I have to say that I am absolutely astonished by the level of knowledge professed by non Freemasons on the net. There is little doubt that we as Freemasons see and hear much of the symbolism used in a our ceremonies repeated in the world around us. But to say that Freemasons have cornered the market on symbolism would be akin to saying that a Bolivian bank has cornered the world economy. Just about every religion uses symbolism in some way. I think symbols help us to focus our thoughts. Freemasons do not decry the symbols of religion, the symbols of justice or the symbols of nationality. Why should we? Generally we are part of those things in one way or another. Why do our detractors see such mayhem in Freemasonic symbols?
Mackey’s (I may have misspelled that) Encyclopedia of Freemasonry However, don’t cosunfe Masonry with the traditional definition of the Occult Freemasonry is not a religion, nor does it teach a particular set of morals or values, but encourages its members to search for themselves.References : I am a Freemason