What is Freemasonry's opinion of primitive Gnosticism?

Gnosticism, originating in Oriental and Alexandrian philosophy, directly influences the advanced, Ineffable, and Hermetic degrees of the Scottish Rite, where its theory of emanations is intertwined with Kabalistic and Jewish philosophy 1. However, Albert C. Mackey distinguishes Masonic structure from Gnostic practice: while the Gnostic sects maintained an esoteric secret doctrine, Freemasonry possesses no secret doctrine, keeping its moral and philosophical teachings open to the world while reserving only its ceremonies and modes of recognition 1.

Writing within the Scottish Rite, Albert Pike identifies strong structural and symbolic analogies between Gnosticism and Masonry 2. Pike describes Gnosticism as an synthesis of Oriental and Occidental traditions centered on the emanation of souls from the Divine Light, their imprisonment in matter, and their ultimate return to unity with the Supreme Being 2. He argues that these Gnostic and Platonic concepts form part of Masonry's underlying philosophy, though in the symbolic degrees of the Craft they have often been overlaid with fiction or reduced to unnoted hints 2. For Pike, both Gnosticism and Freemasonry share a method of allegory, wherein the literal text or rite serves as a shell concealing a deeper search for light 2.