Freemasonry is a worldwide fraternal organization whose members are joined together by shared ideals of both a moral and metaphysical nature, and, in most of its branches, by a common belief in a Supreme Being. Freemasonry is an esoteric art – certain aspects of its internal work and business are not generally revealed to the public.

Freemasonry uses an initiatory system of degrees to explore ethical and philosophical issues. It often calls itself "a peculiar system of morality veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols."

There are three initial degrees of Freemasonry:

• Entered Apprentice
• Fellow Craft
• Master Mason

As one works through the degrees, one studies the lessons and interprets them for oneself. There are as many ways to interpret the rituals as there are Masons, and no Mason may dictate to any other Mason how he is to interpret them. No particular truths are espoused, but a common structure—speaking symbolically to universal human archetypes—provide for each Mason a means to come to his own answers to life's important questions.

It has been said that: "the Freemason builds his life around the moral principals that lie at the heart of the Craft, and becomes in his every word and deed the epitome of brotherly love, relief and truth – he will thus respect the rights of others to hold beliefs and attitudes that differ radically from his own, for he knows that tolerance is an essential part of brotherly love."
(Freemasonry, a Celebration of the Craft. 1993. Edited by Hamill & Gilbert for Terry Allan)

Famous masons

Freemasonry is not a secret society and throughout history prominent members of the fraternity have made no secret of their involvement. As a result, many famous (and infamous) Freemasons are well known, running the gamut from dictators to revolutionaries, segregationists to civil rights leaders, industrialists to labor activists. The membership of Freemasonry is vast, diverse, and resists any single characterization.

Masonic membership can sometimes be difficult to verify, particularly for historical figures. Membership records are most often kept at the individual Lodge level, and may be lost due to fire, flood, deterioration, or simple carelessness. Grand Lodge governance may have shifted or reorganized, resulting in further loss of records on the member or the name, number, location or even existence of the Lodge in question. In areas of the world where Masonry has been suppressed by governments, records of entire Grand Lodges have been destroyed.

What follows is a sampling of famous Masons:

(Source: Wikipedia. “Freemasonry”)

Freemasons are expected to uphold the principles of "Brotherly Love, Relief and Truth" (or in France: "Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity").

The duty of a Mason is to "give to the cause of Charity,” as stressed by William Preston, in his Illustrations of Masonry of 1772, when he wrote: "To relieve the distressed is a duty incumbent on all men, but particularly on Freemasons, who are linked together by an indissoluble chain of sincere affection. "To soothe the unhappy, to sympathize with their misfortunes, to compassionate their miseries and to restore their troubled minds, is the great aim we have in view."

A Mason's duty is also in his loyalty, as a peaceful subject, to the civil authority found wherever he resides or works. It is on these grounds, restrained from pursuing any means of disrupting the established rule of law, that Freemasonry is itself a reformist institution, its members abstaining from any thought of association with rebellion. This may seem at odds with the support given by many Masons over the years to democratic revolutions (including that of the United States). This is usually explained by the fact that Masons tend to view their obligations, while of utmost importance, to be in a hierarchy of priority: firstly to God, then to country, then to family and only then to Masonry. So, if one's highest religious and moral principles are violated by an obligation to one's country, only then can that obligation be broken, in favor of the higher principle.

Freemasons consider the need for vigilance in the defense of human liberty to be as great in society as it is within the Craft. It is a general source of pride within the fraternity that society's aims and values have increasingly come into line with those of Freemasonry, and they view their Order as having helped laid the foundations for many of the cultural norms and values prevalent in the western World today.

The legend at the heart of Masonic Ritual—the story of the building and reconstruction of King Solomon's Temple—is generally seen as an allegory for the creation of a new, just and more tolerant society.