Continental Freemasonry in North America is relatively rare, but there are a few continental-style organizations active. These organizations, often belonging to groups such as CLIPSAS, are not recognized by the Grand Lodges that form Anglo-American Freemasonry, including Prince Hall Masonry. Most American Freemasons belong to Grand Lodges that follow the Anglo-American Masonic tradition, which requires new candidates to have a belief in Deity, meaning that atheists are not allowed to join. In 1877 the Grand Orient de France (GOdF) dropped this requirement and the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) withdrew its recognition. Many masons believe that this caused the American Grand lodges to follow UGLE and withdraw recognition. However, the historical facts are more complicated. Several American Grand Lodges had withdrawn their recognition of GOdF as early as the 1860s, as the result of a jurisdictional dispute that had nothing to do with the change in the GOdF's stance on religion or the Bible in the lodge. Furthermore, during the First World War a half-century later, several American Grand Lodges briefly reinstated their recognition of the GOdF; this was "long after the GOF had changed its policy on religion, and the American grand lodges made detailed studies and were fully aware of the policies of the French bodies they were recognizing." The use of God as a tool for Masonic politics has a long history. Currently, none of the mainstream US Grand Lodges recognize GOdF. More information...
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