Abstract
With 1 year and a half of Covid-19, I lost a lot of time that I had to catch up.
I wanted to do interesting and in-depth research work, so I had to go to Grand Lodges and Lodges in different countries or contact them by e-Mail or zoom.
My job was made easier since I am a Freemason myself. It is a work of theoretical research, on the one hand, and practical research, on the other hand, concerning Apprentices and Master Masons. In the form of a questionnaire that I proposed to them, I was able to collect their answers. 600 Masons were contacted or met and who agreed to fill out the 35-question questionnaire. If the theoretical part allows the reader to know what Freemasonry is, how it works, this part also addressed the theme of Masonic Initiation.
This theoretical part was necessary for the reader to understand what we are talking about and thus better understand the questionnaire. This questionnaire made it possible to compare the answers of Apprentices and Master Masons. The research question focuses on the Masonic experience of Apprentices and more experienced masons. I wanted to know their experience. To get there I had to identify what they had to learn in Masonry before offering them the questionnaire. This questionnaire made it possible to lift the veil on a certain number of themes: methodology of transmission, fraternal love, conflicts, disillusions, perception of Freemasonry among Apprentices and among masons with at least 10 years of Masonic experience.
This research also tries to highlight the modes of transmission of the masonic tradition as well as the knowledge. So, this research work therefore concerns Entered Apprentices (First degree of Freemasonry) and Brothers who have ten or more years of Masonic experience.
The highlighting of the mode of transmission in Freemasonry allows to understand the functioning of the maybe the attraction that Freemasonry arouses. Before approaching the research part concerning Initiation and the Brothers having at least ten years of past in Freemasonry, I shall present the ritual of the First Degree (Entered Apprentice). Indeed, it seemed important to me to present the ritual of the First Degree and also explain the initiatory part.
For this, I used the First Degree Ritual as well as the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite (AASR) ritual. In order to document myself, I contacted Lodges of different countries, which allowed me to obtain rituals as well as valuable information concerning initiation and the functioning of the Lodge.
Tittle : Mode of transmission of tradition and knowledge in Freemasonry to the Entered Apprentices. Apprentices and Master masons Answers to a questionnaire
Author : Ferenc Sebök/ Ballsbridge University
Published in Journal of Social Sciences and Engineering , Volume 35 , Issue 3
doi : 10.55272/rufso.rjsse