Modern Freemasonry

From Masonic Wiki

Modern Freemasonry (also known as Continental Freemasonry) is one of two main schools of thought in Freemasonry. Ancient Freemasonry is the other.

Modern Freemasonry is said to have its roots in the original Grand Lodge of England founded in 1717. Despite its name, Modern Freemasonry is actually older than Ancient Freemasonry, which split off from the Grand Lodge of England in 1751 as the Antient Grand Lodge of England. The two groups reunited as the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) in 1813.

The contemporary split between Moderns and Ancients dates to 1877, when the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) dropped a belief in God as a requirement for membership. In response to this and other factors, UGLE withdrew its amity with GOdF and declared it "irregular." The schism between the two Grand Lodges persists to this day.

In general Modern Masonic jurisdictions are more secular in nature than their Ancient counterparts and place greater emphasis on Enlightenment ideals. Modern Freemasonry is prevalent mainly in continental Europe and Latin America.