Most Freemason Grand Lodges don't admit women. There are some but they are considered clandestine. We basically aren't part of the same network. They can't attend our lodges and we can't attend theirs. But there are female Masonic bodies my wife belongs to.

We require a sincere belief in Deity but that can be from any religion. We don't advocate any one religion or tell people what to believe.

>1. Are women allowed to join your chapter and if so are they 100% equal with no restrictions or limits?

No. As it stands, there exist lodges of Freemasonry which accept qualified men as members. There equally exist chapters of the Order of the Eastern Star, which accepts Master Freemasons and women with an affiliation to Freemasonry.

It's been a major topic for the last few decades. Many lodges have bent/broken the rules and accepted members. There is no one central authority, but such rule bending hasn't yet been officially accepted.

>2. Does modern freemasonry (or more specifically, your chapter) have anything to do with religion? Again, what little I've read about freemasonry told me that freemasonry originally was religion based and that the organization claimed to hold "secret" information about jesus/christianity as a whole. Is it kind of like modern day mormonism, where it has roots in religion but modern day practices are mainly based around leading a good life?

Pretty fair assessment. The reason for the religious example today is (imo) that without some higher power than ourselves, there's no reason to try and better ourselves.

It's not religion, or any one religion. Just a power higher than yourself.

>I have (had) a close friend who is a freemason an basically lost him to it. It seems like the longer he was in it, the more closed off he became to anybody not part of the brotherhood. He also slowly grew a very bloated ego.

If it helps, this is more or less opposed to any teachings I'm aware of in freemasonry.

Unironically, "Freemasonry for Dummies" is a great book and recommended to every new member.

I'm not the individual you were originally asking but I can answer your questions from my perspective and experience. 1: Freemasonry, in the vast majority of the world, is a fraternity and as such only admits men of legal age (18 or 21 is most jurisdictions). The recognition or official statuses you've read about is an agreement between different "grand lodges" or the governing bodies of an area with a group of constituent lodges under them to grant mutual recognition of each other and allow for members in good standing to "travel" or visit each other and participate in meetings there. There are several Grand Lodges that do admit women or are specifically for women (for instance HFAF or LeDroit Humain) that may or may not have mutual recognition with other grand lodges. There are also more widely recognized organizations that are not the same as the usual Masonic lodge but related to or affiliated with them for women (like Order of the Eastern Star) or for children/teenagers (like DeMolay and Job's Daughters). 2: There are some jurisdictions that require certain religious beliefs (like requiring a man be a Christian), in my experience however these are in the minority and my jurisdiction like most others simply requires the candidate to profess a belief in a "Supreme Being" without getting too held up on the specifics of any individuals beliefs. While a lot of the ritual is allegorically based on events from the Old Testament regarding the building of King Solomon's Temple, it does not espouse a specific religion and uses the stories as a frame to help men build themselves up to be better in their daily lives holding true to truth, friendship, and care for our fellows and communities.