Is it true that many, if not most of the past Presidents & Prime Ministers have belonged to the Masons?
491140
Yes, a lot of famous people, presidents and prime ministers included were masons
1187928
WOW.  Ahhh, just so you know, most Masons are NOT Mormons.  I  am a Mason and have been for years.  I have met many Masons, and none of them are Mormons.  I have met Christian Masons, Jewish Masons, and Muslim Masons.\n\nJoseph Smith WAS a Mason, and I believe he "borrowed" quite a bit of his "prophecy" from Masonic ritual.  We Masons do not adopt any religion as part of the fraternity, because each member is to worship in his own faith.  We are not a religious organization.\n\nIf you have any more questions about Freemasonry, and want the answer from a real Freemason, please feel free to contact me.
838185
I am neither Prince Hall nor AF&AM, but American Co-Masonry (American Federation of Human Rights). I find it hard to believe that some Masonic Lodges will not talk Masonically with others, offer amity. Are we not all of the same intent? Perhaps not.\n\n I know the Lodges of American Co-Masonry admit women and men. That seems to be a stumbling block for some even though we can find historical evidence that English and especially York rite have admitted women. Still, does that make us some sort of pariahs that we say that women have souls and make fine Masons? We are hardly selling degrees. We certainly hold a long line of Charter from our founders.\n\nOur Lodges also admit people of all races. Maybe that is another stumbling block? I understand lately that some states do not. How that is Masonry, I don't know either. \n\nI am merely a Master Mason and a Mark Mason. It will take me years before I am worthy to even approach taking the proficiency for 18th degree. Our rites and rituals are arduous. I have only been a Mason in name for two and a half years. Been one in my heart for much longer than that. So, if I misunderstand, put it down to that. I am sure there are reasons for separation of people based on gender and color and belief, I just don't see them.\n\nMaster Mason\nAmerican Co-Masonry\n\nHiram Lodge (Santa Cruz, CA)\nAmon Ra Lodge (Los Angeles, CA)\nSapientia Lodge of Research (Larkspur, CO)\nAdamant Mark Lodge (Santa Cruz, CA)
990109
Freemasonry is the term used to refer to the secret fraternal order officially known as the Free and Accepted Masons, or Ancient Free and Accepted Masons.\n\nThere are approximately 5 million members worldwide, mostly in the United States and other English-speaking countries. With adherents in almost every nation where Freemasonry is not officially banned, it forms the largest secret society in the world. There is no central Masonic authority; jurisdiction is divided among autonomous national authorities, called grand lodges, and many concordant organizations of higher-degree Masons. In the United States and Canada the highest authority rests with state and provincial grand lodges. Custom is the supreme authority of the order, and there are elaborate symbolic rites and ceremonies, most of which utilize the instruments of the stonemason–the plumb, the square, the level, and compasses–and apocryphal events concerning the building of King Solomon's Temple for allegorical purposes.\n\nThe principles of Freemasonry have traditionally been liberal and democratic. Anderson's Constitutions (1723), the bylaws of the Grand Lodge of England, which is Freemasonry's oldest extant lodge, cites religious toleration, loyalty to local government, and political compromise as basic to the Masonic ideal. Masons are expected to believe in a Supreme Being, use a holy book appropriate to the religion of the lodge's members, and maintain a vow of secrecy concerning the order's ceremonies.\n\nThe basic unit of Freemasonry is the local Blue lodge, generally housed in a Masonic temple. The lodge consists of three Craft, Symbolic, or Blue Degrees: Entered Apprentice (First Degree), Fellow Craft (Second Degree), and Master Mason (Third Degree). These gradations are meant to correspond to the three levels–apprentice, journeyman, and master–of the medieval stonemasons' guilds. The average Mason does not rise above Master Mason.\n\nIf he does, however, he has the choice of advancing through about 100 different rites, encompassing some 1,000 higher degrees, throughout the world. In the United States, the two most popular rites are the Scottish and the York. The Scottish Rite awards 30 higher degrees, from Secret Master (Fourth Degree) to Sovereign Grand Inspector General (Thirty-third Degree). The York Rite awards ten degrees, from Mark Master to Order of Knights Templar, the latter being similar to a Thirty-third Degree Scottish Rite Mason.\n\nOther important Masonic groups are the Prince Hall Grand Lodge, to which many African-American Masons belong; the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (the "fraternal fun order for Blue Lodge Masons" ); and the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (Thirty-second degree Masons who, as the Shriners, are noted for their colorful parades and support of children's hospitals). There are also many subsidiary Masonic groups, including the Order of the Eastern Star, limited to Master Masons and their female relatives; De Molay, an organization for boys; and Job's Daughters and Rainbow, two organizations for girls. Many of the orders maintain homes for aged members.
