Continental Freemasonry

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Continental Freemasonry refers to those Masonic lodges, mainly (but not exclusively) on the continent of Europe, that recognise the Grand Orient de France (G.O.d.F.) or belong to CLIPSAS or SIMPA.

Contents 1 Schism of 1877 2 Relationship with "regular" jurisdictions 3 Political Discussion in the Lodge 4 Relationship with the Catholic Church 5 Alternative Terms 6 See also 7 References

[edit] Schism of 1877

In 1875, at their convention, the Grand Orient of Belgium (G.O.B.) removed the term "Great Architect of the Universe" from their Constitution. In 1877, at their convention, the Grand Orient de France (G.O.d.F.), on a proposal of the Protestant priest Frédéric Desmons, followed suit. ^[1]

The members of the convention saw their decision as a way to return to the original Constitution of James Anderson of 1723. The GOdF changed the first two sentences of its constitution from (translated from French):

"Its principles of Freemasonry are the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and human solidarity. It considers liberty of conscience as an inherent right of each man and excludes no one because of his beliefs."

into

"Its principles are liberty of conscience and human solidarity. It excludes no one because of his beliefs.^[2]

However, this decision lead to a schism between the Grand Orient de France and the United Grand Lodge of England (U.G.L.E.) ^[3] This schism has affected the relations of other Grand bodies, as each Grand Lodge or Grand Orient has had to choose between these two. Since that initial schism, the liberal branch has divided still further. For example, the GOdF split apart in the 1890s over the admission of women, with the dissenting group forming the rival Grand Loge de France (G.L.d.F.).

[edit] Relationship with "regular" jurisdictions

As is outlined above, when the GOdF removed the requirement that its members have a belief in Deity and accepted atheists, UGLE cut relations with GOdF and declared them to be "irregular". The majority of Grand Lodges around the world followed suit soon there after. Some Grand Lodges and Grand Orients however supported GOdF, which caused a broad rift in Freemasonry.

Today, Freemasonry is often said to consist of two branches "not in mutual regular amity";^[4]

• the UGLE and concordant tradition of jurisdictions (mostly termed Grand Lodges) in amity, and
• the European, Continental tradition of jurisdictions, typified by GOdF (often termed Grand Orients, but some termed Grand Lodges) with varying and shifting amity.

In most Latin countries, the GOdF-style or European Continental Freemasonry predominates,^[5] although in most of these Latin countries there are also Grand Lodges that are in "regular amity" with the UGLE and the worldwide community of Grand Lodges that share regular "fraternal relations" with the UGLE. For example, in France, The Grande Loge Nationale Française (GLNF) ^{[6] [7]} is in "regular amity" with the UGLE and its many concordant jurisdictions worldwide, while GOdF and GLdF are not. The rest of the world, accounting for the bulk of Freemasonry, tends to follow more closely to the UGLE style, although minor variations exist.

There are small English speaking groups, such as the George Washington Union (G.W.U.) and the Grand Orient of the United States (G.O.U.S.), that see themselves as belonging to the European, Continental tradition.^[8] The Women's Grand Lodge Of Belgium (W.G.L.B.) and the Grand Orient of France (G.O.F.) also have liberal lodges in North-America.

[edit] Political Discussion in the Lodge

One point of difference with traditional freemasonry is that political discussion is allowed within the lodges.^[9]

[edit] Relationship with the Catholic Church

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This branch of Freemasonry has been concentrated in traditionally Catholic countries has been seen by Catholic critics as an outlet for anti-Catholic disaffection, and many particularly anti-clerical regimes in traditionally Catholic countries were perceived as having a strong Masonic element.^[10] Freemasons attached to the United Grand Lodge of England have often claimed that the Liberal Freemasons' anticlericalism is a "deviation" from proper Freemasonry.^[11]

In France, the blame for the French Revolution and its persecution of the Church was sometimes laid upon Freemasonry by Catholic commentators.^[12] Catholic sources saw Freemasonry as the primary force of French anti-clericalism from 1877 onwards.^[13] The hostility continued into the early twentieth century with the Affaire Des Fiches^[14] and the 1905 separation of Church and State^[15] being credited by Catholic writers on the Grand Orient de France.

In Italy the Church linked the anticlerical and nationalist secret society, the Carbonari, to Freemasonry^[16] and blamed the anticlerical direction of Italian Unification, or Risorgimento, on Freemasonry. Into the 1890s the Church would justify its calls for Catholics to avoid dealings with the Italian state with a reference to the state's supposed "Masonic" nature.^[17]

Mexican Freemasonry also followed the pattern of other Latin speaking countries by becoming more anti-clerical during the Nineteenth Century.^[18]

Even as late as 2005 the president of Spain's Union of Catholic Professional Fraternities blamed the anti-clerical measures of the Socialist government on a "tremendous crusade by Masonry against the Church".^[19]

[edit] Alternative Terms

Alternative terms include Liberal Freemasonry,^[20], Latin Freemasonry^[21][22], Adogmatic Freemasonry ^[23], or Irregular Freemasonry^[24]

[edit] See also

• Regular Masonic jurisdictions

[edit] References