Freemasonry

http://mit.edu/dryfoo/Masonry/

(Because there is no one single organization or "head" of Freemasonry, there's no one single "home page" to go for a starting point. The link above is by Rev. Dr. Dry Foo, who is both a Freemason and a SubGenius.)

Few organizations have been as shrouded in secrecy as Freemasonry. It's been called a satanic cult by some, a benevolent brotherhood by others, and a secret society by a few. The fascinating story of Freemasonry is a mystery worth looking into for many reasons both historical and political, with not the least being the fact that the Masons prefer to remain secret. (Their official policy is one that states "we're not a secret society, but rather a society with secrets." ) The history of Masonry (and of the Knights Templar, which legend claims were the source of many modern-day Masonic rituals and beliefs) is intertwined with that of Europe and America, and thus an introduction to the Brotherhood is a good step towards filling in the empty spaces of history that are rarely taught in schools today. While I scoff at the kooks who believe Freemasonry is behind the various conspiracies out to control the world, I also wonder why efforts were made to prevent such books as Stephen Knight's The Brotherhood [ISBN 0-88029-113-3 (alternate, search), formerly ISBN 0-8128-2994-8 (alternate, search)] from being widely distributed.

Despite the claims that Freemasonry is an insidious worldwide conspiracy, the force that seems most likely to send the Brotherhood to oblivion is simple apathy. The current generation has had little interest in Masonry, and the organization has been losing members worldwide faster than it can recruit new ones. Because Freemasonry has traditionally taken a low profile, many people today have simply never heard of it…or, they may have only heard the religious conspiracy theories about Freemasonry being an introduction to Satan.

In the fall of 2006, Freemasonry took steps to counter this profile by launching its first ever public recruitment campaign, Ask A Freemason. (At least, it was the first public relations campaign for Masonry that I'd ever seen.) Of course, you can't simply apply to become a Mason – rather, you have to be invited to join the Brotherhood. This, no doubt, is why the PR campaign was called "Ask a Freemason" – by contacting the organization, people would have much better chance of actually being invited to join.

One controversial side of Masonry worth looking at is the order of Co-Masonry, which was set up in the late 19th Century as a way for women to become Freemasons. "Official" Freemasonry has been a hard-core boys' club since its beginning, and the idea of co-masonry is still not widely accepted among most Masons.