# What's a Free Mason? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 3, 2017, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445 "2017-07-03T16:25:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/21 "2017-07-03T19:24:01Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > What would be the point of a secret society that let just anybody in on their secrets? > > I know my Moose application had to be sponsored by a current member (the bartender was kind enough to use her number) and I had to pay $60 cash! Now that’s a rigorous vetting process. In the game of chess, the pawns have a purpose too. It is the higher level people that are more important, and just like in chess a few select pawns who " make it " are promoted. I think some easy secrets are given out early, but for the real stuff you have to be higher level. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/22 "2017-07-03T19:35:59Z")
Blackballing bastards… ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/23 "2017-07-03T20:06:41Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > In the game of chess, the pawns have a purpose too. > > It is the higher level people that are more important, and just like in chess a few select pawns who " make it " are promoted. > > I think some easy secrets are given out early, but for the real stuff you have to be higher level. His Application interview: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SKRma7PDW10/hqdefault.jpg "Mongo only pawn in game of life") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKRma7PDW10) ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/24 "2017-07-03T20:10:04Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > In the game of chess, the pawns have a purpose too. > > It is the higher level people that are more important, and just like in chess a few select pawns who " make it " are promoted. > > I think some easy secrets are given out early, but for the real stuff you have to be higher level. You’d think that until some snot-nosed little 10-year-old checkmates you with his pawns … God that’s embarrassing … ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/25 "2017-07-03T20:13:09Z")
So you’re saying, he pwned you? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/26 "2017-07-03T20:19:22Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Blackballing bastards… I’ve got a second hand apron. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/27 "2017-07-03T23:29:27Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Just so you know, all of this stuff is easily Googled. > > No, it’s not a religion. I think some of the large lodges can file together (collectively), but there aren’t any federal exemptions that I’m aware of. A quick Google search and scan seems to indicate that there are some local state exemptions for some lodges, but no idea what that falls under or how widespread it is. > > Papal ban [wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papal_ban_of_Freemasonry). I knew the Catholic Church didn’t approve of them, but why? That’s what I never understood. What’s the church making such a big deal about? I mean if these guys do charity work, that’s a good thing, right? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/28 "2017-07-04T00:04:42Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > In the game of chess, the pawns have a purpose too. > > It is the higher level people that are more important, and just like in chess a few select pawns who " make it " are promoted. > > I think some easy secrets are given out early, but for the real stuff you have to be higher level. Why do I get the feeling you knew, or thought you knew, more about the Masonic Lo0dges than you first let on?:dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/29 "2017-07-04T01:56:19Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > In the game of chess, the pawns have a purpose too. > > It is the higher level people that are more important, and just like in chess a few select pawns who " make it " are promoted. > > I think some easy secrets are given out early, but for the real stuff you have to be higher level. Are you asking questions because you’d like to know about the organization, or are you asking leading questions to get people to suspect things about the organization? What point are you trying to make here? ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/30 "2017-07-04T02:20:32Z")
IIRC, the designation of “free” mason originated when the trade guilds distinguished among different categories of stone masons. “Free” masons were the highest skilled, working with detailed carving and finishing, as opposed to the lower-skilled masons who worked with the larger foundation stones. I’m not sure of the connection between the trade guild designation and the fraternal order. ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/31 "2017-07-04T03:57:12Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > I knew the Catholic Church didn’t approve of them, but why? That’s what I never understood. What’s the church making such a big deal about? I mean if these guys do charity work, that’s a good thing, right? Protestants and Catholics were killing each other during the Wars of Religion … at some times and in some places it was the death penalty to be on the wrong side … we had the legacy of this up until the 1990’s in Northern Ireland … 18th Century was the Age of Enlightenment, when the best minds were looking at a different approach to human interaction, away from State Church … the open-minded on both sides had to gather in secret to discuss these new ideas because the older, closed-minded in Church hierarchy saw this as