What is Freemasonry

• An alliance of free men
• A path of education for life
• Teachings of moral conduct
• A brotherhood
• A modern approach
• A spiritual step
• An organised society
• An organised approach

Freemasonry is first of all an alliance between free men from all creeds and from all social horizons. Based on tolerance, it is enriched with this confessional and social diversity which lights up into a common cause: that of following one’s own path towards self perfection.

For this, Freemasonry furnishes Symbolic and Traditional tools to anyone who would like to improve himself. It is with an experience of life and a teaching of moral conduct where one can attain improvement by one’s self.

It is a brotherhood which permits to enrich oneself from others’ experiences and to reply practically to problems about which our epoch poses to each and everyone across a multitude of points of view. “Modernity” is no longer associated to a monolithic idea but takes into account the complexity and the richness of our various connections.

It is a spiritual step, structured in as much as a humane organisation and as a way of life. The Masonic Organisation is there to assure freedom and independence in one’s work as well as securing collective support. The road is made of stages which permit regular progress without any possibility of conferring powers.

With this mixture of individual liberty and Tradition, which could seem surprising, Freemasonry has been able to survive intact from the 18th Century until now, remaining simultaneously unchanged and yet never old-fashioned.

An alliance of free men

It appears to be as just important to cultivate the freedom of others rather than one’s own freedom. As regards to the other person’s freedom, not only would one enrich one’s own thoughts and experiences, but moreover we could discover that our own certainties are no more necessarily so definite. It is no way an attempt to achieve a certain syncretism between religions and humanism, but to open one’s mind to the various universal cultures which have contributed to the enrichment of human thought. Whilst respecting the liberty of others, one achieves one’s own liberty, outside all other schemata, customs and beliefs that we have unconsciously adopted. Man is linked to many national and religious traditions. So, it is not really a question of denying one’s beliefs, but to adopt them in full conscience and in entire liberty.

Finally, this liberty can be exercised extending even to the possibility of leaving the association at any time should the Masonic movement not coincide with one’s personality.

A path of education for life

The biological unit of humanity presupposes the suppression of racism. There is no one man superior or inferior to another, but only a great ethnical and cultural diversity associated with differing degrees in the evolution of human societies. Being interdependent with all beings in the universe, from the infinitely small to the infinitely great, and being conscious, Man feels united to the eternal spirit, Soul or Architecture of the Cosmos, symbol of perfection, without dogmatic representation.

Teachings of moral conduct

The word “moral”, thrown away at a certain epoch as dogmatic and taken back today in the name of “ethics”, covers several meanings. In the Masonic way of personal perfection, it can signify something quite simple and takes a part of this work towards liberty, thereby knowing how to put our thoughts and acts into concert. This agreement is far from being easy to do within the context of contemporary life and needs courage.

A brotherhood

In searching one’s perfection, it is important to find a group of people to exchange ideas on the same route, give support to each other, and to try the virtue of tolerance. It’s because Freemasonry is a brotherhood being the consequence of working together and being the ways and means of advancing each one on his route. This brotherhood is a deeply felt link which ties us to other men whether they be Freemasons or not.

A modern approach

Modern man must think on a world scale; he must look further a field through racial philosophical and religious barriers which often separate him from others. Dogmatism in all its forms can only be negative in today’s world. Freemasonry is an experience which shows that universality is not and indeed should not be synonym to uniformity, but to the contrary.

A spiritual step

In order to succeed in maintaining such diversity in harmony, traditional Freemasonry calls upon the superior principle which surpasses the material, social and religious reality. Certain people would call it ” God”, others “Energy”, but we in Masonry would call the “Grand Architect of the Universe” in order not to enter into futile discussions. The combination of faith in a superior being or principle and a method of self perfection turns it into a spiritual approach in its largest sense.

An organised society

Freemasons work together in Lodges which in themselves are formed into Grand Lodges or Grand Orients. Each Lodge consists of a committee (college) and a president (Worshipful Master) just as in any society. In the same vein Grand Lodges have a Grand College. This structure does not set up a hierarchy but an organisation. The College has the role of co-ordinating the work in Lodge as well as the Grand Lodges co-ordinate the Lodges’ activities. In order to ensure that this organisation should not install any kind of individual authority within itself, the Colleges and Grand Colleges are elected compulsorily at regular intervals. The absolute principle is: “Free Masons in Free Lodges”. The Freemason must obey only to one thing: the obligation that he has made within himself; to work towards his own perfection with respect to his own movement, which he has chosen to do himself in complete freedom.

An organised approach

The Masonic method is structured with three systems of grades or degrees: the ritual. The richness of the allegories is immense, because one can only advance step by step, the Masonic method being structured with a system by degrees constituting the number of steps to be taken. The fact of having accomplished a step does not confer any superiority on those who have not yet attained it, if only to have the duty to help them to advance too. Each Grade has its own experience and symbolism on which the Freemason is called upon to meditate.

 

What Freemasonry is not

• A proselyte society
• An elitist society
• A philanthropic society
• A misogynous society
• Neither a religion nor a sect
• A secret society
• An occult society

Just to say what Freemasonry is not, simply by comparing it to what it is, is completely insufficient evidence to show what it really is. However, it would be opportune to elucidate certain misunderstandings about it, having been goaded on by hearsay evidence.

Freemasonry does not practice “proselytism” otherwise one would know much more about its existence, its aims, etc..

It is not an elitist society as the main recruitment criterion is one’s own sincere will to improve one’s self, and for that, financially, it asks annual subscriptions just as in any other association. It is neither a philanthropic society nor a commercialised society as seen in certain service clubs.

