflected different philosophical approaches to Masonic recognition. The United Grand Lodge of England maintains a policy of exclusive recognition based on specific criteria, including belief in a supreme being and male-only membership. In contrast, CLIPSAS member organisations generally practise open recognition, allowing interaction between diverse Masonic traditions.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Révauger |first=Cécile |title=Unity and Diversity in European Freemasonry |journal=Journal for Research into Freemasonry and Fraternalism |volume=5 |issue=1 |year=2014}}</ref>

These differing approaches to recognition have led to distinct networks of Masonic interaction, often characterised as Anglo-American and Liberal traditions, though this simplification does not fully capture the complexity of modern Masonic relationships.<ref name="auto"/>

Developments in the late 20th and 21st centuries indicate shifting perspectives within Anglo-American Freemasonry regarding women's organisations. In 1999 the United Grand Lodge of England officially acknowledged both The Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (Freemasonry for Women) as legitimate Masonic bodies. While not extending formal recognition, UGLE maintains "''excellent working relationships''" with both Grand Lodges and collaborates with them on various initiatives, including joint participation in Open House London events at Freemasons' Hall and university recruitment fairs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ugle.org.uk/discover-freemasonry/women-freemasons |title=Women Freemasons |publisher=United Grand Lodge of England |access-date=2024-01-16 }}{{Dead link|date=October 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> This represents a significant evolution from earlier stricter positions and demonstrates increasing liberalisation and acceptance of diverse Masonic traditions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Prescott |first=Andrew |title=The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline |year=2018 |publisher=Sheffield Lectures on the History of Freemasonry |isbn=9780956209603}}</ref> Additionally, in 2018 UGLE released guidance explicitly welcoming transgender members and affirming that "A Freemason who after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason."<ref>{{cite news |last=Gayle |first=Damien |title=Freemasons to admit women – but only if they first joined as men |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/01/freemasons-to-admit-women-but-only-if-they-first-joined-as-men |work=The Guardian |date=2018-08-01 |access-date=2024-01-16}}</ref>

===Freemasonry and women=== {{Main|Freemasonry and women|Co-Freemasonry}}

The status of women in the old guilds and corporations of medieval masons remains uncertain. The principle of "femme sole" allowed a widow to continue the trade of her husband, but its application had wide local variations, such as full membership of a trade body or limited trade by deputation or approved members of that body.<ref>Antonia Frazer, ''The Weaker Vessel'', Mandarin paperbacks, 1989, pp. 108–109</ref> In Masonry, the small available evidence points to the less empowered end of the scale.<ref>for example, see David Murray Lyon, ''History of the lodge of Edinburgh'', Blackwood, Edinburgh, 1873, pp. 121–123</ref>

At the dawn of the Grand Lodge era, during the 1720s, James Anderson composed the first printed constitutions for Freemasons, the basis for most subsequent constitutions, which specifically excluded women from Freemasonry.<ref name=AndersonCharge3>{{cite book|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=libraryscience|access-date=12 August 2013|title=The Constitutions of the Free-Masons|last=Anderson|first=James|publisher=Benjamin Franklin|location=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|editor=Paul Royster|edition=Philadelphia|year=1734|orig-year=1723|page=49|quote=The Persons admitted Members of a Lodge must be good and true Men, free-born, and of mature and discreet Age, no Bondmen, no Women, no immoral or scandalous Men, but of good Report.|archive-date=19 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019042640/http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1028&context=libraryscience|url-status=live}}</ref> As Freemasonry spread, women began to be added to the Lodges of Adoption by their husbands who were continental masons, which worked three degrees with the same names as the men's but different content. The French officially abandoned the experiment in the early 19th century.<ref>[http://www.themasonictrowel.com/books/lexicon_of_freemasonry_by_Albert_Mackey/files/AMAP1/Amac-9.htm "Adoptive Freemasonry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004230926/http://www.themasonictrowel.com/books/lexicon_of_freemasonry_by_Albert_Mackey/files/AMAP1/Amac-9.htm |date=4 October 2013 }} Entry from ''Mackey's Lexicon of Freemasonry''</ref><ref name="Thames">[http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/Cabinet_Card_Woman_in_Masonic_Regalia.htm Barbara L. Thames, "A History of Women's Masonry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130815054159/http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/masonicmuseum/Cabinet_Card_Woman_in_Masonic_Regalia.htm |date=15 August 2013 }}, ''Phoenix Masonry'', retrieved 5 March 2013</ref> Later organisations with a similar aim emerged in the United States but distinguished the names of the degrees from those of male masonry.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20200222093053/http://www.masonicdictionary.com/oes.html "Order of the Eastern Star"]}} ''Masonic Dictionary'', retrieved 9 January 2013</ref>

