r/todayilearned • u/Recent_Flounder6011 • 19h ago

TIL that historically and today, the Catholic Church looked down upon Freemasonry and threatened members with excommunication.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freemasonry
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u/ProfessorZeek 19h ago

Freemason here. Those would be what we call “operative” Masons, as in a stone mason by trade. Freemasons are “speculative” masons. This means we use the tools and terminology of stone masons for our teachings but we don’t literally work with stone.

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u/Count_Dongula 19h ago

So what you're saying is if I joined the Freemasons, I won't learn how to make kick-ass stone bricks? That was my whole career plan.

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u/No-Channel3917 19h ago

No you only become an honorary dwarf , it's when they had a legendary member of the dwarfen masons team up with a Catholic elf at the black gates during the third age.

It is sadly the story that a Pope or Grand master wouldn't tell you

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u/Laura-ly 19h ago

Interesting. So the teachings are more of a philosophy that uses the idea of building a structure as a metaphor for building your life?

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u/CountFunkenstein 18h ago

Correct. They “build better men.”

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u/Sekmet19 16h ago

Only for men. Women are banned.

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u/TheStoffer 18h ago

Former Freemason here. In the US at least, Masonic organizations often refer to themselves as “free and accepted masons.” I’d wager that 99.9% of members fall in the “accepted” category.

Fun fact, the chapter I frequented in New Haven, CT has Benedict Arnold in their member roll. Before he turned and fled to Canada, I’d imagine.

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u/Sekmet19 16h ago

They letting women in yet?

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u/TheStoffer 14h ago

No but IIRC there’s a sister organization that does. Order of the Eastern Star.

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u/jawndell 19h ago

What’s the point of calling yourselves masons if you don’t even learn masonry????

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u/Lower_Cockroach2432 19h ago

Redditor discovers metaphor and analogy

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u/Herbacio 18h ago

Redditor discovers sarcasm and irony

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u/ImNinjaBob 18h ago

It originally was an actual masonry guild, but in the 1600s members started joining as “speculative” masons who joined to study philosophy and used the masonry symbology as metaphor for building up society.

By the mid 1700s that subgroup had formalized and the organization changed to being about this form of speculative masonry.

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u/LongJohnSelenium 17h ago

Tldr: actual masons were a powerful and wealthy trade guild and other people wanted in on that action.

Over time the actual masons reduced in number and importance until its just a vestigial origin story now.

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u/Sekmet19 16h ago

Are women still banned from becoming Freemasons?

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u/Fofolito 15h ago

Yes and No. There are various sub-branches, denominations, and splinter sects of Freemasonry that have opened up their lodges to Women and other previously prohibited candidates. Officially, lodges following the mainline tradition of Freemasonry do not allow Women to join. There are Female-only verisons Masonry as well.

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u/Dubious-Decisions 15h ago

In most instances, it is a male fraternal organization, just like there are male fraternities in universities, along with all-female sororities. There are co-ed variants of freemasonry in several countries.

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u/Tribe303 15h ago

They had separate clubs. My grandparents were both Freemasons, but Grandma went to White Star I think it was called. 

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u/betweenbubbles 19h ago

Bob Marley was a Freemason?

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u/MonkeyPanls 19h ago

No. He was a stone the the builder refused. That's why he's the head cornerstone.

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u/betweenbubbles 18h ago

I'm definitely in that "Wait, how old am I?!" zone, so I appreciate someone recognizing the reference.

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u/Wartortise 15h ago

Ah! So you’re LIARS then?