The Oregon Scottish Rite Freemason, January, 1996
From the Editor's Desk:
We have long promised to bring you essays and writings,
controversial
or not, from Masonic leaders nation and world wide. This month,
Carolyn Clark Campbell, a Mason of an American Women's
Lodge in New
York under the aegis of the Women's Grand Lodge of
Belgium, presents
us an introduction to Women in Freemasonry. Sister
Campbell commands
respect for her unique and balanced position in American
Freemasonry.
Women in Freemasonry
by Carolyn Clark Campbell
I am a woman, an American, and a Freemason.
When I tell
American men who are Freemasons this, they are generally
surprised.
This is largely because of the fact that American
Freemasonry has been
cut off from the rest of the world. Women Freemasons internationally
now number in the tens of thousands. There are more than
60,000 women
Freemasons in England.
Women's lodges also exist in France, Spain,
Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Turkey,
Argentina,
Canada, and now, the USA.
I have undoubtedly omitted a few countries
with which I am not yet familiar. I am, by the way, the daughter of
an American Mason who was 32nd degree Scottish Rite.
As most Masons know, while Freemasonry grew out of operative
Masonry which had its roots in the middle ages, modern
Freemasonry was
officially born in June of 1717 when in London four Lodges
got
together to form a Grand Lodge. From England, Freemasonry
was
introduced into the American colonies and also into
France. The first
Provincial Grand Lodge of Massachusetts was founded in July or August
of 1733, with a deputation from the Right Honourable
Anthony Browne,
Viscount Montagu, Grand Master of England. (Who was,
incidentally, my
first cousin, 11 times removed -- I am descended from his
grandfather.) Freemasonry was likewise introduced into
France in about
1735. The
first woman was initiated into Freemasonry in France in
about 1740.
Since around the turn of this century, women's Lodges have
become widespread in France. In 1945, the Women's Grand Lodge of
France was established by women's Lodges which had
previously been
under the jurisdiction of the (men's) Grand Lodge of
France. The
French women undertook a commitment to bring women's
Freemasonry to
the rest of the world, and have been keeping that
commitment. It is
from them that most of the Lodges in other countries exist
today. As
each country gains enough Sisters and enough Lodges, that
country
forms its own Women's Grand Lodge. Women's Freemasonry is a very
rapidly growing movement around the world. Since women's Lodges were
originally founded by men who were Masons (of course, a
Mason must be
initiated by a Mason), women's Freemasonry has the same
original
source and tradition as men's Freemasonry.
Women's Freemasonry, in which only women are members, is not
the same as co-Masonry, in which both men and women are
members of the
same Lodge. In 1892 the French Lodge "Les Libres-Penseurs"
de Pecq
initiated Marie Deraismes, who was a well-known feminist
writer.
Since this co-Masonry was a violation of the rules of the
Grand
Orient, this Lodge was disbanded. However, Marie Deraismes and a
Brother, George Martin, gathered together Freemasons who
were willing
to work with them to initiate other women and created the
Droit
Humain, which continues to exist today and which has both
male and
female members.
The Droit Humain exists internationally, including a
number of lodges in the United States. Women's Lodges and the Droit
Humain generally recognize each other and are free to
visit one
another, although their rituals and traditions differ in
minor ways.
Since a schism developed in the mid-19th century between
English Freemasonry and its progeny (including American
Freemasonry)
and French Freemasonry and its progeny, much of what has
developed out
of French Freemasonry has been lost to the
English-speaking world. It
is perhaps for this reason that our presence has taken
Freemasonry in
this country by surprise, despite our large numbers and
many years of
existence.
However, I am happy to say, we are here!