Libro: The French Rite: Enlightenment Culture

This book, focused on the French Rite, covers the founding principles of the Enlightenment and their influence on the birth of modern Freemasonry as we know it today. The authors revisit the fundamental values of the Enlightenment, from a rational approach to religious tolerance and cosmopolitanism. The French Rite is the direct heir of the Grand Lodge of England founded in 1717/1721. The philosophical, religious, and political culture of the Enlightenment permeates the French Rite today.

No doubt that the Enlightenment culture is still fundamental to our modern societies. However, nothing should ever be taken for granted. The concept of religious tolerance, which today can only be equated with secularism in the strongest sense of the word, as well as the concept of universalism, are at the heart of Freemasonry. However, these values are under constant threat from religious fundamentalisms and the unbearable violence unfolding at geopolitical level. More than ever, in their own modest way, Masons can act as sentinels, guarding the preservation of freedoms and fighting for them alongside their fellow citizens.

Cecile Révauger, the editor of this collective work, is emeritus professor at Bordeaux Montaigne University. She coedited a biographical dictionary of freemasons in the eighteenth century, Le Monde Maçonnique des Lumières, with Charles Porset (Champion-Slatkine 2013). She co-authored Les Ordres de Sagesse du Rite français (A History of the French Rite) with Ludovic Marcos (Dervy 2015). Her latest book, Freemasonry, heir to the Enlightenment, translated from the French (Conform, Pollen Maçonnique), was published by Westphalia Press in 2023.