# Free Masonairy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 11, 2002, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019 "2002-04-11T11:39:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mindless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mindless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mindless)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/1 "2002-04-11T11:39:04Z")
I was playing a game of gabriel knight III (great game) and it had a plot line involving free masonary and it got me thinking but I forgot, I then saw that jack the ripper film in the cinemas and once again there where free masons in it and it got me thinking again. what the heII is free masonary? what goes on during their meetings? what is its purpose, is it a religious thing? a political thing? a secretive sect type thing? I just dont know, does anyone else? ---
**Author:** ![red\_dragon60](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ce73a5/32.png) [@red\_dragon60](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/red_dragon60)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/2 "2002-04-11T12:00:18Z")
Basically, it has become a club where guys get together to drink. It may have used to have power, but now it’s just like Kiwanis club. Said the great-grandson of a 32nd order mason. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/3 "2002-04-11T12:03:00Z")
Well, what you’re looking for is called Freemasonry. They’re basically a giant international fraternity, with secret rites and the such to go with it. They’re also a favorite subject of conspiracy theories. Some (if not most) of the founding members of the United States of America were Freemasons. The symbols on the dollar bill of the eye and the pyramid are known to be Masonic symbols, although it’s not known for sure whether designers had this in mind when creating the dollar bill. Anyhow, there’s more to Freemasonry than I can possibly write here. Go to google and do a search on “freemasonry” and you’ll find out more than you possibly want to know. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/4 "2002-04-11T12:05:48Z")
Oh, wait. The [Master](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_138.html) speaketh. ---
**Author:** ![mindless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mindless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mindless)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/5 "2002-04-11T12:49:55Z")
Aha, just what the doctor ordered. (im one of the conspiracy theorists, id like to belive theres something deeper at work even if its proved there isn’t )🙂 ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/6 "2002-04-11T12:59:12Z")
They worship an evil god called JaoBulOn and it’s secret and sacred and the reason no UK cars have the registration JAB… [http://www.saintsalive.com/freemasonry/fmsatansdoor.html](http://www.saintsalive.com/freemasonry/fmsatansdoor.html) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wisest\_Novel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wisest_novel/32/13329_2.png) [@Wisest\_Novel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisest_Novel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/7 "2002-04-11T14:43:43Z")
It’s a vast worldwide conspiracy group, but a beneficient one. They help people redecorate their houses by giving away brickwork and stucco. They work closely with a similar cult that provides no-cost lighting fixtures. You may have heard of them; they’re called the Illuminati. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wisest\_Novel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wisest_novel/32/13329_2.png) [@Wisest\_Novel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisest_Novel)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/8 "2002-04-11T14:49:53Z")
Oh, and I feel compelled to pick a nit on **red\_dragon** ’s post. Drinking does not occur in a freemason’s lodge. However, there are other associated groups (for which being a mason is a prerequisite of membership), most notably the Shriners, who do indeed have a habit of partaking after the formal “business” is concluded. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/free-masonairy/103019/9 "2002-04-11T18:03:45Z")
They keep the Martians under wraps, rig every Oscar night, hold back the electric car, and make Steve Guttenberg… a star. Oh wait, that’s the Stonecutters. Had to get in the obligatory Simpsons reference.