Freemasonry Facing The Modern Problems Of Humanity

By: Giorgos Bousoutas – Thanasoulas

“As a citizen of the world, I further exhort you to be exemplary in the fulfillment of your civil duties (…) As a final and general exhortation, I urge you to dedicate yourself to the pursuit of becoming respected in society, useful to humanity, and an ornament to the Lodge of which you have tonight become a member.”

The prompt is not words meant to impress the new member with the ritual. It is a moral encouragement and a philosophical foundation of Freemasonry. The Mason is urged to be active, ethical, sensitive, and engaged in the great issues of society and humanity. It declares that Freemasonry is not an isolated inner journey or a fruitless engagement with symbols. Freemasonry is a continuous apprenticeship in action and wisdom. In this passage, action is called to be transformed into contribution.

Today, humanity is confronted with crises that are not only political or environmental in nature. They are moral, existential, and deeply systemic. We are called, therefore, as Masons, not only to acknowledge them but also to respond. Freemasonry, as a global spiritual movement with philosophical coherence and an ethical foundation, can and must stand as a supporter in addressing them.

For me, the main problems that humanity faces are five, and I suggest that we address them in this article, also examining how Freemasonry deals with them. I will not go into detail on each of them, as I believe they have already been discussed to some extent, and there are many articles and analyses that address them in a better way. I will start with the most important one, in my opinion.

The Destruction Of The Environment.

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Human activity undoubtedly has a significant negative impact on the environment. We can categorize the effects of these activities into four major categories. The first of these is Pollution. Pollution in the atmosphere, primarily caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the release of various gases. Pollution in the waters due to industrial waste, pesticides, and sewage. Finally, pollution in the soil from the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and illegal landfills.

In the already polluted atmosphere, Deforestation is another aggravating factor. The destruction of forests and habitats, which serve as the planet’s natural lungs, for the expansion of human economic activity reduces Nature’s ability to restore its balance by absorbing the elements that pollute it.

The two causes we mentioned contribute significantly to what we call climate change, causing an increase in the Earth’s temperature, which leads to the occurrence of extreme weather phenomena and a rise in sea levels. Furthermore, the overexploitation of the planet’s natural resources causes desertification in certain areas of the world, the extinction of animal and plant species, resulting in a loss of biodiversity and a disruption of Nature’s balance.

A not-so-new, but increasingly re-emerging negative factor for the environment today are:

The Wars.

In 2025, according to records from the Geneva Academy, there are 110 armed conflicts ongoing around the world .

Some of these include:

• Israel – Middle East (Palestine, Lebanon, Syria)

• Israel – Iran

• Israel – Yemen

• Russia – Ukraine

• Sudan (RSF militia vs. SAF army)

• Myanmar

• Yemen

• Somalia (Operation Shabelle – Somalia (Al-Shabaab))

• Ethiopia (War in Amhara – Ethiopia)

• Democratic Republic of the Congo – M23 / Rwanda

• Sahel (Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso)

• Kashmir

• Nigeria

• Cameroon
and others.

The impacts of wars on the environment are both immediate and long-term. Some of these effects include the destruction of ecosystems, pollution—especially through the addition of toxic, chemical, and possibly even nuclear waste from the use of weapons—the worsening of climate-related consequences, and the disruption and destruction of agriculture and water resources.

However, wars do not only have a negative impact on the environment. They also affect human beings, leading to the creation of;

Humanitarian Crises.

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These affect a large portion of the human population, mainly civilians, who live in fear, poverty, and deprivation. Due to these crises, some people flee from their places of birth in search of better and safer living conditions. Migrants and refugees are not a modern phenomenon, but they have taken on new dimensions in our times with the addition of migration caused by climate change.

Migration and refugeehood, combined with the economic and social crises created by the modern “capitalist” mode of production, intensify social inequalities, creating internal rivalries and feelings of injustice or demeaning behaviors among the members of the same society.

The global gap between the rich and the poor (both countries and individuals) is continuously widening. In entire regions of the planet or within the same country, inhabitants have no access to basic goods such as clean water, healthcare, or education. Moreover, combined with inflation, unemployment, and the demographic problem present in many countries, exacerbate the crisis.

In addition to these forms of humanitarian crises, we can add one more. I am referring to the issue of mental health and mental illnesses that the modern capitalist lifestyle creates, particularly for the contemporary Western individual. But apart from the aforementioned humanitarian crises, we can also mention two more that are not immediately apparent and do not have a direct impact on daily life. However, it is certain that they will influence, if they are not already affecting, human behavior in the near future. First of this is:

The Use Of Technology And Artificial Intelligence

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The main issue is the use and misuse, or the unethical use, of both Technology and Artificial Intelligence. The immediate consequence of abusive and unethical practices is job loss due to automation, the creation of humanoids or machines that will replace human actions or organs, the increase in social inequalities, and the influence on democracy through misinformation and data control. The result of these practices is the second impact, which relates to the operation of;

Democracy, Human Rights, And The Creation Of Social Polarization.

