Masonic

Freemasonry is a fraternal organization whose membership is held together by shared moral and metaphysical ideals and—in most of its branches—by a constitutional declaration of belief in a Supreme Being. more...

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The fraternity of Freemasonry uses the allegorical metaphors of operative stonemasons' tools and implements against the backdrop of the building of the Temple of King Solomon, to convey what is most generally defined as: A peculiar (some say particular or beautiful) system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. This is illustrated in the 1991 English Emulation Ritual.

It is an esoteric society only in that certain aspects are private; Freemasons have stated that Freemasonry has, in the 21st century, become less a secret society and more of a "society with secrets." Dr. Dieter Anton Binder, a historian (and not a Freemason) who is a professor at the University of Graz (Austria) describes Freemasonry as a "confidential" society in contrast to a secret society in his book Die diskrete Gesellschaft. Most modern Freemasons regard the traditional concern over secrecy as a demonstration of their ability to keep a promise and a concern over the privacy of their own affairs. "Lodge meetings, like meetings of many other social and professional associations, are private occasions open only to members." The private aspects of modern Freemasonry deal with the modes of recognition amongst members and elements within the ritual.

While there have been many disclosures and exposés dating as far back as the eighteenth century, Freemasons caution that these often lack the proper context for true understanding, may be outdated for various reasons, or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author. Freemasons are proud of their heritage and are happy to share it, offering spokesmen, briefings for the media, and providing talks to interested groups upon request.

Organizational structure

Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are independent and sovereign bodies that rule over the fraternity in a given country, state, or geographical area. There is no single general governing body that presides over world-wide Freemasonry. Fraternal connections depend solely on mutual recognition. There are two major branches of Freemasonry: "Regular" Grand Lodges that are recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England and "liberal" Grand Orients that are recognized by the Grand Orient de France. While in very general terms, one can tell which branch of Freemasonry a Masonic Lodge conforms to by determining whether it was chartered by a Grand Lodge or a Grand Orient, there are exceptions. A few Grand Orients are recognized by UGLE and a few Grand Lodges are recognized by Grand Orient de France. To confuse matters more, many Masonic practices are determined by custom at the individual Lodge level, and so any general description will not be, and cannot be, universally true.

Read more at Wikipedia.org