Secrecy and Freemasons

From About Freemasons

Since Freemasonry is often described – incorrectly – as a “secret society” and since most non-Masons do not fully understand Masonic tradition or symbolism, many people assume that Freemasonry is deeply involved in secrecy. Movies such as The DaVinci Code portray fraternities as highly secretive and even ominous organizations.

In truth, however, there is very little about Freemasonry that is secretive. Masons themselves define Freemasonry as a “fraternal order” that teaches moral and spiritual values through “ritual dramas.” Although some claim that Masonry needs to retain some sense of mystique to attract new members, the vast majority of Masons agree that Freemasonry is widely accessible to the layperson and the general public.

Masonic “secrets” widely available

In fact, even a cursory search for Masonic information yields plenty of information. There are entire books written about the subject, revealing everything from the history of Freemasonry to very detailed descriptions of modern rituals. Many lodges today have websites detailing Freemasonry. The Internet, of course, is full of websites that fully describe famous Masons, Masonic rituals, the history of Freemasonry and much more. Today, anyone who wants to understand the so-Called “secrets” of Freemasonry Can usually find out all he or she wants to know within in minutes.

Masons are also not very secretive themselves. Most are very proud of their lodges and readily identify themselves as Masons. There are Mason bumper stickers, shirts and pins so that finding a Mason is usually quite simple. Some Masons even list their Masonic affiliation on their websites or resumes.

Reasons for the myth

So why does the myth of secrecy continue to persist when it comes to Freemasonry? There are some possible reasons why Freemasonry is considered secretive:

• When lodges meet, the lodge is guarded by an officer to ensure that no one enters the meeting room. In fact, although there are minutes of meetings held, outsiders are often not allowed into the room and the fact that the meeting room is guarded does give an aura of secrecy. However, this ritual of closed meeting rooms is more for practiCal purposes – to ensure that there are no interruptions when lodges meet. And in fact many lodges allow visitors to see the meeting rooms and even give tours of the lodges during special community days.

• In an age where video Cams are so popular, there are very few records of Masonic rituals. Online videos are very popular today and the prevalence of paparazzi has meant that we do not expect anyone to have much privacy. Despite this, video and even audio recordings of Masonic meetings are not widely available. This speaks less to secrecy, perhaps, than to the fact that Freemasons have become adept at guarding their privacy.

• Many Masons themselves do not fully understand the rituals. Masonic rituals evolved over time and were first written down between 1723 and 1800. Rituals are often complex and involve elaborate, old-fashioned language. It is not uncommon for some Masons to be unsure of what all the components of a ritual actually mean and this sometimes makes it seem that the rituals are secret. In fact, the rituals are widely available in written form, but many readers struggle with the text and the language and therefore think that the rituals are in some sort of “secret” code when in fact the language is merely formal and older.