Comment: Freemasonry is really a religion at its' core.  A blue lodge always has an altar.  Altars are always associated with religious worship and sacrifice.  The Scottish Rite temples are so called because they have what is a supposed to be a copy of King Solomon's temple in them.  Initiates are told that Masonry is based on Hiram Abiff who lost the "secret name of God" while he was building the great pyramid.  As punishment he was entombed alive in the pyramid.  When a Mason reaches the 33rd degree he is taught that the "secret name of God" is Jahbulon (sic Jobulun), a three part composite of Jehovah, Osiris, and Baal.  Jehovah is the Germanic translation of YHWH, the tetragramaton, the God of the Israelites.  Osiris was a god of the Egyptians, and Baal was a god of the Babylonians.  The problem with this is that the YHWH of the Bible said He would never share His glory with any other, especially not the false gods of the Egyptians or the Babylonians.  He brought the Israelites out of Babylon and Egypt and told them not to have anything to do with the people of those lands or their false gods.  So at it's heart, Freemasonry is a religion based on the worship of esoteric knowledge, that is, the "secret name of God".  Many Masons are unaware of this, enjoying the power and prestiege of their fraternity.  Also, not every Mason is a Shriner, but every Shriner is a 33rd degree Freemason *.  A friend of mine informs me that while George Washington joined the Masons, once he found out more about it, he left the Masons and never set foot in another blue lodge or had anything to do with Freemasonry for the last 25 years of his life.