A presentation at Abravanel Lodge No. 1116 in New York reinforces the educational series. We are publishing the text of the presentation and the PowerPoint slides here to facilitate understanding.
Thomas Barat: Ethics Is the Study of Morality
It sounds like a definition you would find in a textbook. I want to persuade you that it is also the most practical sentence in Freemasonry.
This presentation is part of our educational lecture series. I chose the subject because we do not discuss it enough. We talk a great deal about rituals, about history, about our charities. We talk very little about Masonic ethics — about what, precisely, we have undertaken to be.
In preparing this work I made use of artificial intelligence in my research.
My aim is threefold: to introduce the ethical principles of Freemasonry; to present the values and rules of conduct of the United Grand Lodge of England; and to set out the common moral law binding upon every Freemason. For authority I rely on the UGLE Book of Constitutions and the official UGLE website.
Let me begin by saying what we are not. Freemasonry is not a religion. It is not a political party. And it is not charitable as an organization, although we are often described in this way. Charity is something we do. It is not what we are.
WHAT IS ETHICS?
So: what is ethics? Ethics is the study of morality — of what makes an action, and a character, good or bad. The word comes from the Greek ethos, custom and character, and from the Latin mores, morals. Etymology already tells us something important: ethics has never been concerned only with acts. It has always been concerned with the person who performs them.
Philosophers divide the field into three. Metaethics asks what moral statements mean. Normative ethics asks which actions, and which character traits, are right. Applied ethics carries those principles into territory — medicine, business, war, the environment, the media.
Hold on to that one word: character. We shall come back to it.
THREE CLASSICAL ANSWERS
Classical philosophy gave us three great answers, and it is worth knowing which one we belong to.
Aristotle located morality in character. His central question was not “what rule should I follow?” but “what kind of person should I become?”
Kant held that some actions are right or wrong in themselves, whatever follows from them, because they either respect duties and rights or violate them.
A third solution judged us instead by outcomes: the right action is the one producing the greatest good for the greatest number.
Brethren, when you hear Aristotle’s question, “what kind of person should I become?” You are hearing our Craft. That is the question a rough stone asks.
Does Masonic ethics exist? It does. There is a distinctive system of ethical rules belonging to Freemasonry, and we must take it up from within the Masonic tradition. Its core is easy to say and hard to do Freemasons shape themselves. The aim is the formation of good character.
It is a blend: the working traditions of the medieval stonemasons’ guilds, joined to the values of the Enlightenment.
And that is why I would describe Masonic ethics not as a code, but as a culture
WHAT THE CONSTITUTION REQUIRES
What, then, does the Constitution require of us? It can be summarized in five duties.
A Freemason must conduct himself with integrity, respect the standards of honor, and abide by the laws of the country in which he lives and works.
He must not use his Masonic membership to gain financial, professional or other advantage — for himself, or for anyone else.
He must respect the opinions and beliefs of others, and refrain from religious or political debate within the Lodge.
He must conduct himself so that his behaviour brings no disgrace upon himself, or upon Freemasonry.
And he must follow Masonic principles: brotherly love, mutual aid, and justice.
THE THREE GREAT PRINCIPLES
Those last words deserve their own moment, because in English-style Freemasonry — the Blue Apron tradition — they are the whole moral foundation.
Brotherly love. Every Freemason must be taught to respect the opinions of others. Taught. It is not assumed to come naturally.
Relief. We are expected to care for those in need — organized charity, volunteer work, and personal compassion. I would call it by its older name, philanthropy, because the word means love of humanity.
Truth. We are encouraged to live honestly. The expectation is that each of us be a truthful and trustworthy man whose word can be relied upon. In the present century of easy speech, that is not a small undertaking.
THE WORKING TOOLS
Now let me show you how this culture teaches. Not by lecture — by tools.
The square teaches the Freemason to act honestly.
The level teaches the fundamental equality of all people.
The plumb rule teaches uprightness — the habit of standing morally erect.
And the compasses teach us to keep our desires within bounds, and our passions within due limits.
