Masonry in the US has always been more of a social club than anything else. But the roots of Masonry are in anti-Catholicism, a secret society of the elect that in the minds of its founders, would know better than the boobs in the Catholic Church. However, a significant difference in the case of the US is the fact that our Masons were British, and the Catholic Church had ceased to be something worth attacking at least two centuries before the time of our Founding Fathers; therefore, while there’s a mild current of anti-Catholicism, it’s no worse than average modern Protestant anti-Catholicism.
But in traditionally Catholic places like Austria, Spain, Italy, etc., Freemasonry was an actively anti-Catholic force. It has its own deity, its own set of rituals and its own heirarchy. In Catholic countries, it was not content to maintain these quietly, but actively sought to influence the government and destroy the Church. It was very successful in Spain in the early 19th century, and had patchy success in other places over that century.
One thing you have to keep in mind is that there is a difference between British/US Freemasonry and the Continental European variety, although their roots are one and the same.
Thanks for the info. One thing stood out: The continental side had (has?) their own deity (God)? That would be a deal breaker for me, to say the least!
The U.S. has anti-Catholic forces present including the liberal American Catholic Church and stinking liberal anti-Catholic catholic universities like Notre Dame.
“there is a difference between British/US Freemasonry and the Continental European variety”
True,, very true. And i for one thank God that our founders were inspired by Masonic ideals. It served us well until the Socialists took over.
If the Catholic church wanted to do something good, they would do better to forbid members from being democrats rather than forbidding that they become masons, IMO.
I would say as a protestant, I find the aims of Masonry to be generally anti Christian...whether one was Catholic or Protestant in worship of that same Christ. I do note that the US branches of Free Masonry are indeed as you state, more of a “social club”, raise money for causes type organizations...though many have suspected that the baseline members (who may be quite Godly and benign of character) are the sap money raiser types, collecting money for the higher up level groups that do use the money for much more darker purposes.