Out of this new focus grew "speculative Freemasonry," which began in the 17th century. This modernized form of Masonry deemphasized stone working and the lodges became meeting places for men dedicated to and associated with liberal Western values, Jacob said. A major turning point in Freemason history occurred in , when the members of four separate London lodges gathered together to form what became known as the Premier Grand Lodge of England. This Grand Lodge became the focal point of British Masonry and helped to spread and popularize the organization.
Freemasonry spread rapidly across the continent; soon there were Masonic lodges scattered throughout Europe, from Spain and Portugal in the west to Russia in the east.
It was also established in the North American colonies during the first half of the 18th century. By the late 18th century, at the height of the Enlightenment, Freemasonry carried considerable social cachet.
Freemasonry wasn't always welcomed, however. In the United States in the s, for example, a political party known as the Anti-Masonic Party formed, the Washington Post reported. It was the nation's original third political party and its members were dedicated to countering what they believed was Freemasonry's undue political influence.
William Seward, who went on to become President Abraham Lincoln's secretary of state, began his political career as an Anti-Masonic candidate. The early Masonic lodges were exclusively male, meaning that women were prohibited from membership, a point made clear in the "Old Charges" "no bondmen, no women, no immoral or scandalous men This tradition, a principle that reflected the predominant social arrangements of the time, continued for many decades, especially in Great Britain.
But over the years, women increasingly began to play active roles in the organization, especially on the European mainland. In France during the s, for example, so-called "lodges of adoption" began to appear, Jacob said. These were lodges that admitted a mixture of men and women, the latter mostly the wives, daughters and female relatives of the male Masons. They were not fully independent but were sanctioned by and attached to the traditional male lodges.
Soon, similar lodges of adoption sprang up in the Netherlands and eventually in the United States. Out of this tradition, Masonic organizations were eventually formed that admitted both men and women as full members. In these organizations, both men and women partake in Masonic rites and women can hold positions of authority and leadership. The highest ranking woman in the Order of the Eastern Star, for example, is known as the "Worthy Matron" and is the presiding officer of the organization.
There are also several Masonic-related girls' and young women's organizations, such as the Order of Job's Daughters and the International Order of Rainbow for Girls, both of which are active today. The Rainbow Girls are an offshoot of the Order of the Eastern Star and is largely dedicated to service and charity. A California native, who asked to remain anonymous, and who was a member of the Rainbow Girls in the s, remembers the organization fondly. As a young woman, she said, she was never made to feel lesser because she was a member of one of the female organizations.
The organization was well run and well organized. Today, traditional Masons are still exclusively men but the related organizations of female Masons are still active, many involved in charity, education and character-building.
Similar to its relationship with women, Freemasonry in the United States has had a complicated history with ethnic minorities, especially Black Americans. Externally, the Masonic brand was borrowed and bastardized.
If you had a secret, then organizing yourself like the Freemasons seemed a good way to keep it. Groups as varied as the Ku Klux Klan to conceal the identity of white supremacist terrorists , the Sicilian mafia crime , and the Mormon Church bigamy all incorporated the furtive strands of the Masonic DNA. The Pope excommunicated them very early on, seeing them as covert heretics; any Catholic who joins the Masons is still putting his soul in peril, according to the Vatican.
Conspiracy thinking drove Mussolini, Hitler and Franco to crush the Craft. Today, Freemasonry is banned in China, and everywhere in the Muslim world except Lebanon and Morocco. The men who built the well know how deep it is. The rest of us can only peer down and wonder what might lurk below, while the dark surface mirrors back our fears. Ask the Freemasons today about secrecy, and you will receive a pat response. But, of course, even moderately skeptical non-Masons will still wonder.
What secrets? What are they hiding? Today a couple of minutes on Google is all it takes to find out everything you might want to know. In theory, all discussion of religion and politics is prohibited within lodges. No, individual masons can declare themselves if they wish , and the names of senior officers of the brotherhood in England and Wales can be found in a masonic year book. The grand master is the Duke of Kent.
Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, is a member of a navy lodge. However, a great many masons do not disclose their membership outside the brotherhood. They have also been organised around other interests, such as football or rugby fans. The Mike Hailwood lodge recruits motor racing fans. The Lux In Tenebris lodge — light in darkness — was established toward the end of the first world war for blind masons. There are a number of lodges for women, governed by their own grand lodges, but those governed by UGLE are entirely male affairs.
Despite efforts to recruit younger men, particularly undergraduates, masons are also predominantly middle-aged or elderly. Candidates were traditionally recruited by word of mouth, but in the digital age men can apply online. Some of the rumours about the ancient initiation ceremony are true. The candidate must roll up one trouser leg to show that he is healthy and unshackled, a free man. He must expose his left breast to show that he is not a woman. A rope noose known as a cable tow is placed around his neck.
This represents either an umbilical cord or ties to fellow masons. It is open to interpretation. He is then led blindfolded into the lodge meeting room, where he is introduced to the secret signs of recognition — a word, a handshake, a symbol — and expected to deliver oaths of loyalty and secrecy. The blindfold is removed and he is shown the light. At this point, he is an entered apprentice.
Further initiation ceremonies are required before he can be accepted as a fellow craft mason and then a master mason. With each stage, known as a degree, comes a different ceremonial apron.
There are other regalia — collars and white gloves and badges — and a plethora of ranks, with titles such as assistant grand pursuivant and grand sword bearer.
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