the two masonic families 13 as the United Grand Lodge of England. Then when the latter decided to pick only one Grand Lodge per country, 2 political competition emerged. Most of the time the number of lodges and initiates in an organization has been the key element for being selected as “regular.” Consequently, all the others that constitute this second family became “illegal.” Progressively three main branches appeared in this second Masonic family, and they can be defined as conservative Freemasonry, liberal Freemasonry, and esoteric Freemasonry. Understanding these differences will give you good insights into this very important part of the Masonic world.
Conservative Freemasonry You may recall that only one Grand Lodge has been selected in each country by the United Grand Lodge of England. In various countries, several other Grand Lodges were following the same rules or landmarks and lost the recognition most of the time by being outnumbered. However, losing this battle didn’t mean they vanished. Many continue to exist and remain close to these initial standards. Their hope has often been to take the place of the “regular” Grand Lodge or to wait until the United Grand Lodge of England changes its rules and validates more than one Grand Lodge per country. As of the publication of this book, such a revolution has never really happened, except “Prince Hall” in the United States. I want to emphasize the fact that in regard to the Masonic initiation, there is almost no difference between conservative Freemasonry and the first family we talked about. Without the political power of their regular Grand Lodges, Freemasons of both groups should recognize themselves as initiates. Sadly, this is not yet the case.
Liberal Freemasonry Rules and ideas can sometimes be very heavily influenced by the historical context. Masonic landmarks are a very clear expression of the religious and social views of English nobility in the eighteenth century. We can even consider Anderson’s Constitution as an advanced 2. I have to acknowledge that one exception to this “absolute” rule exists in the United States. Besides the State Grand Lodges, the English institution recognize Prince Hall Grand Lodges (African American Freemasonry). Consequently, approximately forty-two State Grand Lodges did the same, with the exception of Grand Lodges largely in southern states. That doesn’t mean the details of this recognition are the same in every state. For example, even with official recognition, some Grand Lodges ask for a brother to be reinitiated if he wants to switch from a Prince Hall Lodge to a mainstream Grand Lodge. From an initiatic point of view, such a process does not make any sense.