Freemasonry

Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of several fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-continued organizations in history.

Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of three main traditions:

*Anglo-American style Freemasonry, which insists that a "volume of sacred law", such as the Bible, the Quran, or other religious scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a supreme being, that only men be admitted, and that discussion of religion or politics does not take place within the lodge.

*Continental style Freemasonry or Liberal Freemasonry which has continued to evolve beyond these restrictions, particularly regarding religious belief and political discussion.

*Women Freemasonry or Co-Freemasonry, which includes organizations 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). Women Freemasonry can lean both Liberal or Conservative, sometime requiring a religion or not depending on the Grand Orient or Obedience.

All three traditions have evolved over time from their original forms and they can all refer to themselves as ''Regular'' and to other Grand Lodges as ''Irregular.'' For example, the Grand Orient de France finds some Grand Orients regular that the United Grand Lodge of England finds Irregular and vice versa—the Anglo-American style Freemasonry has moved from requiring specifically Christian membership with only the Bible on the altar to its current nondenominational form, while the Continental style Freemasonry evolved in different directions, particularly in not requiring a religious belief. Each of these traditions maintains its own philosophical approach to Masonic principles. The organizations within the Continental and women's Masonic systems are not officially recognized by Anglo-American Grand Lodges but operate independently, often following the same Masonic rules, regulations, rituals and traditions (sometimes sharing buildings, such as Freemasons' Hall in London).

The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. These private Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level (usually coterminous with a state, province, or national border) by a Grand Lodge or 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. Lodges are found around the world and on all populated continents; however due to anti-Masonry and laws that effectively ban the tradition, it does not have a presence in every country. In the spirit of brotherhood and hopefulness, however, Freemasons usually presume that clandestine lodges may nonetheless exist in those countries in which it is banned, even if they may not actually exist.

The degrees of Freemasonry are the three grades of medieval craft guilds: Entered Apprentice, Journeyman or Fellow of the craft (now called either "Fellowcraft" or "Fellow Craft" in English speaking jurisdictions, and "Companion" in non-English speaking jurisdictions), 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 (or Blue Lodge) Freemasonry, and members of any of these degrees are known as Free-Masons, 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 organizations outside of the more traditional rites of Freemasonry, that require an individual to be a Master Mason before they can join (such as the Rosicrucian Society of England).

Throughout its history, Freemasonry has received criticism and opposition on religious 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 anti-Semitism or conspiracy theories, and Freemasons have historically been persecuted by authoritarian states. Provided by Wikipedia