Jamaican Freemasonry
Freemasonry was imported to Jamaica by British immigrants
who colonized the island for over 300 years. In 1908, there were eleven
recorded Masonic Lodges which included three Grand Lodges, two Craft Lodges, and
two Rose Croix Chapters. During slavery,
the Lodges were open to all "freeborn" men. According to the Jamaican
1834 census, that potentially included 5,000 free black men and 40,000 free coloreds
(mixed-race). After the full abolition
of slavery in 1838, the Lodges were open to all Jamaican men of any race. Jamaica also kept close relationships with
Masons from other countries. Jamaican Freemasonry historian Jackie Ranston
noted that:
Jamaica served as an
arms depot for the revolutionary forces when two Kingston Freemasons, Wellwood
and Maxwell Hyslop, financed the campaigns of SimÛn BolÌvar, the Liberator, to
whom six Latin American Republics owe their independence". BolÌvar himself
was a Mason, enjoying contacts with Brethren in Spain, England, France, and
Venezuela until after gaining power in Venezuela; he prohibited all secret
societies in 1828 and included the Freemasons.
On 25 May 2017, Masons around the world celebrated the 300th
anniversary of the fraternity. Jamaica hosted one of the regional gatherings
for this celebration.
Prince Hall
Freemasonry
Prince Hall Freemasonry exists because of the refusal of
early American lodges to admit African Americans. In 1775, an African American
named Prince Hall, along with 14 other African-American men, was initiated into
a British military lodge with a warrant from the Grand Lodge of Ireland, having
failed to obtain admission from the other lodges in Boston. When the British
military Lodge left North America after the end of the Revolution, those 15 men
were given the authority to meet as a Lodge, but not to initiate Masons. In
1784, these individuals obtained a Warrant from the Premier Grand Lodge of
England (GLE) and formed African Lodge, Number 459. When the UGLE was formed in
1813, all U.S.-based Lodges were stricken from their rolls – due largely to the
War of 1812. Thus, separated from both UGLE and any concordantly recognised
U.S. Grand Lodge, African Lodge retitled itself as the African Lodge, Number 1
– and became a de facto Grand Lodge. (This lodge is not to be confused with the
various Grand Lodges in Africa.) As with the rest of U.S. Freemasonry, Prince
Hall Freemasonry soon grew and organized on a Grand Lodge system for each
state.
Widespread racial segregation in 19th- and early
20th-century North America made it difficult for African Americans to join
Lodges outside of Prince Hall jurisdictions – and impossible for
inter-jurisdiction recognition between the parallel U.S. Masonic authorities.
By the 1980s, such discrimination was a thing of the past. Today most U.S.
Grand Lodges recognize their Prince Hall counterparts, and the authorities of
both traditions are working towards full recognition. The United Grand Lodge of England has no
problem with recognizing Prince Hall Grand Lodges. While celebrating their heritage as lodges of
black Americans, Prince Hall is open to all men regardless of race or religion.
Emergence of
Continental Freemasonry
English Freemasonry spread to France in the 1720s, first as
lodges of expatriates and exiled Jacobites, and then as distinctively French
lodges which still follow the ritual of the Moderns. From France and England,
Freemasonry spread to most of Continental Europe during the course of the 18th
century. The Grande Loge de France formed under the Grand Mastership of the
Duke of Clermont, who exercised only nominal authority. His successor, the Duke
of Orléans, reconstituted the central body as the Grand Orient de France in
1773. Briefly eclipsed during the French Revolution, French Freemasonry
continued to grow in the next century, at first under the leadership of
Alexandre Francois Auguste de Grasse, Comte de Grassy-Tilly. A career Army
officer, he had lived with his family in Charleston, South Carolina from 1793
to the early 1800s, after leaving Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) during the years
of the Haitian Revolution.
Schism
The ritual form on which the Grand Orient of France was
based was abolished in England in the events leading to the formation of the
United Grand Lodge of England in 1813. However the two jurisdictions continued
in amity (mutual recognition) until events of the 1860s and 1870s drove a
seemingly permanent wedge between them. In 1868 the Supreme Council of the
Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of the State of Louisiana appeared in the
jurisdiction of the Grand Lodge of Louisiana, recognised by the Grand Orient de
France, but regarded by the older body as an invasion of their jurisdiction.
The new Scottish Rite body admitted blacks. The resolution of the Grand Orient
the following year that neither color, race, nor religion could disqualify a
man from Masonry prompted the Grand Lodge to withdraw recognition, and it
persuaded other American Grand Lodges to do the same.
