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The Swedish Rite is a variation or Rite of Freemasonry that is common in Scandinavian countries and to a lesser extent in Germany. It is different from other branches of Freemasonry in that, rather than having three main degrees and seemingly-endless side degrees and appendant bodies, it has an integrated system with ten degrees. It is also different in that, rather than moving through the offices or 'chairs', progress in the Swedish Rite is based on moving through the ten degrees. A more fundamental difference is the Swedish Rite's position on the continuum of religion: Masonry as recognized by the United Grand Lodge of England is Deist, and Swedish Masonry is pointedly and specifically Christian. In spite of these radical differences from American or English Freemasonry, the Masons of the Swedish Rite (wherever it exists on the map) are considered equal to the Masons of the Emulation Rite as practiced in England, Scotland, or Canada. The Swedish Rite is the default and usual Masonic rite in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland; that is to say, when a man becomes a Mason in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, or Iceland, he invariably participates in the Swedish Rite. In Finland, the Grand Lodge of Sweden has several Swedish Rite lodges, but the native Grand Lodge of Finland works in standard Anglo-American tradition. An interesting situation arises in Germany: there are five Grand Lodges with significantly different traditions. Rather than competing with each other for recognition by the United Grand Lodge of England, a superlodge known as the United Grand Lodges of Germany was formed, all of which is fully recognised. Unlike the UGLE, the constituent Grand Lodges of the UGLG have kept this divergence in tradition, meaning that any given medium-sized town will have any or all of the following: a British or Canadian lodge run by the American Canadian Grand Lodge or the Grand Lodge of British Freemasons in Germany, a standard German lodge run by the Grand National Mother Lodge, "The Three Globes" or the Grand Lodge of Ancient Free and Accepted Masons of Germany, and a Swedish Rite lodge run by the Grand Landlodge of the Freemasons of Germany. Although fully independent, the Scandinavian Grand Lodges work closely together to keep their rituals as similar as possible. Since 7 November 2006 all laws of the Swedish Order of Freemasons are publicly available on the Internet.〔(Swedish Order of Freemasons ). ("Ordens Allmänna Lagar" ) (General Laws of the Order), Stockholm, 7 November 2006. Retrieved on 2010-08-11.〕 Among others, the laws prohibit any member to gain advantages outside the lodge by using the lodge as an instrument. The laws also stress the charity works of the members and the observance of the Golden Rule. ==Membership== The Swedish Rite has approximately 16,500 members in the Swedish Obedience (of which 15,200 are in Sweden and 1,300 in Finland〔https://www.frimurarorden.se/information-in-english/the-grand-lodge-of-sweden/〕), 2,800 in Iceland, and 16,700 in Norway.〔http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/texts/swedish_faq.html〕 Members must be at least twenty-four years of age and of good repute; they must be recommended by at least two members, one of which must have at least the seventh degree and the other at least the third. The Swedish Rite is notably more selective than other Masonic traditions: acceptance rates are only approximately one in three.〔http://www.freemasons-freemasonry.com/swedish_constitution.html〕 The traditional rule that a candidate must come of his own will and accord is enforced within the Swedish Rite. A final requirement is that the candidate profess to adhere to a mainstream Christian faith, assert that it is the best of all possible religions, and swear never to abandon it. If the Christian belief of the candidate is in doubt, a birth certificate may be requested; in the Scandinavian countries, birth certificates contain a field for religion. Neither The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), the Unification Church, nor the Jehovah's Witnesses are considered to be Christian denominations by the Swedish Rite;〔https://web.archive.org/web/20120217205656/http://home.swipnet.se/corbie/English/emura.html〕 beyond this, the Order does not admit a preference for any sect, whether Lutheran, Orthodox, Anglican, or Catholic. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Swedish Rite」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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