The location of the lodges, their presidents and their statutes are known, their writings and descriptions of Masonic rituals are publicly accessible to everyone in libraries and archives The majority of Masonic values originate from the Age of Enlightenment. The following are the five pillars of Freemasonry:
Liberty, equality, fraternity, tolerance and humanity. These are the goals and values of Freemasonry.
Freedom is to be realized through freedom from oppression and exploitation as a basic prerequisite for freedom of the spirit and individual realization.
Equality means equality of people without class distinctions and equality before the law.
Fraternity is realized through security, trust, care, shared responsibility and understanding with and among each other.
Tolerance is practiced through active listening and understanding of other opinions.
Humanity comprises the sum of all the previous four basic pillars and is symbolized by the “Temple of Humanity” on which Freemasons work.
The aim of Freemasonry is to live these principles in everyday life in order to promote human goodness in the world. In the Masonic sense, humanity means the doctrine of human dignity. In their work, Freemasons therefore disregard all social differences and focus on the individual.