Investigating Freemason(e)ry?

Let me try to help you. Freemasons are members of a fraternity that can directly trace its origins back to the 1700's i the united States. There is no specific religion, and it is forbidden to discuss politics i the lodge. This is to maintain the harmony of the lodge. Your political beliefs are your own, and in the lodge they remain so. All masons are brothers within the fraternity, and are expected to live within the tenets of the graft. This involves living within the parameters regarding th masonic obligations that you will take. If you are joining masonry to investigate it you are doing yourself a disservice, as masonry teaches lessons, through allegory and stories that are meant to improve the mason on a daily basis. Masonry is a journey that is traveled through life, and never ends. There is no specific rank in masonry. All master masons are 3rd degree and are all equal. There are appended degrees that can be taken in the Scottish and York rites, Both give degrees, to 32nd, in slightly different ways, and a mason can travel up both roads if he chooses.