What is Freemasonry? Both Masons and non-Masons alike ask this question. We can approach what it is by understanding, in some sense, what it is not.

In the most fundamental sense, Freemasonry is not a civic organization, it is not a charitable institution, and surprisingly, it is not even a fraternity. While indeed it may exhibit aspects of all of these, it is in reality something else entirely. It is more accurate to say, as we often do, that it is "a system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."

Masonry was not created to simply regurgitate the simple morality that any man must have even to be considered for admission. The key word in the phrase "system of morality" is not morality it is system. The systemic character of Freemasonry is demonstrated by the mode of acquiring membership that is, initiation through ritual. The word "morality" is merely shorthand for "the search for truth in spiritual contemplation."

All truth is intrinsically moral. As an initiate we were informed that truth is a divine attribute and the foundation of every virtue. Thus, in the pursuit of spiritual truth we acquire the virtues that are themselves the root of all morality. Why this is important for Masonic research I now hope to determine.

Often the explanation of the meaning of a particular lesson is absent from the ritual or only superficially given. Particularly for the new Mason, this gives the impression that there is no explanation to be had, or if there is one, the ritual has given it. As well, there is an unfortunate tendency to regard ritual as tantamount to holy writ and not to be profaned with an excess of critical examination. Yet, there is a charge implicit in the title of "Masonic scholar" that imposes upon us the need to study and reflect on the lessons of the Craft.

As Masonic scholars, we are not inclined to confront the actual teachings of Freemasonry. Masonic scholarship usually consists of historical anecdotes or interpretations of various Masonic symbols.

Masonic teachings are chiefly to be found within the ritual. But, these lessons are expressed in words whose meaning can be as obscure as the lesson itself. Masonic scholarship should provide help for Masons trying to understand the peculiar vocabulary of the Craft. One could argue that it does, for we may find detailed explanations of the meaning of Masonic words in the various encyclopedias and research publications to be found in any good Masonic library. Need I say that the average Mason does not even know these books exist?

By way of illustration, let us examine two words commonly used, yet often confused: ritual and ceremony. Ritual is intended to effect a profound change in the character of the participants; ceremony binds people together as a social unit.

The difference between ritual and ceremony may be illustrated by a wedding. For the bride and groom, the wedding is a ritual since it transforms them from one condition of life to another and is intended to effect very fundamental changes in their outlook of the world. For the audience, it is merely a ceremony they are not participants, but observers. This illustrates one of the glaring weaknesses of Scottish Rite Reunions, York Rite Festivals, and the One-Day Classes in Symbolic Lodges. We have reduced our candidates from actual participants in the ritual process of transformation into a gaggle of spectators. Such a ceremonial activity results in no real bond being formed, no permanent transformation that only ritual can give.

Within Freemasonry we have seen the appreciation of the transformative character of ritual decline and the workings of many Lodges have become mere ceremonies or worst yet, mere entertainment. The result is that too many newly made Masons possess the title in name only and do not understand the great weight of responsibility set upon them to preserve and protect the great truths given by, and to, Freemasons. We fail the greatest responsibility of scholarship if we do not assist our Brethren to understand this important distinction and arrest the slide into mediocrity.

If properly performed upon a well-selected candidate, ritual is a psychodynamic process and is therefore, strictly speaking, not instruction. The candidate does not learn from ritual, he experiences it. Later, he may then benefit from being an observer at the initiation of another candidate and then the ritual may instruct him as he is now afforded the benefit of distance from the actual experience.

The Institutions of Freemasonry have failed the membership. The constituent Lodges and even Grand Lodges have failed to provide the instruction and guidance so necessary for the continued spiritual development of the individual Mason. The use of allegory and symbol requires the individual Mason to labor to interpret and apply lessons that underlie these metaphorical modes of expression. Yet, where is he taught the rules of interpretation? Where is he given the limits of personal expression of an idea illustrated symbolically? Indeed, who even tells the candidate why the lessons of Freemasonry are veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols? Secrecy? I think not! I have often said that such supposed secrets are called "Masonic" because Masons don't know them.