In spite of the fact that many Obediences do not admit women, this does not signify that Freemasonry is reserved exclusively to men as there exists equally feminine and mixed Obediences.

Freemasonry is neither a religion nor a sect, but a spiritual approach based on everyone’s liberty and on reciprocal tolerance. It accepts members from all spiritual horizons.

It is not a secret society because it has been constituted as an officially recognised association and that its existence and its purposes are known to the public in general.

It is neither an occultist society, as its works repose only on the commune mixing of its members’ reflections and the sharing of mutual experiences by using tools in a symbolic manner.

A proselyte society

Freemasonry does not proselytise converts, because the essence of it is that a candidate feels called to share the Freemason’s way of life through freedom of choice and being uninfluenced in his decision. It is typical to find that prospective candidates, wanting to become Freemasons, feel the necessity to evolve with open minds and moreover, they have only met this same kind of spirit with those people who have ultimately made themselves known as Freemasons. It existed in the past, when entry into Freemasonry could only be made possible if a certain number of Freemasons recommended one’s admission. Today, this is not so.

An elitist society

Freemasonry cannot be comprised of a social or an economic elite, simply for the reason that it derives its richness from the diversity of its members (and not from their purses).

All the same, we would ask if that person is sincerely seeking to work for his own improvement. Consequently, Freemasonry is not organised like a Club of services and it is not the place where interested and commercial affairs should exist.

Financially, subscriptions are not much more higher than in most societies, sporting or other, and should therefore not cause an obstacle to any one who would sincerely want to make this step.

A philanthropic society

Freemasonry is not a philanthropic society, because it aims to improve its members first. Naturally, one hopes that the work carried out on oneself will radiate favourably out on the whole of society, but this should only be the consequence of one’s action and not the sole and primary aim in itself. This being said and done, love of one’s neighbour passes also, but not exclusively, by the practice of Charity.

A misogynous society

The Grand Lodge of Switzerland ALPINA is exclusively masculine. This does not mean that Freemasonry is entirely so. There exist in fact Obediences which are exclusively feminine as well as being “mixed”. On the one hand, Freemasonry came from the Middle Ages’ system of “Compagnonnage” and it is thereby that it inherits a masculine Tradition. On the other hand, one’s personal work touches men’s feelings differently from those of women. (Man is from Mars, and Woman is from Venus!). One can therefore choose freely, whether to share this with persons of the other sex, for which one can enter into a mixed Obedience, or to live this sharing separately, for which one can join a masculine or feminine Obedience, whether being a man or a woman accordingly.

Neither a religion nor a sect

Freemasonry cannot be either a religion nor a sect, quite simply because this would go against the principles of Tolerance and against the respect of every individual’s liberty. Its functioning relies on the absolute prohibition of being forced to share another’s convictions, whether religious or political ones. If its Traditions are fully respected, the whole Masonic organisation is conceived to enable each member to forge his own way, by enriching himself with that diversity of living experiences and opinions. It is certainly not the case of one person’s point of view predominating over others, no matter who he may be, even if he claims to hold the unique truth.

Contrary to what happens in most sects, one may leave Freemasonry freely. Really, what it proposes is a method, but Freemasonry does not impose its will against yours – it really is a way which must have been chosen freely. If however it does not correspond to what one feels, it would be suitable to give in one’s resignation.

A secret society

Free-masonry is not a secret society because there is no mystery as to its existence nor as to its purposes. Moreover, most of it symbols and rituals can be found in any library. If we seek to keep our rituals secret, this is to enable candidates to live fully what he must experience alone. It is because of this that he should make up his own mind, understanding thereby what Freemasonry can offer him. Also, this forms part of the respect towards the other members’ liberty, inasmuch as the discretion of not saying who is also a Freemason. It is up to each member to decide alone the opportune moment of revealing himself as a Freemason in accordance with the climatic tolerance found in his social and professional background.

An occulte society

One must not mistake occultism with esoteric. Occultism relies on practices with a more or less magic character whilst esoteric (which literally means the inward path) is a method on which reposes personal experience. The “esoteric” is opposed to “exoteric” which is the exterior way in which “truth” is imposed upon by others. In this sense, Freemasonry is an esoteric society, but not occultist. If rituals are practised, they are there to propose experiences on which the Freemasons may meditate on and work on freely. These rituals are indispensable if we should not want the work to remain only intellectual: it’s not words that make ourselves better but experiences.

 

What can Free-masonry offer?

On the basis of the foregoing information, it is relatively easy to see what Freemasonry can give to someone, on an individual basis as well as towards humanity en general. In short, it is essentially an educational guide for showing how to live one’s life and an apprenticeship for learning what liberty is, whilst taking into account the dimensions of one’s personality on emotional planes, passing through “Fraternity”; on intellectual grounds through the exercise of “Tolerance”; and on the spiritual plane through “Traditions”, and by reference to the Superior Being. It would allow anyone who prefers taking the difficult way to attain his own improvement (we would insist on the word “improvement” rather than “perfection”, because it deals with a way of life rather than the final goal) to find essential material inside the fraternal alliance where he may share efforts and questions. Freemasonry, therefore, provides a place where constructive discussion is possible through the mutual respect of others’ opinions and in the listening of them. What unites Freemasons is faith in one’s perfectibility and one’s radiating influence on others. Through Mason’s works, and through an active and a responsibly guided self conduct, Freemasonry endeavours to shine out towards the exterior world with more Justice, more Tolerance, more Charity and Love.