A dispute during the Lausanne Congress of Supreme Councils
of 1875 prompted the Grand Orient de France to commission a report by a
Protestant pastor which concluded that, as Freemasonry was not a religion, it
should not require a religious belief. The new constitutions read, "Its
principles are absolute liberty of conscience and human solidarity", the
existence of God and the immortality of the soul being struck out. It is
possible that the immediate objections of the United Grand Lodge of England
were at least partly motivated by the political tension between France and
Britain at the time. The result was the withdrawal of recognition of the Grand
Orient of France by the United Grand Lodge of England, a situation that continues
today.
Not all French lodges agreed with the new wording. In 1894,
lodges favoring the compulsory recognition of the Great Architect of the
Universe formed the Grande Loge de France. In 1913, the United Grand Lodge of England
recognised a new Grand Lodge of Regular Freemasons, a Grand Lodge that follows
a similar rite to Anglo-American Freemasonry with a mandatory belief in a deity.
There are now three strands of Freemasonry in France, which
extend into the rest of Continental Europe:-
·
Liberal (also adogmatic or progressive) –
Principles of liberty of conscience, and laicity, particularly the separation
of the Church and State.
·
Traditional – Old French ritual with a
requirement for a belief in a Supreme Being. (This strand is typified by the Grande Loge de
France).
·
Regular – Standard Anglo-American ritual, mandatory
belief in Supreme Being.
The term Continental Freemasonry was used in Mackey's 1873
Encyclopedia of Freemasonry to "designate the Lodges on the Continent of
Europe which retain many usages which have either been abandoned by, or never
were observed in, the Lodges of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as well as the
United States of America". Today,
it is frequently used to refer to only the Liberal jurisdictions typified by
the Grand Orient de France.
The majority of Freemasonry considers the Liberal
(Continental) strand to be Irregular, and thus withhold recognition. For the
Continental lodges, however, having a different approach to Freemasonry was not
a reason for severing masonic ties. In 1961, an umbrella organisation, Centre
de Liaison et d'Information des Puissances maçonniques Signataires de l'Appel
de Strasbourg (CLIPSAS) was set up, which today provides a forum for most of
these Grand Lodges and Grand Orients worldwide. Included in the list of over 70
Grand Lodges and Grand Orients are representatives of all three of the above
categories, including mixed and women's organizations. The United Grand Lodge
of England does not communicate with any of these jurisdictions, and expects
its allies to follow suit. This creates the distinction between Anglo-American
and Continental Freemasonry.
Italy
In the early 20th century Freemasonry was an influential
semi-secret force in Italian politics with a strong presence among
professionals and the middle class across Italy, as well as among the
leadership of the parliament, public administration, and the army. The two main
organizations were the Grand Orient and the Grand Lodge of Italy. They had
25,000 members in 500 or more lodges. Freemasons took on the challenge of
mobilizing the press, public opinion and the leading political parties in
support of Italy's joining the Allies of the First World War in 1914-1915.
Traditionally, they promoted Italian nationalism focused on unification, and
undermining the power of the Catholic Church. In 1914-15 they dropped the
traditional pacifistic rhetoric and used instead the powerful language of
Italian nationalism. Freemasonry had always promoted cosmopolitan universal
values, and by 1917 onwards they demanded a League of Nations to promote a new
post-war universal order based upon the peaceful coexistence of independent and
democratic nations.
Freemasonry and women
The status of women in the old guilds and corporations of
mediaeval masons remains uncertain. The principle of "femme sole"
allowed a widow to continue the trade of her husband, but its application had
wide local variations, such as full membership of a trade body or limited trade
by deputation or approved members of that body. In masonry, the small available evidence
points to the less empowered end of the scale.
At the dawn of the Grand Lodge era, during the 1720s, James
Anderson composed the first printed constitutions for Freemasons, the basis for
most subsequent constitutions, which specifically excluded women from
Freemasonry. As Freemasonry spread,
continental masons began to include their ladies in Lodges of Adoption, which
worked three degrees with the same names as the men's but different content.
The French officially abandoned the experiment in the early 19th century. Later organizations with a similar aim emerged
in the United States, but distinguished the names of the degrees from those of
male masonry.
Maria Deraismes was initiated into Freemasonry in 1882, and
then resigned to allow her lodge to rejoin their Grand Lodge. Having failed to
achieve acceptance from any masonic governing body, she and Georges Martin
started a mixed masonic lodge that worked masonic ritual. Annie Besant spread the phenomenon to the
English-speaking world. Disagreements
over ritual led to the formation of exclusively female bodies of Freemasons in
England, which spread to other countries. Meanwhile, the French had re-invented
Adoption as an all-female lodge in 1901, only to cast it aside again in 1935.
