FAQ’s
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What is Freemasonry?
One of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world, Freemasonry's roots lie in the traditions of the medieval stonemasons who built our cathedrals and castles.
It is here that a number of the famous elements of Freemasonry find their roots. In the medieval era, stonemasons often travelled around to find work in different locations. To demonstrate their level of qualification, they would use grips, words and signs in order to distinguish themselves from unqualified builders.
Freemasonry uses building analogies to teach members how to lead productive lives that benefit the communities that they live in. In the medieval era, stonemasons wore aprons and gloves to protect themselves while working on shaping rough pieces of stone, but in today’s society Freemasons meet to build friendships and communities rather than cathedrals and castles.
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Why become a Freemason?
Throughout 300 years of heritage and history, Freemasons come from all walks of life and each with their own unique story to tell for why they became a member.
As one of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world, there are a thriving community of approximately 175,000 members throughout England and Wales, as well as Districts overseas. Freemasons use four key values to help define their path through life: Integrity, Friendship, Respect, and Service.
Membership is open to people from all backgrounds and our aim is to empower members to be the best they can be.
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Do Freemasons partake in charity work?
Charity has always been a core principle of Freemasonry.
Our members make an important contribution every year by giving both their time and money to make a real difference to a number of organisations and communities.
It’s why Freemasonry is one of the largest charitable givers in the country, contributing £51.1m to deserving causes in 2020 alone. Freemasons do not only donate money – more than 18.5 million hours of volunteer work is undertaken by our members in their communities every year.
Freemasonry does a huge amount for medical research into treatments for cancer, diabetes, heart disease and a whole range of other conditions, including Alzheimer's, by funding UK medical scientists to make ground breaking discoveries.
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What goes on in a Lodge Meeting?
There are three ‘degree ceremonies’ performed during masonic meetings. They are essentially one act plays and teach members how to be better people and each play represents a different stage in life.
After the meetings members dine together informally in order to enjoy good food, good wine, and good company. And most importantly, to have fun together.
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Why do Freemasons wear aprons?
The aprons stem from our historical and symbolic roots as stonemasons. Being leather, they were designed to protect them from sharp tools and rough stones. For today’s Freemasons, the apron is a mark of their membership. They are presented with a white leather apron and as they progress this becomes more elaborate.
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Do you have to believe in a God?
When becoming a Freemason, members are expected to be able to affirm a belief in a ‘Supreme Being’. This is deliberately phrased so as to be fully inclusive; most of our members generally believe in a God - be it Christian, Muslim, Sikh or Jewish etc - of some sort, and there is no requirement to be an active practitioner of any particular religion.