Maria Deraismes was initiated into Freemasonry in 1882, then resigned to allow her lodge to rejoin their Grand Lodge. Having failed to achieve acceptance from any masonic governing body, she and Georges Martin started a mixed masonic lodge that worked masonic ritual.<ref>[http://www.droithumain-france.org/node/151 "Maria Deraismes (1828–1894)"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004224129/http://www.droithumain-france.org/node/151 |date=4 October 2013 }}, ''Droit Humain'', retrieved 5 March 2013. (French Language)</ref> Annie Besant spread the phenomenon to the English-speaking world.<ref>[http://www.phoenixmasonry.org/history_of_co-freemasonry.htm Jeanne Heaslewood, "A Brief History of the Founding of Co-Freemasonry"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607001523/http://phoenixmasonry.org/history_of_co-freemasonry.htm |date=7 June 2013 }}, 1999, ''Phoenix Masonry'', retrieved 12 August 2013</ref> Disagreements over ritual led to the formation of exclusively female bodies of Freemasons in England, which spread to other countries. Meanwhile, the French had re-invented Adoption as an all-female lodge in 1901, only to cast it aside again in 1935. The lodges, however, continued to meet, which gave rise, in 1959, to a body of women practising continental Freemasonry.<ref name="Thames" />

In general, Continental Freemasonry is sympathetic to Freemasonry among women, dating from the 1890s when French lodges assisted the emergent co-masonic movement by promoting enough of their members to the 33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite to allow them, in 1899, to form their own grand council, recognised by the other Continental Grand Councils of that Rite.<ref name="DHHistoire">[https://web.archive.org/web/20111021235404/http://www.droithumain-france.org/contenu/identite-histoire/histoire/les-grandes-figures/histoire-du-droit-humain "Histoire du Droit Humain"], ''Droit Humain'', retrieved 12 August 2013</ref> The United Grand Lodge of England issued a statement in 1999 recognising the two women's grand lodges there, The Order of Women Freemasons<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Order of Women Freemasons {{!}} Women's Freemasonry {{!}} Nationwide|url=https://www.owf.org.uk/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=www.owf.org.uk|language=en-gb}}</ref> and The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons,<ref>{{Cite web|title=HFAF {{!}} Freemasonry for Women|url=https://hfaf.org/|access-date=2021-06-17|language=en|archive-date=2 June 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240602003216/https://hfaf.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> to be regular in all but the participants. While they were not, therefore, recognised as regular, they were part of Freemasonry "in general".<ref name="UGLEFAQ" /><ref>[http://www.hfaf.org/ugle.htm "Text of UGLE statement"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604174900/http://www.hfaf.org/ugle.htm |date=4 June 2013 }}, ''Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons – Freemasonry For Women'', retrieved 12 August 2012</ref> The attitude of most regular Anglo-American grand lodges remains that women Freemasons are not legitimate Masons.<ref>Karen Kidd, ''Haunted Chambers: the Lives of Early Women Freemasons'', Cornerstone, 2009, pp. 204–205</ref>

In 2018 guidance was released by the United Grand Lodge of England stating that, in regard to transgender women, "A Freemason who after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason".<ref name="trans">{{cite news|author=Damien Gayle |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/aug/01/freemasons-to-admit-women-but-only-if-they-first-joined-as-men |title=Freemasons to admit women – but only if they first joined as men {{pipe}} UK news |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2018 |access-date=1 August 2018}}</ref> The guidance also states that transgender men are allowed to apply.<ref name="trans"/>

==Anti-Masonry== {{Main|Anti-Masonry}} [[File:Templo masónico histórico, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, España, 2012-12-15, DD 03.jpg|thumb|Masonic Temple of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, one of the few [https://masoneriaweb.com/fotos-de-gran-logia-de-espana-madrid/ Masonic temples] that survived the Franco dictatorship in Spain]]

''Anti-Masonry'' (alternatively called ''Anti-Freemasonry'') has been defined as the "opposition to Freemasonry".<ref>"Anti-Masonry" – ''Oxford English Dictionary (Compact Edition)'', Oxford University Press, 1979, p. 369</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.webster-dictionary.net/d.aspx?w=Antimasonry |title= Definition of Antimasonry |publisher=Webster Dictionary |access-date=8 September 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928031636/http://www.webster-dictionary.net/d.aspx?w=Antimasonry |archive-date= Sep 28, 2011 }}</ref> it mainly consists of individuals or groups who criticize or refute the Masonic ideals, with no homogeneous anti-Masonic movement ever constituting itself. Critics have included religious groups, political groups, and conspiracy theorists, in particular those espousing Masonic conspiracy theories or the Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory. Certain prominent Anti-Masons, such as Nesta Helen Webster, exclusively criticised "Continental Masonry", while considering "Regular Masonry" to be an honourable association.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Heimbichner|first1=S. Craig|last2=Parfrey|first2=Adam|title=Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society: A Visual Guide|publisher=Feral House|year=2012|pages=187|isbn=978-1936239153|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sVRjCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187}}</ref>