Perhaps and example will clarify the vast distance between ritual phrases and actual instruction: as Masons we are counseled to make the Volume of the Sacred Law the rule and guide of our faith. The words trip lightly off the tongue and we readily assent to such sage advice. For the majority of American and European Masons, this Volume is the Holy Bible. Yet, few Masons even claim to regularly read it, and less to study it. Thus, whatever wisdom is contained within its pages is lost and any faith without a rule and guide is hardly more than childish fantasy.

Much of the tendency to what may be termed "Biblical avoidance" is rooted in two common misconceptions: the first is that it is difficult to read; the second is the assumption that it actually contains the doctrines so often espoused in its name. The Bible is in fact neither boring nor doctrinaire. The earnest reader of the Bible has at his disposal dozens of translations and he may freely choose the one with which he is most comfortable. This is equally true for the Hindu Vedas, the writings of the Buddha, and, to a lesser extent, the Holy Quran of the Muslims.

When Freemasonry abandoned a Christian religious test for its members in the eighteenth century, it did not abandon its reliance on religious wisdom. Rather, it broadened the opportunity for Masons to meet on the level with other good men and true of diverse religious persuasions. In so doing, the founders of Freemasonry placed within the bosom of the teachings of the Craft that great lesson of Tolerance.

Now, while we all know Masons who have as yet not learned this important tenet, toleration is taught expressly in many Masonic degrees. In the bible we may find examples of both tolerance and intolerance. Thus, we are taught the benefits of the former and the dangers of the latter. From this experience of reading the faithful account of the actions of men, both good and evil, we learn an expansion of the meaning of the phrase "rule and guide": a rule gives us a positive affirmation of right conduct and a guide gives us good counsel on what to avoid.

It is a sad fact that real moral and ethical instruction beyond the ritual is lacking in the experience of being a Freemason. This is no new phenomenon and the lack of such instruction and its attendant consequences have been with us for a long time. One hundred fifty years ago Albert Pike wrote the following in Morals and Dogma (p. 186),

"In what Lodges are our ceremonies explained and elucidated; corrupted as they are by time, until their true features can scarcely be distinguished; and where are those great primitive truths of revelation taught, which Masonry has preserved to the world?"

It is often said in Masonry that our goal is to make good men better men. I have always thought this phrase had the words backwards. Our goal is, or should be, to make better men good men. The Good, after all, is the highest ideal of ancient philosophy.

Much has been written about the philosophy of Freemasonry, which is no more a philosophy than it is a religion. It is at once a science and an art. A theory and a practice. It is a pitiful condition that our candidates do not have the science of Freemasonry taught them, nor do they have the art demonstrated; thus the theory is not learned and the practice is not acquired. Is it any wonder that the great majority of new Masons soon disappears from our Lodges and is never seen again?

Sam P. Cochran, Past Grand Master of Texas, expressed this the need for this commitment most clearly when he said, "Society can be improved only as the constituent individuals are made better; and Masonry seeks to accomplish this by inducing in each individual consciousness a deeper and stronger sense of personal responsibility and a higher and keener appreciation of the things of moral and intellectual worth."

As we reflect on the difficulty of making our conduct consonant with our aspirations we need to come to a better understanding of the difference between ethics and morality. Morals have a religious foundation and thus Masonry can only contribute to moral behavior by its reinforcement of the importance of each Brother's religious instruction. Ethics, however, being the standards of right social conduct, is of peculiar significance to the Mason. This is because the demands of Masonic ethics are far more rigorous than those required of others.

We are obligated not to injure a Brother in his person or good name. Nonetheless, gossip about some Brother characterizes the main avocation of entirely too many Masons. Personality and friendship, rather than competence, are too often the standards of appointment to Masonic office. Artful improvers constantly suggest this change or that, forgetting they did not join to make Freemasonry better, but to give it an opportunity to make them better.