About Freemasonry

Freemasonry is, first and foremost, a fraternity. Freemasons gather primarily to see their friends on a regular basis. There are often visitors from other lodges at meetings. They all have dinner together and enjoy each other’s company.

Alongside the social activity, masonic work is conducted during the Lodge meetings. The work is both the type of administrative activities you would see in any other club meeting and the initiation and progression of new members.

There are three degrees in Freemasonry which are educational and are important steps in the process of making new members.

Finally, Freemasonry is about helping one another, both fellow freemasons and the wider world. (Freemasonry is the second largest donor of charity money in the UK only after the National Lottery). But if a Freemason falls on hard time, freemasonry in general and the mason’s own lodge in particular will do what they can to help.

There are female freemasons, but there are no mixed lodges.

Religion in Freemasonry

While there is no need to follow a specific religion in order to be a Freemason, you must believe in a supreme being. Oaths are taken and are sworn on the bible or other religious text.

If you don’t believe in an overwhelming power, your oaths would not mean anything.

The language of the ceremonies is archaic, as it was written in the 1700s. The stories which form part of the ceremonies are taken from elements of the Christian and Judaism faiths, but the ceremonies are not religious services.

Freemasonry aims to teach an ethical and moral code by which to live, but does not preach a particular doctrine.