Freemasonry, the world's largest secret society with millions of members scattered across almost every country in the world, established its first Grand Lodge in England in 1717.

Freemasonry is not a religion per se, but agnostics or atheists cannot belong, said Brent Morris, a Masonic historian, editor of the Scottish Rite Journal, and a 33rd degree Freemason.

On Nov. 15, 2023, the Vatican reaffirmed that Catholics cannot belong to Freemasonry and are prohibited from joining a lodge due to their 'irreconcilability' with Catholic doctrine.

Modern Freemasonry, a voluntary organization of men known as a fraternal order, emerged in the 18 th century in England, out of existing associations of literal, actual medieval stonemasons.

Today, Freemasonry has about 1.3 million members in the U.S., down from 4 million in 1959. Among the members today: African-Americans, formerly relegated to a separate, black-only branch of ...

Freemasonry is an ancient fraternity, and just a decade ago, its leaders saw their membership getting pretty ancient, too. But best-selling novels like Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol” and ...

The Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, the most ancient and widely practiced rite in the world, also found in the U.S., originally referred to the Bible in high-grade rituals in order to put a mask on ...

Freemasonry has long had a relationship to the politics of both left and right. Bourgeois revolutionaries in France and America and modern mainstream politicians have all been members, as were some ...

A generation ago, Freemasonry began to decline, and many of the fraternity's buildings around the country were being turned into movie theaters. Membership in the U.S. fell from almost 4.1 million ...

Freemasonry is centred around charity and giving. We operate a Montessori school that helps prepare children for quality education, offering financial assistance or fee waivers to those in need.

The Albert Pike statue, toppled during 2020 protests, will be restored and reinstalled by the National Park Service. The ...