Franc-maçonnerie et protestantisme

Abstract

Daniel Ligou : Freemasonry and protestantism. 'Speculative ' Freemasonry was from the beginning marked by an Anglican and Presbyterian atmosphere, seen in the ' decatholicisation ' of its ritual, the importance of the Bible and the removal of all references to the Virgin or the saints ; above all there was the role played in the foundation of the London Grand Lodge by the clergymen Desaguliers and Anderson. This Freemasonry spread without difficulty in Protestant countries and, despite Papal Bulls, in countries traditionally suspicious of the Vatican, such as France and the Empire ; but in the Italian and Iberian peninsulas its hold was slight and its existence precarious. In Catholic countries the Protestant minority was favourable, especially in France, where three Protestants — Morin, Baur and Court de Gebelin — played a particularly important role.