Why be or become a Freemason of the Grande Loge de France today ? For personal development and a fulfilled existence, both in thought and in action. To live is to think and to act, to conceive and to achieve, to give and to construct a meaning to one’s life and to contribute to the positive evolution of the world around us. We can find meaning in sometimes dogmatic and simplistic convictions and ideologies. But we can also desire to go beyond clichés and ready-made thinking of all kinds and origins. To those in quest of a conception and construction of meaning, the Grande Loge de France offers an original approach: initiation. By initiation we mean: ? building the self with the aim of building a meaning to one’s life. The aim of the Freemasonry of the Grande Loge de France is to provide a place for though and action to men who seek to build a meaning to their lives, extending that meaning without contradiction into their family, professional or social lives; and to do this with freedom of conscience in religion and citizenship, while respecting the conscience of others. The approach is one of absolute freedom of conscience in religion and citizenship: the Grand Lodge does not require belief or practice of belief, but neither does it forbid belief or practice of belief of any religion, philosophy or particular currents of thinking. Similarly, it holds no particular political stance.

It thus respects all religious or political sensitivities. On the other hand, it refuses religious proselytising by those who would wish to persuade others to their particular faith, for it wishes not to constrain the conscience of any man. Similarly, it refuses antireligious proselytising of its members which would also constrain their freedom of conscience. Politically, it accepts the expression of all ideas that respect the freedom of the citizen’s conscience of its members, excluding by their very nature extremism of all kinds, which is incompatible with its fundamental principles of respect for the dignity of human beings, whatever their ethnic or cultural origin; to work in an environment attached to ethical values. It is not a unique school of thought but an environment attached to humanistic and spiritual values where men of all ethnic social, philosophical and religious backgrounds can gather, and through an original and specific initiatory method, learn to build themselves, to improve, to think and to act both individually and collectively, in its temples and in society, in mutual esteem, respect and tolerance.