Logo of the Knights Of Freemasonry Universal.
"Exclusive jurisdiction seems to be a doctrine that has been developed and best applied in North America, where a small unit such as a state or province makes up the jurisdiction. The doctrine may even have served a useful purpose in the earliest stages of Masonic expansion, but in the 20th & 21st centuries has only contributed to discrimination, isolation and political dilemma.
Some of this has only recently been addressed by the co-recognition of several Prince Hall Affiliated Grand Lodges with their `mainstream' counterpart grand lodges. This, of course, results in multiple grand lodges existing in the same jurisdiction - effectively negating the thrust of the doctrine.
The doctrine of exclusive jurisdiction may even have had a very adverse consequence on North American Grand Lodges over the last 50 or more years. Many Masons believe that in the wake of the meteoric increase of Masonic membership during the period 1940 to 1962, and subsequent `glide slope' decline, that the distinction of fraternity and exercise of the qualities & tenets of The Craft have ceased to be fundamental in the philosophy of many grand lodges - that Masonic obligation & integrity have been replaced by mediocrity and that the pursuit of `light' has been replaced by politics & personality.
The theory further broadens to speculate that isolation from diverse Masonic philosophy and the richness of international fraternalism has resulted in US Masonry operating "in a vacuum". The richness and depth that attracted the great men of history to Masonry still exist in our time - often in Lodges we "cannot" visit - but the boundaries we erect may well prevent us from again discovering them."
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The article was "discovered" while perusing the website of the Knights Of Freemasonry Universal . A body of universalist Freemasons. Please take the time and visit their website to know more of what they are trying to accomplish.
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