Co-Freemasonry

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The Square and Compasses. The symbols employed in Co-Freemasonry are mostly identical with those in other orders of Freemasonry.

Co-Freemasonry is a form of Freemasonry admitting both men and women. Since women are not generally allowed in Freemasonry, it is not officially recognized by most Masonic Lodges & Grand Lodges, and is held by them to be 'irregular'.

1 French Co-Freemasonry — Maçonnerie Mixte
2 International Order of Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain
3 International Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain — the Eastern Federation
4 The Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry
5 International Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain — American Federation
6 Recognition of Co-Freemasonry by other Freemasons
7 See also
8 Co-Masonic Organisations
9 Women's-only Masonic Organisations
10 References
11 External links

[edit] French Co-Freemasonry — Maçonnerie Mixte

Co-Freemasonry originated in France in the late nineteenth Century, during a period of strong feminist and women's suffrage campaigning.

French Masonry had long attempted to include women, the Grand Orient de France having allowed Rites of Adoption as early as 1774,^[1]^[2] by which Lodges could "adopt" sisters, wives and daughters of Freemasons, imparting to them the mysteries of several degrees.^[3]

In 1879, following differences among members of the Supreme Council of France, twelve dissatisfied lodges withdrew from the Grand Orient de France and founded the Grande Loge Symbolique de France. One of these Lodges, Les Libres Penseurs (The Free Thinkers) in Pecq, reserved in its charter the right to initiate women as Freemasons, proclaiming the essential equality of man and woman.

Maria Deraismes, co-founder of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain.

Georges Martin, co-founder of Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain.

On 14 January 1882 a woman named Maria Deraismes, a well-known humanitarian and feminist author, lecturer and politician, was initiated into Les Libres Penseurs. The Right Worshipful Master, Bro. Houbron, 18°, justified this act as having the highest interests of humanity at heart, and as being a perfectly logical application of the principle of 'A Free Mason in a Free Lodge'. The Lodge was soon suspended for this "impropriety".

In 1890 the Lodge La Jerusalem Écossaise, also of the Grande Loge Symbolique de France, petitioned other Lodges for the establishment of a new order of Freemasonry, accepting both men and women. This time La Jerusalem Lodge did not propose to initiate women itself, but to create a new order working in parallel. The main proponent of this was Dr. Georges Martin, a French Senator and advocate of equal rights for women, and one of the members of Les Libres Penseurs.

On March 14, 1893 Deraismes, Martin and several other male Freemasons founded La Respectable Loge, Le Droit Humain, Maçonnerie Mixte (Worshipful Lodge, Human Rights, Co-Masonry) in Paris. They initiated, passed and raised sixteen prominent French women.

Shortly after, on 4 April of the same year, the first Grand Lodge of Co-Freemasonry was established, the Grande Loge Symbolique Écossaise Mixte de France (Grand Lodge of Mixed Scottish Rite Freemasonry of France), which would later become known as the International Order of Co-Freemasonry "Le Droit Humain". This was a radical departure from most other forms of Freemasonry, for not only did the new order not require belief in a Supreme Being (the Grand Orient de France had discarded this requirement in 1877) — it opened its doors to all of humanity who were "... just, upright and free, of mature age, sound judgment and strict morals."

[edit] International Order of Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain

The International Order of Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain is a global Masonic Order, membership of which is available to men and women on equal terms, regardless of nationality, religion or ethnicity. The Order is founded on the ancient teachings and traditions of Freemasonry, using Masonic ritual and symbolism as its tools in the search for truth. On the individual level, the Order aims "to promote the progress of individual worth, without the imposition of dogma, or exacting the abandonment of cultural or religious ideas". On a collective level it works "to unite men and women who agree on a humanist spirituality whilst respecting individual and cultural differences".

In contrast with other Masonic organisations which operate in national or state jurisdiction only, Le Droit Humain is a global fraternity with many Federations and Jurisdictions worldwide, each of which work the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite from the 1st to the 33rd degree. The Order is administered by the Supreme Council, which has its headquarters in Paris. Within the International Constitution, however, member Federations have the freedom of self-governance.

International Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain recognises the following Masonic Orders (but is not reciprocally recognised by them as a legitimate Masonic Order):

United Grand Lodge of England
Grand Lodge of Scotland
Grand Lodge of Ireland
The Order of Women Freemasons
The Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons
The Ancient Order of Freemasonry for Men and Women

The International Order of Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain is in fraternal relations with the following Orders (meaning recognition is reciprocal and members can intervisit):

Grand Loge de France^{[citation needed]}
Grand Loge Féminine de France
Grand Orient de France

[edit] International Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain — the Eastern Federation

Annie Besant wearing 33° Masonic regalia.

