Generally, to be accepted for initiation as a regular Freemason (in a lodge following Anglo-American style), a candidate must:
- Be a man who comes of his own free will by his own initiative or by invitation in some jurisdictions.
- Believe in some kind of Supreme Being.
- Be of good morals, reputation and financially supporting himself and family.
- Be at least 21 years old (may be as young as 18 or as old as 25, depending on the jurisdiction).
- Live in the jurisdiction (under some Grand Lodges in the United States.)
- Be able to pass interviews and pass the Investigation Committee’s inquiries about his past with people who have known him, which can take up to 2 years.
- Be of sound mind and body. (this is not a universal requirement).
- Be a “Free Man”. This may have arisen from the refusal of operative masons to pass their secrets to slaves, who could be ordered to divulge them to others. It may also have arisen from a requirement of early speculative lodges that a new Freemason should at least have a license to trade and employ others, making him a Free Man of the city or borough of the lodge.
- Pass the vote of the Lodge to allow his membership.
(the source/read more: Wikipedia)
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