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What is Freemasonry? When your husband or partner decides to become a Freemason you might find that you get asked questions about it, once other people find out. The fact is that there are many myths and whispers about Freemasonry
so, of course, people who have no actual experience of it build up a
false impression of what goes on. Freemasonry is a 'secret society' . . . Freemasons have, as have many other groups, been persecuted at times
throughout history. This is mainly due to the supposed 'secrets' that
Masons use to identify other Masons. These so called 'secret signs' were
used in antiquity to determine whether a man was an experienced 'Master'
Stonemason or an apprentice before gaining employment: nothing sinister
there! Freemasonry is a society of devil worshippers . . . This myth may be tied in with the smears spread about The Knights Templar worshiping an idol called 'B aphomet`, prior to them being suppressed and almost exterminated by King Philip IV of France , on October 13, 1307: t he name 'B aphomet` appeared in trial transcripts during the Inquisition of the Templars. Over 100 different charges had been levelled against them and most were quite clearly false, as they were the same charges that were levelled against many of King Philip's enemies. However, the claims of them worshiping an idol named 'Baphomet' were unique to the Inquisition of the Templars and many modern scholars believe the name to have been a misspelling of the name Mahomet (Muhammad). In the 19th century the name came into the public domain again with the publication of various articles that tried to link the Knights Templar with conspiracy theories . The name Baphomet then became associated with an image (below) drawn by Eliphas Lévi which looks like the stereotypical image of the Christian 'Devil: hence the link with Devil worshippers...
Freemasonry is a religion . . . Becoming a Freemason does require a belief in a 'Supreme Being' however at no point does it declare what that 'Being' is. Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Jews, Sikhs and Pagans, to name just a few faiths, can all become Freemasons. A belief in a 'Supreme Being' is all that is required: what someone calls their deity is entirely dependent upon the individual belief system. The Freemasons are nothing more than a crooked 'Old Boys' club for wealthy men . . . One of the founding principles of Freemasonry is that the potential initiate should not expect any privileged treatment, nor should he expect any reward, except for the satisfaction of having helped his fellow man. There are those however, who propose that the sole intention of Freemasonry is to uphold an 'old boys network' which is to be used exclusively for benefiting the members of the fraternity. They maintain that Freemasons use their fraternal bonds to achieve business perks, promotion, elude justice and get preferential treatment. They also state that all Freemasons are extremely wealthy and influential men. Neither of these statements is accurate. Firstly, there are, undoubtedly, some dubious Masons who attempt to use Freemasonry to their own advantage; however there are people in all walks of life who do this who are not Masons. If a Mason is found to be behaving inappropriately he can be ejected from the fraternity. Secondly, there are some extremely prosperous Freemasons as well as some Freemasons who could be described as being 'influential' but the vast majority are definitely not wealthy and only influential when their wives allow them to be! With Freemasonry, it's not what you get out of it that's important; it's what you put into it that matters. All Freemasons are misogynists - they hate women: that's why they don't let women in . . . The subject of women and Freemasonry is complex and there is no easy explanation, especially in these modern times: this has led to Masonry getting a very bad press. Traditionally, only men can be made Freemasons in Regular Freemasonry and mainstream Masonic Grand Lodges justify the exclusion of women from Freemasonry for several reasons. The structure and traditions of modern day Freemasonry is based upon the operative medieval Stonemasons of Europe. These operative Masonic guilds did not allow women to join, because of the way of life of the time (some historians dispute this and there are some manuscripts which also seem to contradict this): many Grand Lodges reason that changing this arrangement would completely change Freemasonry. In addition, conventional Grand Lodges remain true to the Masonic landmarks laid out in the early 18th century, which are deemed unalterable: one of these landmarks specifies that a woman is not to be made a mason. For those women who feel drawn to becoming Masons in their own right, there are there are non Regular Masonic bodies that do admit both men and women or are exclusively for women: for instance, Co-Freemasonry admits both men and women. In the UK, women have created and maintained separate Lodges, working the same rituals as in the all male, Regular Lodges. These Lady Masons have founded Lodges around the world, and their Lodges continue to gain membership. Statement issued by UGLE - 10th March 1999 There exist in England and Wales at least two Grand Lodges solely for women. Except that these bodies admit women, they are, so far as can be ascertained, otherwise regular in their practice. There is also one which admits both men and women to membership. They are not recognised by this Grand Lodge and intervisitation may not take place. There are, however, discussions from time to time with the women's Grand Lodges on matters of mutual concern. Brethren are therefore free to explain to non-Masons, if asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Grand Lodge does not itself admit women).
Wives and partners are, of course, welcome to attend social functions and most Masons would agree that without the support of their 'better half', their Masonic endeavours would be much harder. Many wives embrace their husband's Lodge as their own and get very involved in charitable and social activities with other wives which do not include their husbands! Knowing the other women at Macartney Lodge, several of whom are themselves Lady Masons, the idea of all Masons being misogynists would be considered laughable and ridiculous. In Freemasonry, as in all walks of life, there are some men who prefer not to be in the company of women but they are in the minority...either that or they are (wisely!) keeping very quiet about it when they are in the company of the Macartney wives and partners!!!! Those are just a few of the more well known misconceptions about Freemasonry,
below are some of the facts, rather than the fiction. Freemasonry is a fraternity Freemasonry is a benign network of like-minded individuals. Freemasons across the world pay no attention to a person's class, colour or creed and strive to: • advance themselves as human beings The three main principles of Freemasonry are: • Brotherly Love - to show tolerance and respect and behave with kindness and understanding to all. • Relief - to care and to undertake charitable and voluntary endeavours. • Truth - to strive for truth and high standards of morality. Freemasonry encourages: • a man to be faithful to his family, his friends and of
course his 'Supreme Being' If you want to know more about Freemasonry, please speak to your husband or partner, look at the United Grand Lodge website ( www.ugle.org.uk ), the East Kent Provincial website ( www.eastkentfreemasons.org ) or speak to one of the other Masons, wives or partners at the next Lodge social event. If you prefer, please send and email via this site and someone will get in touch with you. Sarah White |
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