argely into the spirit of British Masonry, but form simply the
basis on which Masons meet together in the lodges and not a political
system to be imposed on the world in general.

British Masonry thus makes no attempt to interfere with the existing
social system or form of Government; the essence of its teaching is that
each member of the Fraternity should seek to reform himself and not
society. In a word, individual regeneration takes the place of the
social reorganization advocated by the Grand Orient under the influence
of Illuminism. The formula of the "United States of Europe" and of the
"Universal Republic" first proclaimed by the Illuminatus, Anacharsis
Clootz,[671] has long been the slogan of the French lodges.[672]

In the matter of religion, Grand Orient Masonry has entirely departed
from the principle laid down by the British lodges. If the Catholic
Church has shown itself hostile to Masonry, it must be remembered that
in Catholic countries Masonry has shown itself militantly anti-Catholic.
"Freemasonry," one of its modern orators declared, "is the anti-Church,
the anti-Catholicism, the Church of Heresy (_la contre Eglise, le contre
Catholicisme, l'Eglise de l'Heresie_)."[673] The _Bulletin_ of the
Grand Orient in 1885 officially declared: "We Freemasons must pursue the
definite demolition of Catholicism."

But the Grand Orient goes further than this and attacks all forms of
religion. Thus, as has been said, those "ancient landmarks" of British
Masonry, belief in the Great Architect of the Universe and in the
immortality of the soul, had never formed an integral part of its
system, and it was only in 1849 that for the first time "it was
distinctly formulated that the basis of Freemasonry is a belief in God
and in the immortality of the soul, and the solidarity of Humanity." But
in September 1877 the first part of this formula was deleted, all
allusions to the Great Architect were omitted, and the statute now
reads: "Its basis is absolute liberty of conscience and the solidarity
of Humanity."[674] British Freemasonry, which does not admit liberty of
conscience in the sense of Atheism, but demands that every Mason should
profess belief in some form of religion and which insists that the
Volume of the Sacred Law--in England the Bible, in Mohammedan countries
the Koran, and so on--should be placed on the table in its lodges,
thereupon broke off all relations with the Grand Orient. In March 1878
the following re