Anticlericalism and Freemasonry

The question of whether Freemasonry is Anticlerical is the subject of debate. The Catholic Church has long been an outspoken critic of Freemasonry, and some scholars have often accused the fraternity of anticlericalism. The Catholic Church forbids its members to join any Masonic society under pain of interdiction. Freemasons usually take a diametrically opposite view, stating that there is nothing in Freemasonry that is in any way contrary to Catholicism or any other religious faith.

Whether Freemasonry is Anticlerical often depends on how one defines Anticlericalism and what branch of Freemasonry one is talking about.

Starting in the late eighteenth century, and rapidly expanding in the nineteenth, Freemasonry became polarized over the issue of whether the discussion of religion and politics was appropriate in lodges. Those Grand Lodges that adhered to the Anglo-American form of Freemasonry maintained a strict rule that such discussion was banned. Historian John Robinson notes this fact in reaching the conclusion that Freemasonry is not anticlerical.

The fact that the Continental branch of Freemasonry was concentrated in traditionally Catholic countries may account for the fact that the fraternity has been seen by Catholic critics as an outlet for anti-Catholic disaffection. Many particularly anti-clerical regimes in traditionally Catholic countries were perceived as having a strong Masonic element.

According to historians Christopher Clark and Wolfram Kaiser, Freemasonry was not anticlerical from the outset. They state that this changed in the nineteenth century (in part because of measures by the Catholic Church) and that Freemasonry (mostly continental Freemasonry), developed an anticlerical outlook. They note, however, that the influence of freemasonry should not be given too much weight; even in Italy it was eclipsed in influence by non-Masonic groups such as the Carbonari. They also note that lodges did not hold one consistent political line, many being completely apolitical.

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