There have been many disclosures and exposés dating as far back as the 18th century. These often lack context,<ref>{{cite book|last=Morris|first=S. Brent|title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry|location=New York|publisher=Alpha Books|year=2006|pages=[https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu00morr/page/85 85 (also discussed in chapters 13 and 16)]|isbn=978-1-59257-490-2|oclc=68042376|url=https://archive.org/details/completeidiotsgu00morr/page/85}}</ref> may be outdated for various reasons,<ref name="changes">{{cite book|last=Robinson|first=John J.|title=A Pilgrim's Path|publisher=M. Evans|location=New York|year=1993|page=[https://archive.org/details/pilgrimspathfree00robi/page/129 129]|isbn=978-0-87131-732-2|oclc=27381296|url=https://archive.org/details/pilgrimspathfree00robi/page/129}}</ref> or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author, as in the case of the Taxil hoax.<ref>{{cite web|last=de Hoyos|first=Arturo|date=18 August 2002|author2=S. Brent Morris|url=http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/taxilhoax.html|title=Leo Taxil Hoax –Bibliography|publisher=Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon|access-date=7 July 2007|archive-date=6 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110806060506/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/taxilhoax.html|url-status=live}}Lists many books which perpetuate Masonic ritual hoaxes.</ref>

thumb|Freemasonry Exposed - page 79 - an example of a 19th-century exposé that, when taken out of context, is criticised by anti-Masons as describing violence towards a candidate [[File:Two of a Kind by Joesph Keppler.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.3|1884 satirical political cartoon from ''Puck'' shows Pope Leo XIII at war with Freemasonry]]

These hoaxes and exposés have often become the basis for criticism of Masonry, often religious or political in nature or are based on suspicion of a corrupt conspiracy of some form. The political opposition that arose after the American "Morgan Affair" in 1826 gave rise to the term ''Anti-Masonry'', which is still in use in America today, both by Masons in referring to their critics and as a self-descriptor by the critics themselves.<ref>[http://dictionary.infoplease.com/anti-mason "Anti-mason"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416200726/http://dictionary.infoplease.com/anti-mason|date=16 April 2009}} ''infoplease.com'' retrieved 9 January 2014</ref>

===Religious opposition=== Freemasonry has attracted criticism from theocratic states and organised religions that believe it is in competition with religion or perceive the fraternity's views or practices as heterodox; it has also long been the target of conspiracy theories that assert Freemasonry to be an occult and evil power.<ref>Morris, S. Brent; ''The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry,'' Alpha books, 2006, p. 204.</ref>

====Christianity and Freemasonry==== {{Main|Christian attitudes towards Freemasonry}}

=====Catholicism===== The denomination with the longest history of objection to Freemasonry is the Catholic Church. The objections raised by the Catholic Church are based on the allegation that Masonry teaches a naturalistic deistic religion which is in conflict with Church doctrine,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=5285 | title = Letter of 19 April 1985 to U.S. Bishops Concerning Masonry|last=Cardinal Law|first=Bernard|author-link=Bernard Francis Law|access-date=9 July 2007|date=19 April 1985|work=CatholicCulture.org|archive-date=16 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716012933/http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?id=5285|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the practice of blood oaths.<ref>[https://www.catholic.com/qa/what-does-the-church-say-about-freemasonry Can Catholics Be Freemasons?]</ref> Some Catholics, particularly priests who work in exorcism, also believe that the oaths sworn by Freemasons constitute curses which can negatively impact the Freemason's descendants to the third or fourth generation, though the concept of generational curses is a subject of debate within the Church.<ref>[https://spiritualdirection.com/2023/05/14/exorcist-diary-generational-curses Exorcist Diary: Generational Curses]</ref>

More than 600 Papal pronouncements have been issued against Freemasonry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ansa.it/oltretevere/notizie/2023/06/26/da-clemente-xii-a-ratzinger-i-papi-contro-la-massoneria_8f26e8e6-17c6-4e6a-b0ab-8ae0e21d039a.html|title=From Clement XII to Ratzinger, the Popes and Freemasonry|author=Emanuela Tulli|language=it|author2=Angela Pellicciari|author2-link=:it:Angela Pellicciari|publisher=ANSA|date=26 June 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20231209224543/https://www.ansa.it/oltretevere/notizie/2023/06/26/da-clemente-xii-a-ratzinger-i-papi-contro-la-massoneria_8f26e8e6-17c6-4e6a-b0ab-8ae0e21d039a.html|archive-date=9 December 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> The first was Pope Clement XII's ''In eminenti apostolatus,'' in 1738; the most recent was Pope Francis in a letter by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2023.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html| title = Vatican confirms Catholics still forbidden to join Masonic lodges| date = 15 November 2023| access-date = 16 November 2023| archive-date = 16 November 2023| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231116012447/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html| url-status = live}}</ref>