Four instruments from a building site, and between them an entire ethics. That is the genius of our method. We do not memorize principles. We handle them.
THE LODGE AS A CENTRE OF UNION
There is one more foundation, and it is the one most often mistaken for mere etiquette: the exclusion of religion and politics from the Lodge. Brethren, it is not etiquette. It is an ethical commitment.
The Lodge is the center of union. And from that it follows that we dress and behave in Lodge in a way that honors what unites us — and not what might divide us.
THE FOUR VALUES
From this come the four values our Grand Lodge places before the public.
Honesty — we strive to become honest men.
Friendship — Freemasonry is open to men of all religions and political convictions and gives them a common ground on which friendship can grow.
Respect — it brings men together regardless of race, religion, or any other apparent difference that divides society.
And Service — the very essence of the Craft. By offering our time, our resources and our skills, we contribute of real value.
THE CODE OF CONDUCT
The Code of Conduct puts this into enforceable form.
A Freemason must obey the laws of the country where he lives and works and may not use his membership to advance his own, or anyone else’s, business, professional or personal interests.
And here the Code is explicit in a way I want you to hear clearly.
Freemasonry offers no refuge from the consequences of breaking the law.
The fraternal bond may not be invoked as a defense — not before the authorities, and not before your employer.
Responsibilities toward family, dependents, work and community take precedence over commitment to the Lodge. A member may disclose his own membership — but never other men without his consent. And the good name of the Order, and its neutrality, are entrusted to each of us personally.
THE COMPARISON
In preparing this talk I compiled a comparison of ethical rules across eight countries.
The differences do not run between countries. They run between two families of obedience — what the regular world calls regular and irregular, and what the second family calls, of itself, liberal.
In the regular obedience: faith in a Supreme Being; the Book of the Holy Law open upon the altar; men only; politics and religion excluded.
In the liberal ones: freedom of conscience is absolute, members may be atheists, women and mixed membership are possible, and political debate is permitted. And yet beneath that division the common ground is remarkable. Self-education, symbolized by the shaping of rough stone — ethics as internal self-regulation, not outward compliance. Virtue taught through symbols.
Fraternity as an enforceable duty. Meeting on the level. Tolerance.
Respect for the law of the land. The prohibition on seeking advantage — most explicit of all in our own Constitutions. Admission by free will, never by pressure. And disciplinary accountability everywhere: dishonesty and unfair dealing with a brother are offences in every jurisdiction I examined.
ENGLAND AND NEW YORK
Let me end with the two jurisdictions nearest to us. In England the rules are uniform; in the United States they vary from state to state. At our Grand Lodge the Code of Conduct is a document the member receives in his hand. In New York there is no such document: he learns the ethical standard from the ritual — and from the Rules of Procedure, the consequence of breaching it.
And those consequences are specific. The offences include breach of the oath and betrayal of ritual secrets; deceiving, defrauding or robbing a brother; slandering him; offending his family — historically an emphasised item; using membership to gain advantage; drunkenness that brings the Order into disrepute; bringing religion and politics into the Lodge; and disobedience to the Grand Lodge or to the Master.
American Freemasonry is, in ethical terms, regular. It is recognised by our Grand Lodge; its members acknowledge the Great Architect of the Universe; the Book of the Law lies open while they work; and religious and political debate is excluded.
SUMMARY
So British and American Masonic ethical principles are identical. And both rest on the principles laid down in James Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723.
Brethren, I return to where I began. Masonic ethics is a culture of morality — not a rulebook consulted when trouble arrives, but a way of being, learned slowly, with a square and a level in hand. And the aim of all of it is stated in our motto, plainly and without exaggeration. We admit good men. And then, through patient, lifelong work, we help them become better.
Thank you.
Click here to download the PowerPoint presentation: Freemason_ETHICS
If you would like more detail, an edited version of this presentation is on the ORATORS.INFO website, please click here: https://orators.blog/2026/07/25/the-ethics-is-the-study-of-morality/
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