A DEFINITION OF FREEMASONRY
The benign practice of calling an organization "Masonic" simply because it is sponsored by Freemasonry or has Masonic membership prerequisites has created a confusion among our own members so that many are no longer able to distinguish the clear difference between Masonic rites and orders on the one hand, and the many non-Masonic affiliated organizations on the other.
The Scottish Rite Research Society has received a number of articles in which the authors include their own definitions of Freemasonry. One of these articles even went so far as to boldly state that Freemasonry has "no definition in circulation." This, of course, provided the opening for that author to offer his own.
Now certainly, a healthy examination of the basic elements of Freemasonry is something that we should always encourage. It is, after all, what Masonic research organizations do, or should do. But let us at least give credit where credit is due. Definitions of Freemasonry are very much "in circulation," and have been for centuries. Some better than others. But to suggest that Freemasons don't have a definition of Freemasonry is not only wrong, but it is a means used by some to re-define it as something that it never was, and never should be. This rush to offer new and different definitions of Freemasonry may be the result of too many members who simply don't know what Freemasonry is. It is as if they cannot see the forest for all the trees. Or, it may be the result of too many members who confuse the many non-Masonic affiliated organizations with Freemasonry.
The benign practice of calling an organization "Masonic~~ simply because it is sponsored by Freemasonry or has Masonic membership prerequisites has created a confusion among our own members so that many are no longer able to distinguish the clear difference between Masonic rites and orders on the one hand, and the many non-Masonic affiliated organizations on the other. A good definition of Freemasonry, and therefore a 'Masonic body as a rule of thumb or acid test would be very useful.
The great Masonic encyclopedist, Henry Wilson Coil, provided a good working definition of Freemasonry in his Coils Masonic Encyclopedia. A copy of that single-volume work should be in every Masonic lodge, in every Masonic library, and in the home of every American Freemason. Coil's definition of Freemasonry includes ten parts, which I will treat separately.
Any organization, whether appendant or affiliated with Freemasonry, can be measured against this ten-part definition to determine whether it is a 'Masonic' organization, or one of the many non-Masonic affiliated organizations. At the same time, members of Masonic rites and orders can compare each part of the definition to the customs and practices of the Masonic degrees to which they belong.

1. Freemasonry is an oath-bound fraternal order of men. Freemasonry is a fraternity, first and foremost. I've known Masons that could not even give this most simple of explanations. Further, the fact that it is a men's fraternity, and not a mixed social club, is one of the most important aspects of describing Freemasonry. Freemasonry provides a wholesome environment where good men can gather and enjoy the company and brotherhood of other good men.

2. Freemasonry derives from the medieval fraternity of operative Freemasons. This part of the definition answers the question, "Where did Freemasonry come from?" The Freemasons of the middle ages were so-called because they were free men, and worked in freestone. Scottish lodges began accepting non-operatives during the 1630s, and the practice increased throughout the British Isles during the seventeenth century.
   

Although individual Freemasons may rebel against the state, the fraternity itself does not concern itself with plots and conspiracies, in spite of what the paranoid conspiracy theorists may claim. During the Age of Revolution, many patriots--Washington, Franklin, Bolivar, Miranda, Eidalgo, Marti, Garibaldi, Austin, Houston, and others--were Freemasons. But whereas rebellion or disloyalty is not a Masonic offense, these remain the action of the individual, and not of the fraternity.

5.  Freemasonry inculcates moral and social virtues by symbolic application of the stonemasons' working tools and by allegories, lectures, and charges. This practice, as much as any other part of the definition, describes 'what Freemasons do! In addition to being a fraternity of men deriving from and adhering to the customs of the medieval Freemasons, Freemasonry