Anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry is the set of attitudes and practices of distrust, criticism, opposition, discrimination, repression, or persecution directed against Freemasonry. In its broadest sense, it designates every form of declared opposition to this institution, which has historically given rise to multiple manifestations of religious discrimination, violent persecution, and legal suppression in various countries and within different organized religions, mainly the Abrahamic religions.
Two aspects are distinguished: doctrinal or philosophical criticism, which questions Masonic principles or practices from theological or ideological standpoints, and political and juridical persecution, which translates into edicts, restrictive laws, prohibitions, or violence against Masons and their organizations. Both have coexisted throughout history with different intensities and motivations depending on the context.
Origins and early documents
The first known Anti-Masonic document dates from 1698, when a pamphlet written by a Presbyterian minister named Winter was printed in London. The text warns against the “Freed Masons,” whom it calls a “diabolical sect” and the “Antichrist,” and urges readers not to associate with them. This writing constitutes the oldest preserved testimony of public opposition to Masonry and reflects the animosity that the institution aroused from its first decades of organized existence.
The context of this first Anti-Masonic manifestation is that of post-Glorious Revolution England, where religious tensions between Protestantism and Catholicism and suspicions towards secret societies created a climate conducive to the dissemination of denunciatory pamphlets.
Religious Anti-Masonry
Religious opposition to Freemasonry has been a historical constant, particularly intense within the Abrahamic religions. Theological criticisms have questioned the institution’s adogmatic character, its tolerance towards different beliefs, and its initiatory methodology, considered by some to be incompatible with religious orthodoxy.
A significant milestone was the holding of the International Anti-Masonic Congress in Trento (Italy) in 1896, sponsored by Pope Leo XIII and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This event consolidated the coordination of Catholic-inspired Anti-Masonic efforts and gave international projection to the denunciations against the institution.
Masonry, for its part, defines itself as adogmatic, composed of freethinkers and humanists, tolerant and democratic. It defines itself as an initiatory and philosophical institution, a moral school, and denies being a religion, although its initiatory methodology has a ritualistic formulation and liturgy. This self-definition has been the subject of permanent controversy with its religious critics.
Political Anti-Masonry by country
Germany
On June 22, 1784, the Prince-Elector of Bavaria, Duke Charles Theodore, approved an edict against the Bavarian Illuminati, Freemasonry, and any society not authorized by law. This decree constitutes one of the first examples of state prohibition of Freemasonry in Europe.
Subsequently, the National Socialist regime prohibited Freemasonry in Germany and subjected it to systematic persecution, considering it a potential source of opposition.
Chile
In Chile, the independence leader José Miguel Carrera denounced the Lautaro Lodge for political disagreements, calling it an “organ of corruption.” Carrera had been initiated into the Lodge of San Juan No. 1 of Philadelphia in March 1816.
According to some unproven accusations, the lodge was implicated in the death of Manuel Rodríguez, assassinated, apparently, on orders from this lodge. Bernardo O’Higgins, Grand Master of the lodge, resigned from his post after these events. These events are not attributed to Masonry itself, but to conflicts between specific lodges, and have provoked Anti-Masonic movements in Chile.
Costa Rica
At the end of the 19th century, the Catholic Union party, of Anti-Masonic orientation, was founded in Costa Rica. One of the requirements for membership was not being a Mason, which evidences the political articulation of opposition to the institution.
Cuba
The Cuban case presents notable particularities. In left-wing regimes, Freemasonry was generally outlawed, except in Cuba. During the Revolution and the early times of the revolutionary government, Masonry supported the Revolution, but the subsequent radicalization caused some high-ranking officials to leave the country.
The former Grand Master J. J. Tarajano founded the Grand Lodge of Cuba in exile in the United States, recognized at the Conference of Grand Masters in Washington. However, Cuban Masons proclaim that the Grand Lodge based in Havana is the only regular one, a recognition that was finally given at the V Conference of the Inter-American Masonic Confederation. In Miami, the Grand Lodge of Cuba in exile is located, not accepted as legitimate by American Masonry.
In 1962, the Cuban government closed the Masonic temple in Havana and arrested the Grand Masters. After these stages of repression, Cuban Masonry entered a decline. Since 1982, with the opening of the system to non-governmental institutions, the number of adherents has increased. The accepted Grand Lodge of Cuba is headquartered in Havana, and Cuba is one of the Latin American countries with the highest number of Masons: 314 lodges and approximately 29,000 brethren.
