Liberal Freemasonry is considered irregular by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) and most other English-speaking Grand Lodges either because there can be female members or there is no requirement for members to declare a belief in a Supreme Being. However, the editors of this web portal have decided to include information concerning liberal obediences because their members consider themselves Freemasons. It is worth mentioning that a significant majority of “liberal” Lodges (united in mutual recognition of the Grand Orient of France and the Grand Orient of Belgium) maintain high standards in ritual as well as having a culture of very high quality masonic education. In many liberal Lodges, at least two years of regular Lodge work is required to obtain the third degree, and achieving the 32nd degree usually requires about 15 additional years of constant effort dedicated to self-development and broadening knowledge of Masonic symbolism.
By presenting information here from both the world of “regulars” and of “liberals” we hope to give each side a perspective on the other’s Freemasonry, and perhaps highlight areas where they could even learn from each other.
external links:
- Liberal and Adogmatic Grand Lodges (Pietre-Stones)
- Ritual and Symbols: What use in liberal Freemasonry? (Lodge Freedom of Conscience)
- Bauer, Alain (Grand Master of the Grand Orient of France Sacramento) (July 27, 2002), Address to the 2002 California Masonic Symposium, archived from the original on 7 January 2009
- New Catholic Encyclopedia, 6, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967, p. 135
- Franklin, James (2006), “Freemasonry in Europe”, Catholic Values and Australian Realities, Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd, pp. 7–10, ISBN 9780975801543
- Glazier, Michael; Hellwig, Monika K., eds. (January 2005), The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia, Liturgical Press, p. 330, ISBN 0-8146-5219-0
Gruber, Hermann (1910). “Masonry (Freemasonry)“. In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia. 9. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
- Hodapp, Christopher (January 18, 2011), More squabbles in the irregular world, Freemasonry for Dummies website
- Exemplary Convention between Regular and Liberal Grand Lodge (Swiss Grand Lodge Alpina and Feminine Freemasonry in Switzerland
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