|
Masonry or Freemasonry is the oldest fraternity in the world. No one knows just how old it is because the actual orgins have been lost in time. Probably, it arose from the guilds of stonemasons who built the castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages. Possibly, they were influenced by the Knights Templar, a group of christian warrior monks formed in 1118 to help protect pilgrims making trips to the Holy Land.
In 1717, Masonry created a formed organization in England when the first Grand Lodge was formed. A grand Lodge is the administrative body in charge of Masonry in some geographical area. In the United States, there is a Grand Lodge in mostly every state. In Canada, there is a Grand Lodge in each Province. Local organizations of Masons are called Lodges. There are about 13,200 lodges in the United States. |
|
|
The answer is NO!!
Freemasonry does not tell a person which religion he should practice or how he should practice it. That is between the individual and his god. However, satanic or prince of darkness religions are not tolerated. That is the function of his house of worship, not his fraternity. And Masonry is a fraternity, not a religion. |
|
|
The person who wants to join Masonry must be a man (it is a fraternity), sound in body and mind, who believes in God, is at least the minimum age required by Masonry in his state, and has a good reputation. ( sound body does not mean that a physically challenged man cannot be a mason, many are). Those are the only "formal" requirements. But there are others, not so formal. He should believe in helping others. He should believe there is more to life than pleasure and money. He should be willing to respect the opinions of others. And he should want to grow and develop as a Human Being.
Some men are suprised that no one has ever asked them to become a Mason. They may even feel that the Masons in their don't think they are "good enough" to join. But it doesn't work that way. For hundreds of years, Masons have been forbidden to ask others to join the fraternity. We can talk to friends about Masonry, we can tell them about what Masonry does. We can tell them why we enjoy it. But we can not ask, much less pressure anyone to join the fraternity.
There is good reason for that. It is not that we're trying to be exclusive. But becoming a Mason is a very serious thing. Joining masonry is making permanent life commitment to live in certain ways. To live with HONOR and INTEGRITY, to be willing to share and care about others, to trust each other, and to place ultimate trust in god. No one should be talked into such a commitment.
So, when a man decides to be a Mason, He asks a Mason for a petition or application. He fills it out and gives it back to the Mason, and that Mason takes it to the local Lodge. The lodge will researh and vote on your petition.
|
|