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It is a fact that modern societies worldwide are becoming increasingly more conservative due to fear, mainly through health crises, insecurity, and the emergence of greater inequalities in healthcare, education, knowledge, and living conditions, combined with threats and challenges to dominant social structures such as the Nation-State, the family, or religious beliefs.

The result is the emergence and rise of authoritarian regimes and the restriction of political freedoms. The primary expression of the latter is the dominance of executive power over the other branches in Western democracies.

At the same time, in the behavior of society itself, discrimination, racism, sexism, authoritarianism, and the oppression of minorities, combined with division and the radicalization of society’s members through social media, threaten its peace and cohesion.

How do Freemasons and Freemasonry, through their organizations, address the issues I mentioned briefly? What actions do they propose to either eliminate or significantly reduce the aforementioned problems?

A segment of Freemasons, by personal decision, participates in various actions and organizations that focus on these issues. For them, it is necessary to be active in order to address and improve the conditions arising from these problems.

A characteristic example of such an effort is the one by Br. Aaron William Berry in Colorado, USA, through the Y on Earth initiative, or the articles written by various Freemasons in our magazine, The Square, and in other publications, both print and digital – Masonic or not.

Through such initiatives, an effort is made to raise awareness among readers or citizens about the above issues, so that others can be activated through discussions and reflections at first, followed by participation in similar actions within their environment, and ultimately through their active involvement in mass movements, such as various local or national initiatives. Freemasons can take part in social dialogues by promoting Masonic principles based on the triad of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.”

Masonic lodges could also play an active role by creating working groups within them that focus on issues such as the Environment, Human Rights, Mental Health, and Technology. The results of these working groups could be presented at various events organized with the participation of experts and scientists. The lodges themselves could collaborate with local institutions or activist movements in their area.

However, at the level of the central administration of the Lodges, we do not find similar action to that of individual members. At this point, I must make a distinction. There is greater activity and more intense involvement from the so-called “liberal” Masonic forces in such actions. In the so-called “regular” Grand Lodges, the action stops at charitable interventions, and there is no corresponding activity for the other issues.

In the “regular” Grand Lodges, we have a different approach, which stems from the involvement of Masonic structures in politics. A statement from both the United Grand Lodge of England and other Grand Lodges which following the English model is that Freemasonry does not engage in politics. However, in the recent war between Russia and Ukraine, a fund for economic support was created exclusively for Ukrainian refugees, intervening unilaterally in the conflict. With this decision, we considered that the refugees were the result not of the war itself but of the military action of one of the two warring parties. This perspective and corresponding action is a political act.

As for the other issues we raised, Grand Lodges do not engage with them. How could they intervene? There are many ways. Through informational events aimed at both members and non-members, by organizing workshops, conferences, and speeches. By raising funds to support the actions of other organizations at an international or state level. By encouraging brethren to join similar organizations. By supporting state decisions related to the aforementioned issues when they have a humanitarian identity.

It has been mentioned many times that addressing these issues requires interstate cooperation, the existence of a global initiative to tackle them. Freemasonry has this global form, making it an entity capable of coordinating actions on a global scale. It also has the ability to support or create, in collaboration with other global organizations, such as the United Nations, actions to address these issues. For example, actions aimed at reducing the impacts of wars and humanitarian crises.

It is easy to create an international Masonic network with the goal of undertaking humanitarian and environmental actions, which would collaborate with globally recognized organizations such as the UN, UNESCO, or UNICEF. Such an initiative could be very significant. Another similar initiative could be the establishment of an International Masonic Responsibility Day to coordinate the actions of Masonic forces on a global scale.

Such initiatives would have positive results for Freemasonry itself. On the one hand, it would promote its work through actions on contemporary issues, bringing new and active members into its ranks, while simultaneously creating a new positive “image” for itself. This would stop the departure of young people from the lodges due to a lack of interest in its activities. On the other hand, it would contribute to bridging the gap between the “regular” and “liberal” Masonic forces, creating conditions that would lead to reconciliation. The creation of an informal dialogue environment aimed at joint action and the exchange of views on issues affecting humanity, or the organization of common initiatives, without interfering with their autonomy, could be another form of collective action.

And one last thing. Many Brothers hold the view that Freemasonry is a Science or an Art primarily concerned with spiritual matters. To a large extent, I agree with this view. However, spiritual are also the issues of our daily lives. Spirituality is not only about the topics discussed, for example, by Hermes Trismegistus and Alchemy, the interpretation of Masonic symbols or rituals, or the ‘philosophical’ approach to a certain theory. It is also about those matters that require our intervention in our everyday life.

Our interventions in everyday issues strengthen their philosophical aspect. Through these, Masonic principles are transformed into actions with cultural ethics. They contribute to connecting our symbols and rituals with contemporary reality and the problems societies face. The Mason seeks to build the “Temple of Humanity.” What meaning would there be in building such a temple within itself, when the rest of the world is not governed by the principles and values that he himself advocates? Let us keep in mind the lesson of the ancient sage Thales of Miletus, who fell into a pit of dirty water while gazing in rapture at the heavens above.

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