The lodges, however, continued to meet, which gave rise, in 1959, to a body of
women practising continental Freemasonry.
In general, Continental Freemasonry is sympathetic to
Freemasonry amongst women, dating from the 1890s when French lodges assisted
the emergent co-masonic movement by promoting enough of their members to the
33rd degree of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite to allow them, in 1899,
to form their own grand council, recognised by the other Continental Grand
Councils of that Rite. The United Grand
Lodge of England issued a statement in 1999 recognizing the two women's grand
lodges there to be regular in all but the participants. While they were not,
therefore, recognised as regular, they were part of Freemasonry "in
general". The attitude of most
regular Anglo-American grand lodges remains that women Freemasons are not
legitimate Masons.
In 2018 guidance was released by the United Grand Lodge of
England stating that, in regard to transgender women, "A Freemason who
after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason". The guidance also states that transgender men are
allowed to apply to become Freemasons.
Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called Anti-Freemasonry) has
been defined as "opposition to Freemasonry", but there is no
homogeneous anti-Masonic movement. Anti-Masonry consists of widely differing
criticisms from diverse (and often incompatible) groups who are hostile to
Freemasonry in some form. Critics have included religious groups, political
groups, and conspiracy theorists. Certain prominent Anti-Masons, such as Nesta
Helen Webster (1876 – 1960), have exclusively criticized "Continental
Masonry" while considering "Regular Masonry" an honorable
association.
There have been many disclosures and exposés dating as far
back as the 18th century. These often lack context, may be outdated for various
reasons, or could be outright hoaxes on the part of the author, as in the case
of the Taxil hoax.
These hoaxes and exposés have often become the basis for
criticism of Masonry, often religious or political in nature or are based on
suspicion of corrupt conspiracy of some form. The political opposition that arose
after the American "Morgan Affair" in 1826 gave rise to the term
Anti-Masonry, which is still in use in America today, both by Masons in
referring to their critics and as a self-descriptor by the critics themselves.
Religious opposition
Freemasonry has attracted criticism from theocratic states
and organized religions for supposed competition with religion, or supposed
heterodoxy within the fraternity itself and has long been the target of
conspiracy theories, which assert Freemasonry to be an occult and evil power.
Christianity and
Freemasonry
Although members of various faiths cite objections, certain
Christian denominations have had high-profile negative attitudes to Masonry,
banning or discouraging their members from being Freemasons.
The denomination with the longest history of objection to
Freemasonry is the Catholic Church. The objections raised by the Catholic
Church are based on the allegation that Masonry teaches a naturalistic deistic
religion which is in conflict with Church doctrine. A number of Papal pronouncements have been
issued against Freemasonry. The first was Pope Clement XII's In eminenti
apostolatus, 28 April 1738; the most recent was Pope Leo XIII's Ab apostolici,
15 October 1890. The 1917 Code of Canon Law explicitly declared that joining
Freemasonry entailed automatic excommunication, and banned books favoring
Freemasonry.
In 1983, the Church issued a new code of canon law. Unlike
its predecessor, the 1983 Code of Canon Law did not explicitly name Masonic
orders among the secret societies it condemns. It states: "A person who
joins an association which plots against the Church is to be punished with a
just penalty; one who promotes or takes office in such an association is to be
punished with an interdict." This named omission of Masonic orders caused
both Catholics and Freemasons to believe that the ban on Catholics becoming
Freemasons may have been lifted, especially after the perceived liberalization
of Vatican II. However, the matter was
clarified when Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), as the
Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a Declaration
on Masonic Associations, which states: "... the Church's negative judgment
in regard to Masonic association remains unchanged since their principles have
always been considered irreconcilable with the doctrine of the Church and
therefore membership in them remains forbidden. The faithful who enroll in Masonic
associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy
Communion." For its part,
Freemasonry has never objected to Catholics joining their fraternity. Those
Grand Lodges in amity with UGLE deny the Church's claims. The UGLE now states
that "Freemasonry does not seek to replace a Mason's religion or provide a
substitute for it."
