共济会(Freemasonry)
世界上最大的以互助为宗旨的秘密团体共济会（Free and Accepted Masons）所奉行的信条和实践活动。共济会制起源於中世纪的石匠的行会制度。在17和18世纪，吸收了古代宗教团体及骑士兄弟会的仪式及举行仪式的场面。1717年，共济会的第一个联合组织「共济总会」（Grand Lodge）在英格兰成立。由於英帝国的向外扩张，共济会很快的传播到其他国家。共济会在美国革命及後来的美国政治上扮演重要的角色。19世纪人们对共济会影响的畏惧，导致反共济运动。会员必须是相信上帝的存在并坚信灵魂不灭说的成年男子。使用拉丁语族语言的各国中，共济会制吸引着自由思想家及反对教权的人士，而在操盎格鲁-撒克逊语的诸国，会员多是白人新教徒。与共济会有关的社会组织如圣地兄弟会。
English version：
Freemasonry
Teachings and practices of the fraternal order of Free and Accepted Masons, the largest worldwide secret society. Originating with the guilds of medieval stonemasons, the organization became an honorary society in the 17th and 18th century, adopting the rites and trappings of ancient religious orders and chivalric brotherhoods. The first association of lodges, the Grand Lodge, was founded in England in 1717, and Freemasonry soon spread to other countries in the British Empire. Freemasons took an active role in the American Revolution and later in U.S. politics, and in the 19th century popular fears of their influence led to the Anti-Masonic movement. Membership is extended only to adult males willing to express belief in a Supreme Being and the immortality of the soul. In Latin countries, the lodges have often attracted freethinkers and anticlerical types; in Anglo-Saxon nations, membership has mostly been drawn from white Protestants. Freemasonry has also given rise to social organizations such as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Noble Mystic Shrine, or Shriners.