The ''1917 Code of Canon Law'' explicitly declared that joining Freemasonry entailed automatic excommunication and banned books favouring Freemasonry.<ref name="canon2335">Canon 2335, 1917 Code of Canon Law from {{cite web | url = http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/canon.html | title = Canon Law regarding Freemasonry, 1917–1983 | publisher = Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon | access-date = 11 May 2007 | archive-date = 5 January 2002 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020105124356/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/anti-masonry/canon.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 1983 the Church issued a new code of canon law. Unlike its predecessor the ''1983 Code of Canon Law'' did not explicitly name Masonic orders among the secret societies it condemns. It states: "A person who joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be punished with an interdict." The omission of Masonic orders caused both Catholics and Freemasons to believe that the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons may have been lifted, especially after the perceived liberalisation of Vatican II.<ref name="RCLaw">{{Cite journal | last = McInvale | first = Reid | year = 1991 | title = Roman Catholic Church Law Regarding Freemasonry | journal = Transactions of Texas Lodge of Research | volume = 27 | pages = 86–97 | url = http://bessel.org/cathtlor.htm | oclc = 47204246 | archive-date = 17 October 2015 | access-date = 26 November 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151017025442/http://bessel.org/cathtlor.htm | url-status = usurped }}</ref> However, the matter was clarified when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a Declaration on Masonic Associations, which states: "... the Church's negative judgment in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion."<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19831126_declaration-masonic_en.html Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration on Masonic Associations] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010314042333/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_19831126_declaration-masonic_en.html |date=14 March 2001 }}, 26 November 1983, retrieved 26 November 2015</ref> In 2023, Pope Francis reaffirmed the ban on Catholics becoming Freemasons stating the "[...] irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry [...]"<ref>''Franciscus'', [https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231113_richiesta-cortes-massoneria_en.pdf Dicasterium Pro Doctrina Fidei] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231115114045/https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_ddf_doc_20231113_richiesta-cortes-massoneria_en.pdf |date=15 November 2023 }}: Note for the audience with the Holy Father, Vatican City, 13 November 2023.</ref> in response to Julito Cortes, Bishop of Dumanguete, who stated concerns over the growing number of Freemasons in the Philippines.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=15 November 2023 |title=Vatican confirms Catholics still forbidden to join Masonic lodges |work=Vatican News |url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html |archive-date=16 November 2023 |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231116012447/https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-11/vatican-catholics-still-forbidden-masonic-lodge.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The renewed ban cited both the ''1983 Code of Canon Law'', as well as the ''Guidelines'' made by a bishops conference in 2003.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Rojas |first=Jose R. |date=20 February 2020 |title=Pastoral guidelines in dealing with individual Catholics – members of Masonry |work=CBCPNews |url=https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/pastoral-guidelines-in-dealing-with-individual-catholics-members-of-masonry/ |archive-date=27 February 2025 |access-date=16 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250227172852/https://cbcpnews.net/cbcpnews/pastoral-guidelines-in-dealing-with-individual-catholics-members-of-masonry/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

For its part, Freemasonry has never objected to Catholics joining their fraternity. Those Grand Lodges in amity with the United Grand Lodge of England deny the Church's claims, stating that "Freemasonry does not seek to replace a Mason's religion or provide a substitute for it."<ref name="UGLEFAQ" /> However, some Masonic rituals require the member to denounce the papacy, and various Freemason government officials in various countries have sought to restrict the religious freedom of the Catholic Church.<ref>[https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/what-are-the-masons-are-catholics-allowed-to-belong-to-this-organization-1174 What are the Masons? Are Catholics allowed to belong to this organization?]</ref>

