Is FREE MASON a religeous organization?

Question

What I know about so far, it started out as a group people who worked with their hands -like skilledlabor, they formed an organization -like Seafarers.

Today they carry political weight larger than governemtns and any other informal organizations.

Answer 1

You say that you know that it started out as people who worked with their hands. That is one interpretation. Not all hold to that, you might want to know. Some say Freemasonry has always been esoteric, an heir to the ancient mystery schools, and grafted itself onto stone masons as a convenient way of being able to still move from place to place in the Middle Ages. Some say Masons come from the Knights Templar. You know what? No one knows for sure, including those in the Craft.

I belong to an esoteric Order, American Co-Masonry. Esoteric because we 1) admit women and men, 2) hold with older rituals, 3) claim heritage with the ancient mystery schools. Now if any group within Freemasonry were to be a religion, you would think it would be American Co-Masonry. Fact is, we are not a religion.

Instead, we bring into the Lodge only which all of us can agree upon. We all believe in a Supreme Being. I sit in Lodge with Brothers (yes, we call women of the Craft "Brother," too) of many different faiths: Buddhist, Hindu, Theosophist, Christian, Taoist, Deist, etc. No one is asked to give up his or her religion. Just the opposite. We are urged to be better members of society, reverent and also tolerant.

We are a MORAL organization. We work on our morality in the here and now. What happens after we die is not up for discussion.

Regarding political weight: sorry to disappoint you, but I have met many Masons of several Orders. Some are pretty well-off and some are barely scraping along. No one tells us how to vote. As a group the only characteristic I can see is we are for liberty and equality, the brotherhood of mankind. Despots do not like us for that reason but other than that, not much clout.

Hope this helps. If you would like more information about American Co-Masonry, feel free to write to me or to click on the link below.

Master Mason
Hiram Lodge (Santa Cruz, CA)
Amon Ra Lodge (Los Angeles, CA)
Sapientia Lodge of Research (Larkspur, CO)

Answer 2

The beginnings of Free-Masonry are a mystery but there is alot of evidence that it has a tie to the Knights Templar more evidence than some would like to admit. Masonry is not a religious organization though we must believe in a supreme being religion is a forbidden subject in the Lodge. Religion tends to cause heated discussions that can interfere with the harmony of a lodge. There is no real political power though many men in politics were and are Masons that's really the extent of it. Politics is another subject frowned upon for the reasons I stated earlier.Lastly as my brother stated earlier each state has a Grand Lodge that takes forever to get anything done let alone any political control.

Answer 3

Agree with prior responses, but the contention that they carry more political weight than large governments is interesting. Do you base this on anything other than conspiracy speculations? Their membership has been in decline for decades as fewer people join such fraternal groups. Look at others of their ilk, like the Elks, Moose, and Forrester lodges and all combined they bear a relatively small percentage of the human population. With their vast numbers (sarcasm here) being distributed thinly over the globe, it hardly seems like they hold much power other than, perhaps through local municpalities at best. While all politics is local, their overall influence seems to be far less significant than that of the Skull and Bones Society, Tri-Lateral Commission, and other organizations with darker backgrounds and a more questionable public history.
I say this because your contention carries a sinister weight to it and I would rather people concentrate on the real power conspiracies of international corporate-industrial complex, international treaties that subvert the rights of the individual and such, rather than waste time on bs conspiracies that sap creativity, valuable time and attention to the real dangers looming. Seems like falling into a trap by accepting the decoy instead of going for the hard target: those laws and pending treaties that threaten individual Rights by granting power to the corporate elite.

Answer 4

Simply put, Freemasonry is NOT a religion or religious organization. And they do NOT hold any kind of political power. Each state or province or national Grand Lodge is completely independent of every other Grand Lodge. There is no supreme body. Men are required to believe in a Supreme Being, but unlike a religion, Freemasonry does not dictate what Supreme Being. I regularly sit in Lodge with Protestants, Catholics, Mormons, Jews, Buddhists, and Nature Worshipers (I don't know what else to call them, their Supreme Being is more like the Force in Star Wars).

Answer 5

No, they are not a religious organization. They are a fraternal organization. However, they do require you to be a person of good character and to believe in a creator. They don't say what religion you have to be, you just have to believe in a creator of some sort. Also, they really don't carry the political weight in the Western world that they used to. In fact, they are having a difficult time recruiting new members in most Western countries.

Answer 6

What is Free Masonry? You will probably think this is a boring answer, but it is a brotherhood of men who work on self-improvement.
When a person is interested in Free Masonry, he can knock at the door at any lodge and talk to somebody.
Any free man of good conduct and reputation can apply, but there is a secret vote to admit him or not.
The handshakes are secret and so are the rituals.
Masonry is NOT a secret society, it is just that some things are not divulged. Yet, in any library you can find books that tell it all.

Answer 7

It is not an organisation belonging to any particular relegion, you have to beleive in supreme being in any form or name.
The mission of Freemasonry is to promote a way of life that binds like minded men into a worldwide Brotherhood that transcends all religious, ethnic, cultural, social and educational differences; by teaching the great principles of Brotherly Love, Relief, and Truth: and, by the outward expression of these, through its fellowship, its compassion and its concern, to find ways in which each may serve his God, his family, his country, his neighbors and himself."

Answer 8

No theyre not a religious order, but i have a really attractive iceberg lettuce in the fridge which i call fiona if that answers your question glad to help ;

Answer 9

not religious, more like drinking buddies