Freemasonry, the secret fraternal order of Free and Accepted Masons, is the largest worldwide secret society. According to masonic teaching, the first lodge was established in 3760 BCE. Most scholars believe that modern Freemasonry stems from stonemasonry guilds of the middle ages. As membership in these guilds waned due to the decline of cathedral construction, they began to admit honorary members, giving rise to “speculative” lodges and symbolic Freemasonry. Early in the eighteenth century, some lodges began to imitate religious orders and medieval brotherhoods. Elaborate deist rituals were constructed. Freemasonry in its present form began in 1717 with the establishment of the Grand Lodge of England.

Freemasonry in England and America attracted a large number of Protestants. The Masonic “work,” or ritual, contains many symbols which admit a Christian interpretation and requires from the member a belief in God and the immortality of the soul, but its teachings are rationalistic and deistic. Masons are taught to regard each other as brothers, even in the face of ethnic and cultural divisions.

The two major rites in British Freemasonry are the Scottish Rite and the York Rite. The Scottish Rite has thirty-three degrees of membership, whereas the York Rite has seven levels. Both rites share the first three degrees. Since 1813 both rites have been joined under the United Grand Lodge of England. After becoming a third-degree Master Mason, if he wishes to advance, a Mason may join either or both rites.

Freemasonry in Catholic countries often has tended to be anticlerical and atheistic, so popes have consistently opposed it.

Sources:

"Freemasonry." in New Encyclopaedia Britannica. Vol. 4. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1985: 966.

Lauer, R.Z. "Freemasonry." in New Catholic Encyclopaedia. vol. 6. Washington, D.C.: Catholic University, 1967: 132-39.

Morgan, William. Morgan's Expose of Freemasonry: As Written by Captain William Morgan. Boston: Colesworthy, after 1882.

“Freemasonry.” In Encyclopedia Britannica Online, July 7, 2018. Encyclopædia Britannica (Accessed April 3, 2020).

Herman John Bürger was a resident of Kingston, Jamaica, and a member of the Freemasons.

Bürger joined the Freemasons in the 1830s. He and Willoughby DaCosta exchanged letters in 1868 debating Freemasonry; the resulting compilation describes Bürger as a Philomath. On October 16, 1876, he received a certificate of good standing from Friendly Lodge No. 239, and when he gave a lecture on Freemasonry at the Glenlyon Lodge in Kingston, Jamaica in 1877, he had a reputation for literary and oratorical skill. Bürger was elected as an honorary member of the Glenlyon Lodge as a result of that lecture. Bürger had become a third degree Mason at Friendly Lodge No. 239 by 1876. He wrote an article about Freemasonry in Jamaica for The Handbook of Jamaica for 1881.

Beyond his participation and success with the Freemasons, Bürger worked as an auditor (1880s) and tax collector (1890s). He also held the position of City Council member representing Kingston’s No. 1 Ward in 1881, and gave a well-attended lecture entitled “Our Home” at the Institute of Jamaica in 1890.

Sources:

A Young Master Mason. “Freemasonry In Jamaica—A New Theory.” The Freemason 10 (December 29, 1877): 54. https://masonicperiodicals.org/static/media/periodicals/119-FVL-1877-12-29-001-SINGLE.pdf.

Bound transcription of letters by Herman John Bürger and Willoughby DaCosta, after 1868, Box 1, Folder 1, Grand Lodge of East Jamaica Freemason collection, MS.1986.046, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Certificate of admittance into the Free Masonry, in the third degree, from the Prince of Wales, Grand Master, 1878 March 7, Shared box: 13736 (vellum), Folder 1, Grand Lodge of East Jamaica Freemason collection, MS.1986.046, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Certificate of good standing, Friendly Lodge No. 239, Kingston, 1876 October 16, Shared box: 12901, Folder 1, Grand Lodge of East Jamaica Freemason collection, MS.1986.046, John J. Burns Library, Boston College.

Sinclair, A.C. and S.P. Musson. The Handbook of Jamaica for 1890-91: Comprising Historical Statistical and General Information Concerning the Island. Compiled From Official and Other Reliable Records. Published by Authority. Tenth Year of Publication. London: Edward Stanford, 1890.

Two Members of the Jamaican Civil Service. The Handbook of Jamaica for 1881: Comprising Historical and Statistical Information; Together With Essays on Economic Plants and Other Subjects Connected With the Island. Compiled From Official and Other Records. Published by Authority. By Two Members of the Jamaica Civil Service. Kingston, Jamaica: Government Printing Establishment, 1881.