=====Protestant denominations===== In contrast to Catholic allegations of rationalism and naturalism, Protestant objections are more likely to be based on allegations of mysticism, occultism, and even Satanism.<ref name=Satanism >{{cite web |url=http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0093/0093_01.asp |title=The Curse of Baphomet |access-date=29 September 2007 |author=Jack Chick |archive-date=11 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080511173845/http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0093/0093_01.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Chick is a primary source for Protestant beliefs and may not represent all Protestants, causing reliability and due weight issues|date=June 2024}} The Masonic scholar Albert Pike is often quoted (in some cases misquoted) by Protestant anti-Masons as an authority for the position of Masonry on these issues.<ref>{{cite book|author=Arturo de Hoyos and S. Brent Morris|title=Is it True What They Say About Freemasonry, 2nd edition (revised), chapter 1|publisher=M. Evans & Company|year=2004|url=http://204.3.136.66/web/SRpublications/DeHoyos.htm#i8|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202094337/http://204.3.136.66/web/SRpublications/DeHoyos.htm#i8|archive-date=2 December 2013}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Book was written by Freemasons in defense of Freemasonry, leading to risk of bias; should be replaced with neutral academic source|date=June 2024}} However, Pike, although undoubtedly learned, was not a spokesman for Freemasonry and was also controversial among Freemasons in general. His writings represented his personal opinion only, and furthermore, an opinion grounded in the attitudes and understandings of late 19th century Southern Freemasonry of the US. Notably, his book carries in the preface a form of disclaimer from his own Grand Lodge. No one voice has ever spoken for the whole of Freemasonry.<ref>{{Cite book| last1 = Pike | first1 = Albert | author-link1 = Albert Pike | author2 = T. W. Hugo; Scottish Rite (Masonic order). Supreme Council of the Thirty-Third Degree for the Southern Jurisdiction | title = Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry | location = Washington, DC | publisher = House of the Temple | year = 1950 | orig-year = 1871 | oclc = 12870276 | quote = In preparing this work [Pike] has been about equally Author and Compiler. (p. iii.) ... The teachings of these Readings are not sacramental, so far as they go beyond the realm of Morality into those of other domains of Thought and Truth. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite uses the word "Dogma" in its true sense of doctrine, or teaching; and is not dogmatic in the odious sense of that term. Everyone is entirely free to reject and dissent from whatsoever herein may seem to him to be untrue or unsound (p. iv) }}</ref>

In 1993 the Southern Baptist Convention's Home Mission Board determined that some parts of freemasonry are incompatible with Christianity, while others are compatible, concluding that participation in freemasonry should be considered "a matter of personal conscience".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://jeffstraub.net/baptists-and-freemasonry-can-a-christian-be-a-faithful-believer-and-be-a-freemason/ | title=Baptists and Freemasonry? Can a Christian be a Faithful Believer and be a Freemason? | Jeff Straub | access-date=16 January 2024 | archive-date=16 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116071016/https://jeffstraub.net/baptists-and-freemasonry-can-a-christian-be-a-faithful-believer-and-be-a-freemason/ | url-status=live }}</ref> The topic of Freemasonry remains controversial within the convention. James L. Holly, president of Mission and Ministry to Men, published a three volume book series titled "The Southern Baptist Convention and Freemasonry", critiquing the report to the Southern Baptist Convention in addition to the influence of Gary Leazer, then Director of the Interfaith Witness Department of the North American Mission Board.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ericbarger.com/articles/fmasonry-sbc.2.htm | title=FREEMASONRY AND THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CHURCH Part 2 | access-date=16 January 2024 | archive-date=16 January 2024 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240116071016/https://www.ericbarger.com/articles/fmasonry-sbc.2.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> Gary Leazer published "Fundamentalism and Freemasonry", arguing that the convention's discussion of Freemasonry was influenced by Southern Baptist Convention conservative resurgence.

The Free Methodist Church founder B.T. Roberts was a vocal opponent of Freemasonry in the mid-19th century. Roberts opposed the society on moral grounds and stated, "The god of the lodge is not the God of the Bible." Roberts believed Freemasonry was a "mystery" or "alternate" religion and encouraged his church not to support ministers who were Freemasons. Freedom from secret societies is one of the "frees" upon which the Free Methodist Church was founded.<ref>{{Cite book| last = Snyder | first = Howard | title = Populist Saints | location = Grand Rapids, Michigan| publisher = William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company | year = 2006| page = 727}}</ref>

Since the founding of Freemasonry, many Bishops of the Church of England have been Freemasons, including Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher.<ref>{{Cite journal | last = Beresiner | first = Yasha | date = July 2006 | title = Archbishop Fisher – A Godly man and a Brother | journal = Masonic Quarterly Magazine | issue = 18 | url = http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-18/p-07.php?PHPSESSID=c59cd231db419873a6a6 | access-date = 7 May 2007 | archive-date = 28 September 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070928003240/http://www.mqmagazine.co.uk/issue-18/p-07.php?PHPSESSID=c59cd231db419873a6a6 | url-status = live }}</ref> In the past, few members of the Church of England would have seen any incongruity in concurrently adhering to Anglican Christianity and practising Freemasonry. In recent decades, however, reservations about Freemasonry have increased within Anglicanism, perhaps due to the increasing prominence of the evangelical wing of the church. The former archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, appeared to harbour some reservations about Masonic ritual, while being anxious to avoid causing offence to Freemasons inside and outside the Church of England. In 2003 he felt it necessary to apologise to British Freemasons after he said that their beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had barred the appointment of Freemasons to senior posts in his diocese when he was Bishop of Monmouth.<ref>{{Cite news | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2003/04/20/nmason20.xml&sSheet=/news/2003/04/20/ixhome.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071123132655/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F20%2Fnmason20.xml&sSheet=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F04%2F20%2Fixhome.html | archive-date = 23 November 2007 | title = Rowan Williams apologises to Freemasons | first = Chris | last = Hastings | author2 = Elizabeth Day | work = The Daily Telegraph | date = 20 April 2003 | access-date = 9 July 2007 | url-status=dead | df = dmy-all }}</ref>