Several prominent members of the Theosophical Society joined Co-Freemasonry, including Annie Besant, George Arundale, Charles W. Leadbeater, C. Jinarajadasa and Henry Steele Olcott. Henceforth, wherever they took Theosophy, they also introduced Co-Freemasonry.

The Order of Universal Co-Freemasonry in Great Britain and the British Dependencies was founded by Annie Besant and officers of the Supreme Council of the French Maçonnerie Mixte (known today as International Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain) on September 26, 1902, with the consecration of Lodge Human Duty No. 6, London. Besant remained head of the Order until her death in 1933. The English working, influenced by the Theosophy of its leading members, restored certain traditional Masonic practices that were omitted in the French working, notably the Landmark requirement that its members hold a belief in God or a Supreme Being. The permission received from France to reinstate this in the English workings is known as the 'Annie Besant Concord', and in 1904 a new English ritual (the Dharma Ritual) was printed, which firmly established this requirement as central to the work. The Dharma Ritual also attempted to restore prominence to the esoteric and mystical aspects of Freemasonry, so that it was foremostly a spiritual organisation rather than a social or business club; Co-Freemasonry of this Order was therefore sometimes called “Occult Freemasonry”.

In 2001, following growing concerns over erosions to the Annie Besant Concord by the administration in Paris, many member lodges of the Eastern Federation resigned from Le Droit Humain, severing all ties, and reconstituted new governing bodies. Lodges in India, New Zealand, part of the US, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico and Spain reformed as the Eastern Order of International Co-Freemasonry; lodges in the UK reformed as the Grand Lodge of Freemasonry for Men and Women.^[4]^[5]

Other lodges of the Federation, including those in Australia and South Africa opted to remain within Le Droit Humain, and continue to exist as the Eastern Federation, governed by the Representative of the Supreme Council in France, known as the Most Puissant Grand Commander, who holds the 33rd and highest degree of the Order.

[edit] The Honorable Order of American Co-Masonry

In 1903 the first Co-Masonic Lodge was instituted in the USA under Le Droit Humain by the French professor Muzzarelli in New York. He founded the first Alpha Lodge in Charleroi, Pennsylvania and more than 50 others within four years, before leaving the USA in 1908. In 1909 delegates of twenty of these Lodges founded the American Federation of Human Rights in St. Louis. By 1924, nearly 100 Lodges had been started under the guidance of Louis Goaziou, the Most Prussiant Grand Commander, Representative of the Supreme Council in Paris.

In December 1993, when demands from the Supreme Council in Paris conflicted with the International Constitution and the National Constitution of the American Federation of Le Droit Humain, which mandated independence in internal affairs and adherence to United States law, part of the membership decided to withdraw from Le Droit Humain.

On April 11, 1994, the Supreme Council of American Co-Masonry, The American Federation of Human Rights, was reformed by members of the Grand Inspector General of the Thirty-third Degree. American Co-Masonry was now an independent Obedience with its Headquarters in Larkspur, Colorado and has since become the largest Co-Masonic organization in the United States.

[edit] International Co-Freemasonry Le Droit Humain — American Federation

In 1994, the remaining members of the American Federation of Le Droit Humain chose to remain affiliated with the Supreme Council of International Co-Freemasonry, Le Droit Humain. The American Federation continues to operate under the auspices of the Supreme Council of International Co-Freemasonry in Paris, France.

[edit] Recognition of Co-Freemasonry by other Freemasons

Co-Freemasonry is not formally recognised by any of the major Masonic Grand Lodges inasmuch as intervisitation or other Masonic interaction is not permitted.

A Landmark of Freemasonry agreed by all masculine Grand Lodges is that the initiation of women is forbidden and members take a binding obligation not to countenance the initiation of women. Certain Grand Lodges of Co-Freemasonry also follow the lead of the Grand Orient de France in removing references to the Supreme Being from their rituals and initiating atheists; this is a further point of separation from typical Masonic Lodges which hold belief in a Supreme Being to be a Landmark requirement.

Notwithstanding the prohibition of interaction in a ritual context, the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE), the oldest of the Grand Lodges, whilst not recognising Co-Freemasonry, states that it does hold informal discussions from time to time with Women's and Co-Masonic Grand Lodges on issues of mutual concern, and that

Brethren are therefore free to explain to non-Masons, if asked, that Freemasonry is not confined to men (even though this Grand Lodge does not itself admit women).^[6]

The Grand Orient de France also does not initiate women, but does recognize Masonic bodies that do. Thus, it allows visitation by women from those bodies.^[7]