According to Cuban folklore, Fidel Castro “developed an affection for Masons when they gave him refuge in a Masonic lodge” in the 1950s, although this is a legendary, undocumented claim. It has also been stated, without verification, that Castro kept the Masons “on a short leash” for considering them a subversive element and a possible refuge for dissidents.
Ecuador
During the second presidency of Gabriel García Moreno, secret societies were proscribed and citizenship was denied to their members, which meant a proscription of Masonic activities in the country.
Egypt
In 1952, after the overthrow of King Farouk by Gamal Abdel Nasser, Freemasonry was prohibited in Egypt.
Spain
Before the First World War, the Carlist Juan Vázquez de Mella presented a petition to the Cortes to declare Freemasonry illegal, considering it factious and traitorous to the homeland, and requested the expulsion of Masons from public employment. In 1927, under the dictatorship, new measures were taken against the institution.
United States
In 1826, William Morgan disappeared in Batavia, New York. It was alleged that he was kidnapped and murdered by Masons after threatening to publish the rituals. The disappearance is a historical fact, but Masonic authorship is an unproven allegation.
Morgan’s disappearance provoked protests and suspicions against Masonry that led to the creation of the Anti-Masonic Party, under the leadership of Thurlow Weed. The party presented presidential candidates in 1828 and 1832, and dissolved in 1835 except in Pennsylvania. William A. Palmer (Vermont) and Joseph Ritner (Pennsylvania) were elected governors on Anti-Masonic platforms.
John Quincy Adams, president during the Morgan affair, objected to the oath of secrecy and declared: “Masonry ought to be abolished forever. It is wrong – essentially wrong – a seed of evil that can never produce good.” Adams extended his tolerance to Masons who had joined before Morgan’s disappearance, of whom he said they had been surprised and had taken the oaths without reflection.
Regulatory and restrictive laws were passed in several states. In Vermont (1833), Anti-Masonic legislation was enacted, including the criminalization of administering and taking unnecessary oaths. The state of New York enacted a Benevolent Orders Law to regulate such organizations.
Asia
In 1938, a Japanese representative at the Welt-Dienst / World-Service congress, organized by Ulrich Fleischhauer, declared that “Judeo-Masonry” forced China to attack Japan and that Japan was at war not with China but with Masonry (Tiandihui), represented by General Chiang Kai-shek, successor to the Mason Sun Yat-sen.
Europe
In the 19th century, the intense denunciation of Masonry for its supposed control of society and government became standard doctrine of counter-revolutionary thought and action, according to historians Simon Sarlin and Dan Rouyer.
Doctrinal criticisms and internal debates
Masonry has been the subject of doctrinal criticisms that question its philosophical foundations and ethical behavior. The thinker Alain de Benoist describes it as a “secret but visible society,” alluding to the paradox of an institution that maintains reservations about its rituals but develops visible public activity.
The deviation of the three Masonic columns (Strength, Wisdom, Beauty) from the three transcendentals of being (Truth, Goodness, Beauty) has been criticized. In the political context, it has been alleged that speculative Masonry (post-1723) was ambiguous regarding treason, unlike operative Masonry. The old Catholic Encyclopedia alleges that the Masonic disapproval of treason is not moral, but rather due to inconvenience for other Masons.
Against these criticisms, Albert Mackey is cited: “If treason or rebellion were Masonic crimes, almost all the Masons of the American colonies in 1776 would have been expelled.” Masonry assigns its members the duty of being “peaceful subjects, true to their government, and just to their country,” and of not supporting disloyalty or rebellion.
Communist regimes persecuted Masonry, except in Cuba. Masonic writers claim that the language of totalitarian regimes is similar to that of other modern critics of Masonry.
Conclusion
Anti-Masonry constitutes a recurring historical phenomenon that has adopted very diverse forms: from theological and doctrinal criticism to violent political persecution, through legal discrimination and the creation of specifically Anti-Masonic political parties. Its study requires distinguishing between documented facts —edicts, laws, declarations, congresses— and legends or unproven allegations, such as the Masonic authorship of certain crimes or the supposed refuge of Fidel Castro in a lodge. This distinction is essential to understand a phenomenon that has accompanied Masonry since its origins.