In 1933, the Orthodox Church of Greece officially declared that being a Freemason constitutes an act of apostasy and thus, until he repents, the person involved with Freemasonry cannot partake of the Eucharist. This has been generally affirmed throughout the whole Eastern Orthodox Church. The Orthodox critique of Freemasonry agrees with both the Catholic and Protestant versions: "Freemasonry cannot be at all compatible with Christianity as far as it is a secret organisation, acting and teaching in mystery and secret and deifying rationalism."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/masonry.aspx |title=Freemasonry: Official Statement of the Church of Greece (1933) |publisher=Orthodoxinfo.com |date=12 October 1933 |access-date=15 January 2011 |archive-date=6 January 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110106224241/http://orthodoxinfo.com/ecumenism/masonry.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref>

Regular Freemasonry has traditionally not responded to these claims, beyond the often-repeated statement that Freemasonry explicitly adheres to the principle that "Freemasonry is not a religion, nor a substitute for religion. There is no separate 'Masonic deity,' and there is no separate proper name for a deity in Freemasonry."<ref name="a religion?">{{cite web|url=http://grandlodgeofiowa.org/docs/Freemasonry_Religion/FreemasonryAndReligion.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105085828/http://grandlodgeofiowa.org/docs/Freemasonry_Religion/FreemasonryAndReligion.pdf |archive-date=2013-11-05 |url-status=live |title=Freemasonry and Religion |access-date=2 November 2013 |publisher=United Grand Lodge of England}}</ref>

Christian men, who were discouraged from joining the Freemasons by their Churches or who wanted a more religiocentric society, joined similar fraternal organisations, such as the Knights of Columbus and Knights of Peter Claver for Catholics, and the Royal Black Institution for Protestants,<ref name="Fields1980">{{cite book|last=Fields|first=Rona M.|title=Northern Ireland: Society Under Siege|date=1980|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-1412845090|page=113}}</ref> although these fraternal organisations have been "organized in part on the style of and use many symbols of Freemasonry".<ref name="Fields1980"/>

There are some elements of Freemasonry within the temple rituals of Mormonism.

====Islam and Freemasonry==== Ottoman Caliph Mahmud I outlawed Freemasonry in the Ottoman Empire in 1748 and since that time Freemasonry was equated with atheism in the Ottoman Empire and the broader Islamic world.<ref name=FitIW>Layiktez, Cecil "[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html Freemasonry in the Islamic World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801073731/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html |date=1 August 2019 }}", Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry, 1996</ref>

Many Islamic anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to antisemitic conspiracy theories, though other criticisms are made, such as linking Freemasonry to Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the false Messiah in Islamic Scripture).<ref name="freemasonryinSHIraq">{{Cite news | url = http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040701-120129-6565r.htm | title = Saddam to be formally charged | first = David R | last = Sands | work = The Washington Times | date = 1 July 2004 | access-date = 18 June 2006 | archive-date = 19 March 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060319192239/http://washingtontimes.com/world/20040701-120129-6565r.htm | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="SFMNAD">{{Cite book | url = http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott03.html | title = The Study of Freemasonry as a New Academic Discipline | pages = 13–14 | first = Andrew | last = Prescott | access-date = 18 December 2008 | archive-date = 13 February 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090213214218/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott03.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Syrian-Egyptian Islamic theologian Mūhammād Rashīd Ridâ (1865–1935) played a crucial role in leading the opposition to Freemasonry across the Islamic world during the early twentieth century.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rickenbacher|first=Daniel|date=6 December 2019|title=The 'War Against Islam': How a Conspiracy Theory Drove and Shaped the Islamist Movement|url=https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818054514/https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|archive-date=18 August 2021}}</ref> Through his popular pan-Islamic journal ''Al-Manar'', Rashid Rida spread anti-Masonic ideas which would directly influence the Muslim Brotherhood and subsequent Islamist movements, such as Hamas.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rickenbacher|first=Daniel|date=6 December 2019|title=The 'War Against Islam': How a Conspiracy Theory Drove and Shaped the Islamist Movement|url=https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818054514/https://eeradicalization.com/the-war-against-islam-how-a-conspiracy-theory-drove-and-shaped-the-islamist-movement/|archive-date=18 August 2021 }}</ref> In article 28 of its Covenant, Hamas states that Freemasonry, Rotary and other similar groups "work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions ..."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp |title=Hamas Covenant 1988 |publisher=Avalon.law.yale.edu |date=18 August 1988 |access-date=15 January 2011 |archive-date=17 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117074547/http://avalon.law.yale.edu/20th_century/hamas.asp |url-status=live }}</ref>

