Enter the secret world of the Freemasons

it's the world's most well-known secret society rich with symbols and ritual it's a source of legends parodies who controls the british crown who keeps the metric system down we do we do and conspiracy theories because so much organized crime uses the masonic secret system and the good old boy network to be able to get away with murder and i mean murder welcome to the world of freemasonry true or false the masons are a secret society no it's that's false ucla history professor margaret jacob is one of the world's leading experts on freemasonry true or false

freemasonry is a religion no it's false true or false masons were behind the american revolution false false false okay but what about on the dollar bill the eye and the pyramid i mean that's masonic right no it's it everybody says messiah in fact it's a commonplace in the 18th century that particular set of symbols true freemasons laid the cornerstone of america well at least some of its most iconic structures so what is freemasonry simply put it's the world's oldest and largest fraternity its membership a who's who of world history george washington benjamin franklin winston churchill

mozart davy crockett franklin roosevelt harry houdini gerald ford henry ford john wayne even colonel sanders if you want to be a mason you can petition a local lodge for membership you'll need to demonstrate good character and belief in some sort of supreme being oh and in almost all lodges it's men only next you're up for a vote says new york state grand master james sullivan the lodge votes to accept you and then you have the three degrees that you go through once you earn the third degree and yes that's where the phrase comes from you

can join any number of masonic offshoots take brent morris he's a 33rd degree mason and a historian at the house of the temple for the supreme council of the scottish rite of the southern jurisdiction you know it's that big building in washington dc this isn't like the masonic vatican but it's a it's an important building it's an important building absolutely right it's it's one branch of freemasonry in the united states and that's our headquarters building inside the temple lodge room is a stunner and downstairs there's this this is the flag that bulls aldrin took to

the moon with him this flag supreme council 33 southern jurisdiction wow now if tiny hats and small cars are your thing then there are the party animals of freemasonry the shriners you may know them better for their 22 children's hospitals where patients don't have to pay a cent the masons are philanthropic they reportedly donate two million dollars to charity every day freemasonry began in medieval europe as a guild for stonemasons but lived on as a social organization 1717 the first grand lodge is created in london and now there are many men in these lodges that

are not associated with it with the trade organization they're gentlemen masons they're not stone cutters they're not stone cutters and so something has happened a modern fraternity has been created it wasn't long afterward that the conspiracy theories began all these men with different neighborhoods different professions meeting in the cafe breaking bread together doing rituals what could this be so the the response on the part of the authorities was oh my god this is a conspiracy and so in 1738 pope clement xii issued the catholic church's first decree against freemasonry and it still applies today [Music]

in the u.s freemasonry flourished until its secrecy made it the object of suspicion here spawning america's first third party the anti-masonic party it elected eight congressmen but lost the 1828 presidential election to andrew jackson a proud mason today freemasonry has about 1.3 million members in the u.s down from 4 million in 1959 supreme architect of the universe among the members today african americans formerly relegated to a separate black only branch of freemasonry and then there are members like those in colonial lodge number 1821 of washington dc most of them are in their 20s and some

attracted to freemasonry by dan brown novels and movies like national treasure they formed a new brotherhood called the freemasons in honor of the builders of the great temple who here was sort of drawn by the mystery i mean i'm confident yeah i think it's all yeah i think it's a combination of history of tradition and mystery as well you know there's ritual we don't know what it is exactly yeah that how can you not be that's alluring yeah i mean that's the reason people join freemasonry and not the rotarian so what about those secrets what

would happen if i found out the secret handshake and i weren't a mason nothing you wouldn't have to kill me we we might take you out and buy you a beer the secrets of a mason represent my integrity as a man i took a promise that i would not tell you what the secrets of the mason are i didn't take a promise that i would care if you know what they are also a big secret the meetings no non-masons or cameras are allowed but st john's lodge number one of new york city agreed to give

us a glimpse of one for meetings masons dress up in their sunday best and just like the original stone cutters wear aprons at the center of any lodge room is an altar and all the activities of the lodge take place about the altar piers vaughn is the lodge master and would people talk about religion here in a meeting absolutely not there are certain subjects which are prevented from discussing within the lodge and religion is one politics is another religion and politics someone said that masons were raised right yes and then there are the ceremonies each

one teaches a moral lesson related to the legend of one hiram abif the architect of king solomon's temple they can be a little unusual as pointed out in this recruitment video even while blindfolded try to concentrate on what you are asked what is said to you and what is happening around you everything will be explained to you in later sections of the degree when a candidate comes in through the door he's blindfolded because symbolically he's in a state of darkness because masonry is all about moving from darkness into masonic light that it's about being unenlightened

and then enlightened that's right as for what happens after that well that's a secret but for members freemasonry is about something much simpler i have met a group of men that i enjoy being with these are people that i go out to dinner with we socialize together they're guys i like to hang with they're my friends