Cult. Secret Society. Devil-worship. Heresy. Freemasonry has been labeled all this and more over the centuries, usually by men who either knew nothing about it or who feared what it has always represented; namely, a search for truth. Masonry throughout history has been focused on individual and communal improvement through spreading the light of truth. Those who fear the truth or have agendas that conflict with the ideals of equality, honesty, tolerance, and brotherly love tend to demonize the Fraternity, because they know very well that where Masons meet, there the light of Truth shines brightly. Freemasonry is not a secret society, it is merely a society with secrets. There have been more “exposés” about Masonry – especially the so-called “higher degrees” – than of just about anything else out there, and many of them are authored by those who are purported to have first-hand knowledge of the “Truth”. The reality is much less sordid than the sensationalists would have one believe – the reality is that certain individuals or groups (historically including certain religious institutions or sects thereof) have sought to discredit Masonry because for various reasons, they don’t honestly want equality. It’s harder to rule over people who feel they ought to be treated as equal to the ruler, after all.
Masons were first Masons are only heretics in that they choose not to discriminate against men of different faiths, so long as they acknowledge the existence of the Divine by whatever name and in whatever form. As for being a cult of devil-worshipers, Masonry is sometimes referred to as the Craft not because of the word “witchcraft” but rather because of “stone-craft” – as in the operative masonry of old that built the great palaces and cathedrals in the first place. Truth has a way of getting lost when powerful people seek ever more power, but Masonry has and always will stand as a bastion against ignorance and intolerance. In fact, that’s a good part of why Masons were labeled as heretics in the first place: they refused to be intolerant, bigoted, or sectarian. They refused to deny that a Pagan, a Muslim, or a Jew, for example, might actually be genuinely good people despite not believing in the same things or worshiping in the same way. To certain kinds of narrow-minded absolutists, that is blasphemy of the highest order.
It is interesting to note that different conspiracy theorists claim different things about Masonry. Many of the Muslim-based anti-Masonic groups claim that Masonry is run by Jews and is designed to lure the faithful away all other religions. Christian-based haters often claim it is Pagan, though some cite the Jews here too. Jewish anti-Masonic groups claim it’s Pagan or Christian. Then there are those who claim the whole thing is really solipsist – that is, designed to make a person believe that they are in fact God and that all religions are inherently evil. If you are noticing a distinct pattern here, you’re not the only one; the fact is that each group claims that Masonry is a tool or whichever group they or their followers most disliked already.
It is true that certain of the appendant and concordant bodies (Scottish Rite, York Rite, Templars, Sojourners, Shrine, Sciots, etc.) are more or less sectarian to varying degrees. The Templars, for example, are openly Christian, and despite what the conspiracy theorists would have you believe, they will not try to get you to convert to paganism. The Scottish Rite, on the other hand, is more non-denominational, which is why the 33rd degree Masons (which is at the apex of the Scottish Rite) gets so much hate. After all, if you refuse to follow any one denomination’s prejudices, all of them can get angry at you and claim you’re against them.
In some ways, the most pernicious of the conspiracy theories are the ones that present themselves as the gentlest at first before piling on the hate, prejudice, bigotry, and intolerance cloaked in baloney. There are those who claim that the vast majority of Masons are poor, deluded fools who are being led astray by those at the very top. Some of these grant that most Masons join and even live in good faith, and explain that these poor souls never encounter the buried truth and evil at the core of the terrible, secret society that is Freemasonry. Only those who reach the highest levels, they say, know these hidden secrets. Somehow, however, at this point, the incredibly few such individuals manage to subvert, control, and otherwise corrupt the vast numbers of the rest, turning all their supposed good into a network of lies, evil, and heresy. When it gets put that way, it suddenly gets a bit harder to believe, especially when put in context.
If you look for hidden meaning, especially if you have a preconceived notion of what you’re looking for, you’ll find it sooner or later. That’s part of what makes conspiracy theories so appealing – for most of them, if you look, there’s generally something that could conceivably support the theory at least a little bit. If you tell people something often enough, they tend to start to look for it, and in time, they come to believe it. That’s just the way the brain works. Ask any marketing professional. The same holds true for the conspiracy theories that abound around Masonry. At the end of the day, they’re good for a laugh, and that’s about it. The sad fact of the matter is that a group of even five Masons often has trouble figuring out what to have for lunch or for a Stated Meeting dinner, much less how to run the world. Have there been Presidents, Kings, Princes, bigshots, and celebrities of all kinds in Masonry over the years? Sure. Did the Fraternity recruit them because they were influential? No – Masonry doesn’t recruit at all, nor do Masons care about what you do in the outside world as far as being eligible for Lodge membership. People come to the Masons because they believe Masonry has something to offer them, not the other way around. The theories are just ways for the small-minded to gain attention.