The Masonic International and the Peace Movement in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries

Pacifism was among the most distinctive ideals of Freemasonry since its very inception. Towards the end of the nineteenth century the main European Freemasonries (with the notable exception of the English one) lent their support to the peace movement by organizing various international Masonic congresses, the first of which was held in Paris in 1889. In 1902 the Bureau international des relations maçonniques was founded, which had among its members some recipients of the Nobel Prize for Peace. Deep contradictions emerged within Masonic pacifism with the outbreak of the First World War, when references to patriotism prevailed over the idea of universal brotherhood. All European Freemasonries similarly declared themselves in favour of intervention in the war and the defence of the national interests of their respective countries.