Answers to 
Frequently Asked Questions 
About

FREEMASONRY

provided by: 

Grand Lodge of 
Free and Accepted Masons 
of California
and Six Rivers Lodge #106

Also see 
More Answers to Not So Frequently Asked Questions

To Top of Page

Home

What is Masonry?

Masonry, or Freemasonry is a 600 year old fraternity with a 3,000 year tradition, the prototype of most modern fraternal societies and service organizations. The fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons is the oldest, largest and most widely known fraternal organization in the world. It is a universal faternity of friends and brothers who seek to become better men through their association with one another and their families. 

In a society whose moral values are severely tested, Masonry brings men together for fellowship and the pormothion of integrity and good citizenship. 

Masonry is not a religion, yet Masonry does require a belief in God or a Supreme Being and urges its members to be faithful and devoted to their own religious beliefs. 

Masonry is not political bet it encourages its members and their families to be good citizens and to choose their own best means of political expression. 

Masonry is not a welfare institution or a benefit society, although its selective charity and good works in the community are valuable beyond measure. 

To Top of Page

Home

Who Are The Masons?

Masonic Lodge members in the United States may be highly visible as Shriners in costume, or Knights Templar in uniform, or as apron-wearers in civic processions and at funeral services, or in Lodge regalia at special Masonic ceremonies such as at the laying of cornerstones (the U.S. Capitol in 1793 and the Statue of Liberty in 1884 are famous examples) or they may be individually identifiable by a distinctive ring or lapel pin; but in most cases they are not outwardly distinguished in any way at all. They are simply a cross-section of the solid-citizen majority of the population--mostly worthy, ordinary people, self-respecting, considerate, civic-minded, patriotic, law-abiding, usually church-going. Many are leaders in their communities; some are world-famous. 
  • Fourteen presidents of the united States were Masons, including George Washington (subject of many Masonic memorials, notably the monument at Alexandria, Virginia, the statue at Flushing Meadow Park, New York, and the headquarters house at Tappan, New York), Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson and Gearald R. Ford. 
  • Other famous men of the Fraternity include Lewis and Clark, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Paul Revere; 
  • Generals Douglas MacArthur, John J.Pershing, Omar Bradley; 
  • Admirals Earnest J. King, David Farragut, John Paul Jones; 
  • Authors Rudyard Kipling, Irving Batcheller, Robert Burns, Voltaire, Sir Walter Scott, Mark Twain; 
  • Composeres Beethoven, Motzart, Sibelius, John Phillip Sousa, George M. Cohen, Irving Berlin; 
  • Patriots Lafayette, Bolivar, Garibaldi; 
  • Explorers Commodore Perry, Richard E. Byrd; Edward V. Rickenbacker, Daniel Carter Beard; 
  • Doctors Charles W. Mayo, Sir Alexander Flemming; 
  • Industrialists Thomas J. Watson, David Sarnoff; Cecil B DeMille; 
  • Clergymen Daniel A. Poling, Norman Vincent Peale; 
  • Astronauts Edwin E. Aldrin, Gordon Cooper, Wally Shirra, Gus Grissom, Ed Mitchell; 
  • Entertainers Bob Hope, Danny Thomas, Lauritz Melchoir, 
  • Others were Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill Cody, Davey Crockett, Jim Bowie, J. Edgar Hoover and J.R. Dobbs. 
There are many more, but it is still true that most Masons, like the majority of individuals, live their lives without world fame. 

To Top of Page

Home

How Does One Get To Be A Mason?

Who chooses the men who become Masons? Who selects the candidates and asks them to join? 

No One. 

One of the ancient landmarks of Freemasonry holds that no one is ever asked to become a Mason. 

No one should wait to be asked. 

Some men who would like to become Masons never do because they do not know this. They wait for someone to ask them, and no one does. 

A man, 21 years of age or older, who wants to become a mason asks for an application (petition) from the Mason he knows best -- a relative, friend or aquaintence. That Mason proposes him in his own Lodge or arranges to have him porposed in another. If an investigating committee reports favorable, and the applicant passes a unanimous secret ballot in the Lodge, he then participates in three ceremonies -- the three degrees of the Lodge -- and may sign the by-laws and become a member. 

To Top of Page

Home

How Is Masonry Organized?

The unit of Masonic organization is the Lodge. Associations of Lodges known as Grand Lodges recognize each other and regard those not recognized as irregular or clandestine. 