a threat … not just against them but to GOD Himself … I’m hoping an actual Free Mason will come along and more correctly put this organization into this context … my third-hand information is that the Mason allowed in folks from both sides to discuss matters Enlightened … thus earning the scorn and hostility from mainstream Catholic authorities … Many fled to the New World to escape persecution … thus many of the US’s founding fathers were themselves Free Masons espousing a new nation founded on the ideas of the Enlightenment … life, liberty and the pursuit of conspiracy theories … ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/32 "2017-07-04T04:24:37Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Blackballing bastards… Freemasons never blackball anyone. Black cubes reject, white balls elect. This is so one can feel his vote while casting it. Lighting in lodges was not always very good, so different shapes are used. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/33 "2017-07-04T07:02:18Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Their tax exemption, if any, is not because they are a religion, but because they are 501(c)8 or 501(c)10 organizations. [Cite](https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/other-non-profits/fraternal-societies). > > Regards, > Shodan My Lodge is, indeed, a 501(c)8, under the auspices of our Grand Lodge. We are independently a 501(c)3, for certain other function we perform. In the United States, each state is an independent jurisdiction in amity with all other recognized “regular” jurisdictions. We are, in a sense, one large Lodge with many different meeting places. In most other countries, their Grand Lodge covers the entire country; that pesky Civil War we had made that an obstacle. Most jurisdictions in the US draw their Charter from the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), or by adoption from a recognized jurisdiction under that Charter (a subordinate Charter, if you will). ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/34 "2017-07-04T07:03:52Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > I hear there are reasons to join. > > More questions. > > Does it get a tax exempt status as other religions do? > > Why did the Catholic Church ban it? > > I hear there is an initial part where a man must strip down, sometimes blindfolded, and get invitations with the sharp point of the compass on his back, without pricing the skin, but against it. > > The top level secrets are not known, so those joining or who have been in for a while might be shocked to learn more as they level up, possibly with some is information given to the newer members. > > I do know there is a handshake for greeting ( I know one of them ) , and people in the fraternity can get special privilege from others in various areas of life. > > There seems to be some sort of connection with the belief in Aliens, and a narrative that humans were not originated as the Bible might tell you. Don’t believe everything you read on the interwebs. Some of what you’ve said is almost true… none of it quite right, though. ---
**Author:** ![GiantRat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@GiantRat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GiantRat)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/35 "2017-07-04T07:07:09Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Fun fact: George Washington presided over the ceremonial laying of the U.S. Capitol’s cornerstone in Masonic garb: [https://ajmacdonaldjr.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/wahington4.jpg](https://ajmacdonaldjr.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/wahington4.jpg). Dan Brown made much of this, and other Masonic stuff in Washington, D.C., in _The Lost Symbol_, but just remember he writes fiction. Check out the George Washington National Masonic Memorial. Awesome place. Neat pieces of history, and the public tours they give are very good. There are some things, though, that Freemasons are more likely to pick up on than a cowan would. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 9:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/36 "2017-07-04T09:21:51Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Freemasons are not a secret society, though You know who **are** a secret society? I mean, I probably shouldn’t tell you but hey, what are they going to do to m ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/37 "2017-07-04T10:45:14Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I’m sure some of them are. Somewhere. All the words are true. Just not necessarily in the true order. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_lining](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Silver\_lining](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_lining)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/38 "2017-07-04T11:45:47Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Why do I get the feeling you knew, or thought you knew, more about the Masonic Lo0dges than you first let on?:dubious: I’m not a member. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/39 "2017-07-04T12:38:22Z")
> [@Silver\_lining](#): > > I’m not a member. Oh, I’m rather a3ware of that. Are they “plotting” against you? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2017, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445/40 "2017-07-04T12:50:59Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Freemasons are not a secret society, though I thought they were. Are Are Masonic rites public and openly talked about now? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-a-free-mason/790445.md?page=3)