Freemasonry
group of fraternal organizations
Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is considered the oldest existing secular fraternal organisation, with documents and traditions dating back to the 14th century. One of the primary purposes of Freemasonry is charity.
Modern Freemasonry broadly consists of three main recognition groups: Regular Freemasonry, which insists that a "volume of sacred law", such as the Bible, the Quran, or other religious scripture be open in a working lodge, that every member professes belief in a Supreme Being, that no women be admitted, and that discussion of religion or politics does not take place within the lodge; Liberal or Continental Freemasonry, which consists of the jurisdictions that have removed some, or all, of these restrictions; and Women’s and Mixed-Gender Freemasonry (Co-Freemasonry), which includes organizations that either admit women exclusively (such as the Order of Women Freemasons and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons in the UK) or accept both men and women (such as Le Droit Humain). These lodges are not officially recognized by Regular Freemasonry but operate independently, often following the same Masonic rules, regulations, rituals and traditions (sometimes sharing buildings, such as Freemasons' Hall in London).
This organization is considered a sect by experts and all three traditions have evolved over time from their original forms and can all refer to themselves as Regular and to other Grand Lodges as Irregular. The basic, local organisational unit of Freemasonry is the Lodge. These private Lodges are usually supervised at the regional level by a Grand Lodge or a Grand Orient. There is no international, worldwide Grand Lodge that supervises all of Freemasonry; each Grand Lodge is independent, and they do not necessarily recognise each other as being legitimate.
The degrees of Freemasonry are the three grades of medieval craft guilds: Entered Apprentice, Journeyman or Fellow of the craft, and Master Mason.
The public source identifies “Freemasonry” as group of fraternal organizations. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Freemasonry, group and fraternal.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Freemasonry”, the useful work is to connect “group of fraternal organizations” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q41726. VIAF identifies the subject as 125418765. The Library of Congress control number is sh85051718. 2 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Freemasonry”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Freemasonry primary sources, Freemasonry archive and Freemasonry research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Freemasonry”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Freemasonry” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.