The roots of Freemasonry have sometimes been traced back to ancient Palestine, Egypt or some other cultural area of the Mediterranean and there have been attempts to connect Masonic legends and symbols with these countries. Historical continuity has also been sought with the medieval orders of knights as well as with the secret societies of modern times.
Since the end of 19th century the critics of Freemasonry have claimed that the abundant use of the Old Testament in the Masonic rituals and legends as well as the Cabbalistic elements found in some additional degrees prove that deep down Freemasonry is Judaism and forms a conspiracy with it. The strengthening of anti-Semitism that reached its peak in Nazism created favourable ground for these speculations.
The historically valid interpretation that modern speculative Freemasonry was born only in the latter half of the 17th century has become general among Freemasons. On the other hand there are frequent references in Masonic publications to the similarities between Freemasonry and ancient secret schools or orders like the Egyptian and Greek Mysteries, the Pythagoreans, Hermeticism, Alchemy and the Essenes or medieval Cabbalism, Rosicrucianism and Theosophy.
The majority of Freemasons in both Finland and England seem to think that no direct historical connections have been established between the birth of Freemasonry and the above-mentioned esoteric or occult collectives.
Religious tolerance and appreciation of different values typical of the Age of Enlightenment manifest themselves mainly as a general religious spirit. In the Old Charges we can read: "But though in ancient Times Masons were charg'd in every Country to be of the Religion of that Country or Nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient to oblige them to that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves: that is, to be good Men and true, or Men of Honour and Honesty, by whatever Denominations or Persuasions they may be distinguish'd; whereby Masonry becomes the Center of Union, and the Means of conciliating true Friendship among Persons that must have remain'd at a perpetual Distance."
Tolerance has always had an important place in the Masonic value system as part of its Enlightenment heritage. In the Freemason survey, 89% of the respondents considered tolerance and respect for others very important. One manifestation of this has been religious tolerance. As many as 85% of the respondents at least substantially agreed with the statement that 'although there are many religions in the world, most of them lead to the same God'. An average 58% of Finnish men agreed with this view in a survey carried out in 1991: such an attitude may therefore be considered typical of Freemasons.
By comparison with other men, Freemasons are generally well disposed to almost all religious denominations. They take a particularly
Figure 15.
The figure itself will come soon...
Percentage of Freemasons and of Finnish men in general
taking a very favourable or relatively favourable attitude to
various religions and denominations. Freemason survey, 1993 (N=848)
and Monitor survey, 1993 (N=913).
favourable view of the established churches: the Evangelical Lutheran (93% very favourable or reasonably favourable), and the Orthodox (86%).
The same denominations are favoured by Finnish men in general, but in absolute terms the figures are substantially higher among Freemasons, who are also more favourable than the average population in their attitude to the Salvation Army (85%) and the Roman Catholic Church (64%). It is interesting to note that attitudes to the Catholic Church are so relatively favourable, given that the Church itself has traditionally taken a rather negative view of Freemasonry.
Attitudes to non-Christian religions are similar to those of the average male population (comparative data are not available in the case of Judaism). Those Freemasons to whom Freemasonry is very important are somewhat more favourable towards nearly all religions than those to whom Freemasonry is not important.
Figure 16.
The figure itself will come soon...
Percentage of those firmly believing in certain
religious and paranormal phenomena, or at least regarding their
existence/validity as probable.
Freemasons are somewhat more sceptical than Finnish men on average in their attitude to paranormal phenomena. The proportion of those believing in UFOs is 26% among Freemasons (37% among Finnish men on average), while 21% belive in spiritual healing (average 26%), 12% in mediums (average 14%), 8% in horoscopes (average 12%), 4% in witchcraft (average 12%), and 3% in ghosts (average 8%). However, the proportion of those who believed in healing by prayer, connected with Christian tradition, was significantly higher among Freemasons than among the male population in general (56% as opposed to 34%).