93108
Yes. I have a freind who is is the shriners. To get into the Shriners you have to be a Mason and he's told me about the different groups and one is a ladies Mason. I hear there is allot to learn for initiation.
565352
No.  Anti-Masonic sites claim that any number of individuals are Masons, but I have NEVER seen a list of famous Masons that was published by the fraternity that had him listed.
521335
Of course they do and here are a few of them just off the top of my head:\n\nFree-Masons, Scottish right-Masons, Skull and Bones, Bohemian Grove, Illuminati, Thule Society, CIA, NSA, etc, etc.
347387
I doubt it, but it does make a great story.\n\nThe true freemasons rose during the time of the cathedral building era (perhaps 1150 to 1300) in Europe.  They were professionals with the ability to not only erect, but to design and engineer very tall structures, many of which still exist today.  Most of their “secrets” were based upon how to work with stone.\n\nThe fraternal order “Freemasons” is a much newer organization (perhaps the early 1700’s) and attempted to gain status by promoting a “secret society” status.  Much of what the members do is more “mumbo jumbo” than any hidden knowledge.  Their rituals are often borrowed from organizations like the “Golden Dawn” and the “Rosicrucians.”\n\nThe Knights Templar were basically a group of Crusaders who gained great wealth and power in the Middle East and then retired back to Europe.  The official demise of this organization was on Friday, October 13, 1307 when the church hunted down the members and destroyed the organization for their wealth.
246081
Yes indeed,however they were called the "GREAT SILENT MAJORITY" this is true and there attempts to rally Drew a minority of support.Ask anyone over 52 yrs. old about the great silent majority and that should jog there memory!
563982
Goodness, I wouldn't like to hazard a guess but I do know that there are quite a few...some still lived in and some in ruins...some set up as tourist attractions which completely ruins them.\n\nMany of them are under the protection of The National Trust and English Heritage.\nhttp://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/\nhttp://www.english-heritage.org.uk/
1170096
No.  Here's a list of their affiliations:\n\nhttp://www.adherents.com/adh_presidents.html
23943
There are alot of people out there who believe that the masonic orders are cults, this is not the case. In order to become a mason, you must first go to open events, and get to know the members. Ask for a petition and then it will take anywhere from 3-6 months for you to become a member. A mason has to recommend you and you have to prove you are of good moral charicter and above all, you must have a belief in a supreme being. There is no being a stanist or athieist in this organiztaion, it is not tolerated.
388168
Freemasons are not a cult by any stretch of the imagination.\nThe Illuminati (as I recall) was an old German private organisation that tried to compete with Masonry but died out some time ago. Masonry is a fraternal organisation with several sub-groups. There are over 65 separate Masonic bodies in the US. The more common being the so called "Blue lodge", the Scottish and York rights and the Shrine.\n\nMost of our founding fathers were Masons. Thirteen of the signers of the declaration of Independence were Masons. Several (including Geo. Washington) were Masters of their lodges.
649961
I have an ebook of their entire history. 550 pages all about them and their practices. There's a lot more on them than people think, far too much to go into here.\n\nI also know a small collection of Freemasons, and wheni identified one he has actually takenme into his confidence, which is how i got the eBook. \n\nLife can be great when you know the right people!!
368379
I agree there is no way to recognize a mason. But there are few ways to ask that you might not realize they were asking. What is "mamacica"\n   For example a well informed Mason would know i was a mason by my screenname  Tat, I m s a s p a s,
1038761
George Washington was not a member of any "political party".\n\nIn fact If you read his Farewell address, he goes on at length about the dangers of  "factions" to the nation.\n\nAlthough he was a member of the masons, but I don't know that you would consider it a true "political party"\n\nAlso of note is that congressional records don't recognize anyone as being related to any political organizations untill a couple of years after the start of everything
1173062
No, the last Freemason president of the United States was Gerald Ford. Before that Harry S Truman and Franklin Roosevelt.