In contrast to Catholic allegations of rationalism and
naturalism, Protestant objections are more likely to be based on allegations of
mysticism, occultism, and even Satanism. Masonic scholar Albert Pike is often quoted
(in some cases misquoted) by Protestant anti-Masons as an authority for the
position of Masonry on these issues. However, Pike, although undoubtedly learned,
was not a spokesman for Freemasonry and was also controversial among Freemasons
in general. His writings represented his personal opinion only, and furthermore
an opinion grounded in the attitudes and understandings of late 19th century
Southern Freemasonry of the US. Notably, his book carries in the preface a form
of disclaimer from his own Grand Lodge. No one voice has ever spoken for the
whole of Freemasonry.
Free Methodist Church founder B.T. Roberts was a vocal
opponent of Freemasonry in the mid-19th century. Roberts opposed the society on
moral grounds and stated, "The god of the lodge is not the God of the
Bible." Roberts believed Freemasonry was a "mystery" or
"alternate" religion and encouraged his church not to support
ministers who were Freemasons. Freedom from secret societies is one of the
"frees" upon which the Free Methodist Church was founded.
Since the founding of Freemasonry, many Bishops of the
Church of England have been Freemasons, such as Archbishop Geoffrey Fisher. In the past, few members of the Church of
England would have seen any incongruity in concurrently adhering to Anglican
Christianity and practising Freemasonry. In recent decades, however,
reservations about Freemasonry have increased within Anglicanism, perhaps due
to the increasing prominence of the evangelical wing of the church. The former
Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, appeared to harbor some
reservations about Masonic ritual, whilst being anxious to avoid causing
offence to Freemasons inside and outside the Church of England. In 2003 he felt
it necessary to apologize to British Freemasons after he said that their
beliefs were incompatible with Christianity and that he had barred the
appointment of Freemasons to senior posts in his diocese when he was Bishop of
Monmouth.
In 1933, the Orthodox Church of Greece officially declared
that being a Freemason constitutes an act of apostasy and thus, until he
repents, the person involved with Freemasonry cannot partake of the Eucharist.
This has been generally affirmed throughout the whole Eastern Orthodox Church.
The Orthodox critique of Freemasonry agrees with both the Catholic and
Protestant versions: "Freemasonry cannot be at all compatible with
Christianity as far as it is a secret organisation, acting and teaching in
mystery and secret and deifying rationalism."
Regular Freemasonry has traditionally not responded to these
claims, beyond the often repeated statement that those Grand Lodges in amity
with UGLE explicitly adhere to the principle that "Freemasonry is not a
religion, nor a substitute for religion. There is no separate 'Masonic deity,'
and there is no separate proper name for a deity in Freemasonry."
Christian men, who were discouraged from joining the
Freemasons by their Churches or who wanted a more religiocentric society,
joined similar fraternal organizations, such as the Knights of Columbus for
Catholic Christians, and the Loyal Orange Institution for Protestant Christians,
although these fraternal organizations have been "organized in part on the
style of and use many symbols of Freemasonry".
Islam and Freemasonry
Many Islamic anti-Masonic arguments are closely tied to both
antisemitism and Anti-Zionism, though other criticisms are made such as linking
Freemasonry to Al-Masih ad-Dajjal (the false Messiah in Islamic Scripture). Some Muslim anti-Masons argue that Freemasonry
promotes the interests of the Jews around the world and that one of its aims is
to destroy the Al-Aqsa Mosque in order to rebuild the Temple of Solomon in
Jerusalem. In article 28 of its
Covenant, Hamas states that Freemasonry, Rotary, and other similar groups
"work in the interest of Zionism and according to its instructions
..."
Many countries with a majority Muslim population do not
allow Masonic establishments within their borders. However, countries such as
Turkey and Morocco have established Grand Lodges, while in countries such as
Malaysia and Lebanon there are District Grand Lodges operating under a warrant
from an established Grand Lodge.
In Pakistan in 1972, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, then Prime
Minister of Pakistan, placed a ban on Freemasonry. Lodge buildings were confiscated
by the government.
Masonic lodges existed in Iraq as early as 1917, when the
first lodge under the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) was opened. Nine
lodges under UGLE existed by the 1950s, and a Scottish lodge was formed in
1923. However, the position changed following the revolution, and all lodges were
forced to close in 1965. This position
was later reinforced under Saddam Hussein; the death penalty was
"prescribed" for those who "promote or acclaim Zionist
principles, including freemasonry, or who associate [themselves] with Zionist
organisations."
Political Opposition
In 1799, English Freemasonry almost came to a halt due to
Parliamentary proclamation. In the wake of the French Revolution, the Unlawful
Societies Act banned any meetings of groups that required their members to take
an oath or obligation.
