Essay on Exclusion of Women in Freemasonry
Freemasonries have always been known
to be association of men. In England,
which is considered to be the birthplace of freemasonry, women were generally
considered to be excluded from being members in freemasonry, with some notable
exceptions. In France and in other countries, women were also excluded in lodges. While it is true that there
were mixed lodges in France and women were allowed to hold high positions in
these mixed lodges, the Grand Orient de France and Grand Loge de France did not
extend formal recognition on these lodges.
This essay seeks to discuss the reasons for the general exclusion of women
in freemasonry.
In the early days of freemasonry, the
question of the admission of women in freemasonry was never an issue. This was
the time when the membership in freemasonry was limited to skilled masons and
cathedral builders. The issue of whether
women should be admitted in freemasonry was raised only during the era of
speculative freemasonry. This was the time when the membership in freemasonry
was expanded to those other than builders and stonemasons. Women started to take keen interest because
they saw it as an opportunity to further their feminist ideals.
In Great Britain, however, the
policy was crystal clear. Revd. Dr.
James Anderson, the mason who penned the constitutions of the freemason, stated
in the third article of the constitution that “The persons admitted members of
a Lodge must be good and true men, free born and of mature and discreet age, no
bondmen, no women, no immoral or scandalous men, but of good report.” It should
be stressed, however, that there were exceptions to this rule as some women
have been known to have been admitted in freemasonry in Great Britain but these
were more of exceptions rather than the rule.
There were many reasons for
excluding women in freemasonry in Great Britain. John Turnough (1788) reasoned women should be
excluded because their admission will only lead to the breakdown of the
institution on account of jealousy. For Turnough,
freemasonry is and will always be an association of men and to accept women as
members will only distract the men from their common goal.
In France, mixed lodges where female
were accepted as members were very common during the 17th Century. According
to Revauger (2005), there was a total
of 40 mixed lodges in provincial France and four or five in Paris. Of these mixed lodges, the more famous were
the Le Droit Humain and La Grande Loge Symbolique which was created on 1883 (Heidle,
2008, p. 221).
Though the women took advantage of these mixed
lodges to further their feminist ideals, it should be stressed that the policy
against the admission of women in freemasonries in France is generally the same
as that in Great Britain. The mixed
lodges formed to accommodate female members where more of act of tolerance
rather than acceptance of female members. In fact, the Grand Orient de France
and the Grand Loge de France did not formally accept these mixed lodges. Even the Grand Lodge of England did not grant
formal recognition of these mixed lodges.
A proof that these mixed lodges were considered as
aberrations was the fact that they were labeled as Loges d’ Adoption in
France. This means that these mixed
lodges are imperfect imitations of lodges. It also meant that these lodges were
impure compared to the traditional form of freemasonry composed exclusively of
men.
There were several justifications
for excluding women in freemasonry in France.
One of these justifications is that the entire principle behind the
formation of freemasonry is that it is an association of men. As an association of men only men should be members
of freemasonry. Freemasonry does not
argue that men are superior to women. Freemasonry
excludes women because its primary purpose is to train men become better
individuals. As a brotherhood composed
of men, the idea of freemasonry is to serve as training ground where man can
refine and hone their skills and learn more about their purpose in life which
is inappropriate for women. Through
proper training freemasonry hope to become instruments to help man achieve
his goal and purpose in life. If women
were to be admitted, therefore, then the entire structure of freemasonry will
have to be changed. For this reason, freemasonry were designed to be
exclusive associations of men.
Cited Works
Holmes,
Diana and Carrie Tarr. A Belle Epoque?: Women in French Society and Culture,
1890-1914.
Revauger,
Cecile. Women Banned from Masonic Work: A British Phenomenon. Isabelle
Baudino and Jacques Carr. England: Ashgate
Publishing, 2005.
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