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Extracts from Robert A Gilbert's article on Freemasonry (Freemason, author and historian), sourced from Encyclopaedia of New Religions, edited by Christopher Partridge, Lion Hudson plc, 2004 ISBN 978-0-7459-5219-2

""Because there is no universally accepted theory of its origins, and because its nature and purpose have been given such widely divergent interpretations, a concise, adequate definition of Freemasonry remains elusive. What is, perhaps, the most effective attempt at a definition is that given by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the controlling body of English Freemasonry:

""[Freemasonry is] one of the world's oldest secular fraternal societies... society of men concerned with spiritual values. Its members are taught its precepts by a series of ritual dramas, which folow ancient forms and use stonemasons' customs and tools as allegorical guides. The essential qualification for admission and continuing membership is belief in a Supreme Being. Membership is open to men of any race or religion who can fulfil this essential qualification and are of good repute.""

Having defined the nature of the institution, other questions about Freemasonry remain: when and how did it originate, how did it develop, how is it structured, and what is the nature of its masonic ceremonies? In other words, what do Freemasons do?

The traditional view of the origins of Freemasonry is that it descended in a direct line from a presumed governing body of operative stonemasons. There is, however, no firm evidence to support this view. In England, no organisation of operative or working masons survived The Reformation, and there are only a few instances of non-working masons being admitted to masonic lodges during the 17th century - probably with the aim of creating meeting places for those who sought to promote religious and political tolerance in an intolerant age. Honorary members were also admitted to operative masonic lodges in Scotland, but there is no evidence that such lodges employed ceremonies of initiation or engaged in philosophical discussion.

Truly Speculative Masonry can be certainly dated only to 1717, when four lodges in London united to form a Grand Lodge as a governing body of English Freemasonry. The number of lodges under the premier Grand Lodge increased rapidly, and by 1723 their rules and regulations had been codified in the first publication of the constitutions.""

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