Who is a mason

In operative stone building, a freemason was a skilled craftsman adept with mallet and chisel who carved, dressed, and set fine stone work 3. In Speculative Craft Masonry, a Freemason is an initiated candidate who satisfies specific moral, physical, intellectual, and personal qualifications established by tradition and lodge regulations.

Traditional requirements in the Craft dictated that a candidate must be a man of mature age (typically twenty-one), freeborn (later revised simply to "free"), and "under the tongue of good report" 1. Religiously, he must express a belief in God and hope in immortality rather than being an atheist or irreligious libertine 1. Intellectually, while ancient charges did not explicitly bar illiterate men, a candidate must possess sound judgment and sufficient intellect to complete proficiency tests; modern English regulations eventually made literacy an explicit requirement 12. Additionally, a petitioner must have visible financial means to pay lodge fees 1, apply without improper solicitation 1, and secure personal acceptance from every member of the lodge through the ballot 1.

Jurisdictional practice and historical evolution have modified several of these qualifications over time. The strict operative requirement for full physical perfection was relaxed in 1875 by the Grand Lodge of England to consider candidates eligible if they are physically capable of undergoing the degree ceremonies 1. In American jurisdictions, custom and local Grand Lodge regulations generally require a petitioner to apply to the lodge nearest his place of residence, a requirement not historically enforced in European lodges 1.