Several predominantly Muslim countries have banned Freemasonry within their borders, while others have not. Turkey and Morocco have established Grand Lodges,<ref>Leyiktez, Celil. [http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html "Freemasonry in the Islamic World"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801073731/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/layiktez1.html |date=1 August 2019 }}, ''Pietre-Stones'' Retrieved 2 October 2007.</ref> while in countries such as Malaysia<ref>[http://dglea.org/ "Home Page", ''District Grand Lodge of the Eastern Archipelago''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109161530/http://dglea.org/ |date=9 January 2014 }}, retrieved 9 January 2014</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com.my/Story.aspx/?file=%2F2005%2F4%2F17%2Ffocus%2F10649415&sec=focus |date=17 April 2005 |access-date=13 February 2014 |title=Mystery unveiled |work=The Star Online |archive-date=27 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140227051801/http://www.thestar.com.my/Story.aspx/?file=%2F2005%2F4%2F17%2Ffocus%2F10649415&sec=focus |url-status=dead }}</ref> and Lebanon,<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20130822221554/http://freemasonlb.net/Lodges.html ''Freemasonry in Lebanon'']}} Lodges linked to the Grand Lodge of Scotland, retrieved 22 August 2013</ref> there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant from an established Grand Lodge. In 1972, in Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Prime Minister of Pakistan, placed a ban on Freemasonry. Lodge buildings were confiscated by the government.<ref>[https://www.dawn.com/news/508406/masonic-mystique Peerzada Salman, "Masonic Mystique"] , December 2009, ''Dawn.com'' (News site), retrieved 3 January 2012</ref>

Masonic lodges existed in Iraq as early as 1917, when the first lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was opened. Nine lodges under UGLE existed by the 1950s, and a Scottish lodge was formed in 1923. However, the position changed following the revolution, and all lodges were forced to close in 1965.<ref>[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/freemasonry-islamic-countries.html Kent Henderson, "Freemasonry in Islamic Countries"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113180408/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/freemasonry-islamic-countries.html |date=13 November 2013 }}, 2007 paper, ''Pietre Stones'', retrieved 4 January 2014</ref> This position was later reinforced under Saddam Hussein; the death penalty was prescribed for those who "promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations."<ref name="freemasonryinSHIraq" />

===Political opposition=== {{Main|Anti-Masonry}} {{See also|Victims of Nazi Germany#Freemasons|Liberté chérie}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2026}}

Historically, Freemasonry has faced political scrutiny, suppression, and opposition across various nations and political spectrums.

====Early legislation and politics==== In 1799, English Freemasonry narrowly avoided a ban under the Unlawful Societies Act.<ref name="USA1799">[http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott15.html Andrew Prescott, "The Unlawful Societies Act"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602081120/http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/prescott15.html |date=2 June 2017 }}, First published in M. D. J. Scanlan, ed., ''The Social Impact of Freemasonry on the Modern Western World'', The Canonbury Papers I (London: Canonbury Masonic Research Centre, 2002), pp. 116–34, ''Pietre-Stones'' website, retrieved 9 January 2014</ref> In the United States, the 1826 "Morgan Affair" sparked the creation of the short-lived Anti-Masonic Party.<ref>[http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/morgan_affair.html "The Morgan Affair"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325121052/http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/morgan_affair.html |date=25 March 2014 }}, Reprinted from ''The Short Talk Bulletin'' – Vol. XI, March 1933 No. 3, ''Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon'', retrieved 4 January 2014</ref>