The Grand Masters of both the Moderns and the Antients Grand
Lodges called on Prime Minister William Pitt (who was not a Freemason) and
explained to him that Freemasonry was a supporter of the law and lawfully
constituted authority and was much involved in charitable work. As a result,
Freemasonry was specifically exempted from the terms of the Act, provided that
each private lodge's Secretary placed with the local "Clerk of the
Peace" a list of the members of his lodge once a year. This continued
until 1967, when the obligation of the provision was rescinded by Parliament.
Freemasonry in the United States faced political pressure
following the 1826 kidnapping of William Morgan by Freemasons and his
subsequent disappearance. Reports of the "Morgan Affair", together
with opposition to Jacksonian democracy (Andrew Jackson was a prominent Mason),
helped fuel an Anti-Masonic movement. The short-lived Anti-Masonic Party was
formed, which fielded candidates for the presidential elections of 1828 and
1832.
In Italy, Freemasonry has become linked to a scandal concerning
the Propaganda Due lodge (a.k.a. P2). This lodge was chartered by the Grande
Oriente d'Italia in 1877, as a lodge for visiting Masons unable to attend their
own lodges. Under Licio Gelli's leadership, in the late 1970s, P2 became
involved in the financial scandals that nearly bankrupted the Vatican Bank.
However, by this time the lodge was operating independently and irregularly, as
the Grand Orient had revoked its charter and expelled Gelli in 1976.
Conspiracy theorists have long associated Freemasonry with
the New World Order and the Illuminati, and state that Freemasonry as an
organisation is either bent on world domination or already secretly in control
of world politics. Historically Freemasonry has attracted criticism—and
suppression—from both the politically far right (e.g., Nazi Germany) and the
far left (e.g. the former Communist states in Eastern Europe).
Even in modern democracies, Freemasonry is sometimes viewed
with distrust. In the UK, Masons working
in the justice system, such as judges and police officers, were from 1999 to
2009 required to disclose their membership. While a parliamentary inquiry found that there
has been no evidence of wrongdoing, the government believed that Masons'
potential loyalties to support fellow Masons, should be transparent to the
public. The policy of requiring a
declaration of masonic membership by applicants for judicial office (judges and
magistrates) was ended in 2009 by Justice Secretary Jack Straw (who had initiated
the requirement in the 1990s). Straw stated that the rule was considered
disproportionate, since no impropriety or malpractice had been shown as a
result of judges being Freemasons.
Freemasonry is both successful and controversial in France.
As of the early 21st century, membership is rising, but reporting in the popular
media is often negative.
In some countries anti-Masonry is often related to
antisemitism and anti-Zionism. For example, in 1980 the Iraqi legal and penal
code was changed by Saddam Hussein's ruling Ba'ath Party, making it a felony to
"promote or acclaim Zionist principles, including Freemasonry, or who
associate [themselves] with Zionist organisations". Professor Andrew Prescott of the University of
Sheffield writes: "Since at least the time of the Protocols of the Elders
of Zion, antisemitism has gone hand in hand with anti-masonry, so it is not
surprising that allegations that 11 September was a Zionist plot have been
accompanied by suggestions that the attacks were inspired by a masonic world
order".
The Holocaust
Forget-me-not
The preserved records of the Reichssicherheitshauptamt (the
Reich Security Main Office) show the persecution of Freemasons during the
Holocaust. RSHA Amt VII (Written
Records) was overseen by Professor Franz Six and was responsible for
"ideological" tasks, by which was meant the creation of anti-Semitic
and anti-Masonic propaganda. While the number of victims is not accurately
known, historians estimate that between 80,000 and 200,000 Freemasons were killed
under the Nazi regime. Masonic
concentration camp inmates were classified as political prisoners and wore an
inverted red triangle. Hitler believed
Freemasons had succumbed to Jews conspiring against Germany.
The small blue forget-me-not flower was first used by the
Grand Lodge Zur Sonne, in 1926, as a Masonic emblem at the annual convention in
Bremen, Germany. In 1938 a forget-me-not badge—made by the same factory as the
Masonic badge—was chosen for the annual Nazi Party Winterhilfswerk, the annual
charity drive of the National Socialist People's Welfare, the welfare branch of
the Nazi party. This coincidence enabled Freemasons to wear the forget-me-not
badge as a secret sign of membership.
After World War II, the forget-me-not flower was used again
as a Masonic emblem in 1948 at the first Annual Convention of the United Grand
Lodges of Germany in 1948. The badge is now worn in the coat lapel by
Freemasons around the world to remember all who suffered in the name of
Freemasonry, especially those during the Nazi era.
No comments:
Post a Comment