The recognized Masonic fraternity in the United States consists of about three and a half million members in 14,000 Lodges and 50 Grand Lodges. There are about 6 million Masons and more than 100 Grand Lodges world wide. California has over 185,000 in over 500 Lodges which belong to the Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the State of California. 

To Top of Page

Home

Beyond The Lodge

Lodge members may, and many do, join Masonically related organizations outside of the Lodge, including the York Rite (Royal Arch, Royal and Select Master, Knights Templar), Scottish Rite (4th to 32nd degrees, and the honorary 33rd degree), the Shrine (Ancient Arabic Order, Nobles of the Mystic Shrine), Grotto, Tall Cedars, and others. 

There are organizations, though not Masonic, for women related to Masons, the most widely known being the Order of the Eastern Star and the Order of the Amaranth. Similarly, for boys, there is the Order of DeMolay; and for young girls, the International Orders of Rainbow and Job's Daughters. 

To Top of Page

Home

How Secret Is It?

The work of Freemasonry has always been associated with secrecy, and yet the fraternity is not a secret society. As long ago as 1630 there was a printed reference to "the Mason Word" and there have always been special signs and hand grips by which the initiated might make themselves known to one another, as well as private rituals whch are not shared with non-members. In this respect, it lives up to its centuries-old reputation fro secrecy, but the secrecy is largely ceremonial. 

The fraternity does not hide its existence or its membership. Its purposes, aims, and principles are not secret, and it meets in Masonic temples and Masonic halls which are familiar sights in thousands of towns and cites. 

To Top of Page

Home

How Charitable?

A bsic teaching of Freemasonry is charity. The tradition of its members helping one another is as old as its reputation for secrecy, and is still maintained in practice. 

In the United States alone, more than fifty million dollars per year is devoted to maintaining Masonic Homes for aged members, widows, and orphaned children who are in need, and additional amounts to help those not elgible or not desiring to enter such institutions. Individual Lodge Charities, in the aggregate, amount to even more. It is estimated that Masonic charities contribute over three million dollars per day for the benefit of society. 

Concern for non-members is also real. Lodges contribute to local charities, the Red Cross blood programs, and many character-building organizations. Related Masonic organizations support schizophrenia research, eye banks, multiple sclerosis treatment, cerebral palsy care, respiratory research, and other humanitarian projects. 

Volenteers are active in Veterans Administration hospitals, summer camps for children, work with the handicapped, and a host of other benevolent activities. When the ideas of liberty, fraternity, and equality were novel, Masonry helped promote them. 

The half-million Masons in the United States who are Shriners are famous for their hospitals for crippled children, and burn institutes, as well as for sponsoring the annual East-West Shrine Football Bame in support of this effort. 

To Top of Page

Home

What Is It All About?

Masonry's ritual and symbolism teach principles and ideals in human relations of kindness, honesty and decency, courtesy, fairness, understanding and concern, as well as resistance toward evil, love of country, and love and reverence toward God. 

To Top of Page

Home

What About Politics And Religion

Good citizenship and a belief in God or other Supreme Being are requirements for the individual Mason. Lodges, Grand Lodges, and related Masonic organizations are non-political and non-denominational. In fact, partisan discussion is forbidden within Lodges. This is the rule in regular Grand Lodges, and, when not observed, is an important reason for non-recognition of some European and ogher groups claiming to be Masonic. 

Lodge membership consists of men of good character who have diverse political views and various religious beliefs. As Masons, they recognize one another only as friends and brothers, without regard to political party or religious allegiance. 

To Top of Page

Home

What Does Masonry Cost?

While masonic membership need not be overly expensive, there are fees and dues to be considered. Initiation fee and annual dues vary widely, depending entirely on the local Lodge; each sets its own rates. Beyond fees and dues, Lodges expect members to be reasonably generous with charitable contributions. 

If a Mason extends his membership beyond the Lodge to the York Rite, Scottish Rite, Shrine, or any of the other Masonic organizations, his costs increase accordingly, as does his satisfaction in fraternal participation and humanitarian action, for the lessons learned make a vaulable contribution to his daily life. 

To Top of Page

Home

Where Are The Lodges?

There are 542 Lodges spread throughout California. Lodge locations and other information can be obtained from any Mason or consult your local telephone directory under Masonic organizations. 

To Top of Page

Home