====Totalitarian regimes==== Freemasonry has been fiercely suppressed by both far-right (e.g., Nazi Germany, Francoist Spain)<ref>{{cite book | first = James | last = Wilkenson | author2 = H. Stuart Hughes | title = Contemporary Europe: A History | location = Englewood Cliffs, NJ | publisher = Prentice Hall | year = 1995 | page = [https://archive.org/details/contemporaryeuro00wilk/page/237 237] | isbn = 978-0-13-291840-4 | oclc = 31009810 | url = https://archive.org/details/contemporaryeuro00wilk/page/237 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | first = Otto | last = Zierer | title = Concise History of Great Nations: History of Germany | location = New York | publisher = Leon Amiel Publisher | year = 1976 | page = [https://archive.org/details/germany0000zier/page/104 104] | isbn = 978-0-8148-0673-9 | oclc = 3250405 | url = https://archive.org/details/germany0000zier/page/104 }}</ref> and far-left regimes (e.g., former communist states).<ref>Michael Johnstone, ''The Freemasons'', Arcturus, 2005, pp 73–75</ref> In Nazi Germany, Freemasons were classified as political prisoners.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust | page = [https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofho0000unse_l4l4/page/ vol. 2, p. 531] | last = Katz | year = 1990 | editor = Israel Gutman | article = Jews and Freemasons in Europe | isbn = 978-0-02-897166-7 | oclc = 20594356 | url = https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofho0000unse_l4l4/page/ }}</ref> The forget-me-not flower was notably used as a secret emblem by Freemasons during this era of persecution.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.internetloge.de/arst/forgetd.htm | title = Das Vergißmeinnicht-Abzeichen und die Freimaurerei, Die wahre Geschichte | language = de | publisher = Internetloge.de | access-date = 8 July 2006 | archive-date = 2 May 2019 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190502130221/http://www.internetloge.de/arst/forgetd.htm | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=Galen_forget-me-not>{{cite news|title=The Story Behind Forget Me Not Emblem!|url=http://www.masonicnetwork.org/blog/2009/the-story-behind-forget-me-not-emblem/|newspaper=Masonic Network|date=11 December 2009|access-date=19 May 2013|archive-date=6 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306011314/http://www.masonicnetwork.org/blog/2009/the-story-behind-forget-me-not-emblem/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

====Conspiracy theories==== Freemasons are frequently targeted by conspiracy theories associating them with the Illuminati, the New World Order, or global domination plots.

====Modern distrust==== In modern democracies, Freemasonry occasionally faces public distrust due to lingering conspiracy theories. Notably, the UK has at times required justice system workers and police officers to disclose masonic membership to ensure transparency.<ref name=GuardianMP>Bright, Martin (12 June 2005). "[https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/jun/12/uk.freedomofinformation1 MPs told to declare links to Masons]", ''The Guardian''</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4xpz4dw3ro |title=Met Police must reveal membership of Freemasons |work=bbc.co.uk |date=11 December 2025 |author=Bell, Bethan |access-date=29 December 2025}}</ref> In Italy, Freemasonry was linked to the irregular Propaganda Due (P2) lodge, which became embroiled in major financial scandals in the 1970s.<ref>{{cite web | first = Edward L. | last = King | url = http://www.masonicinfo.com/p2_lodge.htm | title = P2 Lodge | year = 2007 | access-date = 31 October 2006 | archive-date = 3 February 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210203135205/http://www.masonicinfo.com/p2_lodge.htm | url-status = dead }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Sister project links}} * {{cite EB1911|wstitle=Freemasonry|short=x}} * [http://www.brad.ac.uk/webofhiram/ Web of Hiram] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929054435/http://www.brad.ac.uk/webofhiram/ |date=29 September 2007 }} at the University of Bradford. A database of donated Masonic material. * [http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/masonic_books_online.html Masonic Books Online] of the ''Pietre-Stones Review of Freemasonry'' * [http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libraryscience/25/ ''The Constitutions of the Free-Masons''] (1734), James Anderson, Benjamin Franklin, Paul Royster. Hosted by the Libraries at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln * [http://www.gutenberg.org/files/18136/18136-h/18136-h.htm ''The Mysteries of Free Masonry''], by William Morgan, from Project Gutenberg * {{Internet Archive|alegislativeinv00hallgoog|A Legislative Investigation into Masonry (1832)}}, {{oclc|1560509}} * [http://www.ugle.org.uk/library-museum/ The United Grand Lodge of England's Library and Museum of Freemasonry] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190527152317/https://www.ugle.org.uk/library-museum/ |date=27 May 2019 }}, London * [http://www.oztorah.com/category/freemasonry/ Articles on Judaism and Freemasonry] * [http://masonicinfo.com/ Anti-Masonry: Points of View] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519134436/http://www.masonicinfo.com/ |date=19 May 2019 }} – Edward L. King's Masonic website * [https://ledroithumain.international/?lang=en The International Order of Co-Freemasonry ''Le Droit Humain''] * {{cite web|url=https://freimaurer-wiki.de/index.php/Hauptseite|title=Freimaurer-wiki: free Wiki project about Freemasonry|language=de}} {{Freemasonry footer}}

Category:Freemasonry Category:Western esotericism