my grandpa was a mason and proud of it. for the most part, it is a club that people socialize at. not much different than the elks or the moose or the eagles or the lions or the shriners, they do some kind of charitable work pooling their resources, etc. it never gets too complicated nor is it particularly evil in an overt way. it is used the same way church is, to socialize and network. the only thing my grandpa said was the wherever he went, he always had a friend that would help him in time of need, and that he would do the same for other masons. there are "secret identifiers, like handshakes, but as you see, people wear rings and put their stickers on their cars. i wouldnt belong just like i wouldnt belong to a church. god says to not show any favoritism in who i help, so i recognize everyones handshake!