The secret society known as the Freemasons has always existed in America. Although popular media in recent years have often portrayed it as a heroic movement–such as in the bestselling novel The DaVinci Code and in the movie National Treasure –there has always been and continues to be strong Anti-Masonic sentiment in the United States. My research aims to determine the magnitude and significance of American Anti-Masonry in the twentieth century. Primary documents, including books and websites, as well as person - al correspondence with Anti-Masons, led to the conclusion that Anti-Masonry has emerged as a conservative Protestant movement in modern America. The second Anti-Masonic movement (the first happened in the early nineteenth century) began in 1990 with the first Ministry to Masons Conference, when several Protestant evangelical ministries met to organize their opposition to Freemasonry. This conference became an annual event, and increasing atten - dance illustrates the growing response of conservative evangelical Protestants to the Anti-Masonic crusade. A second branch of the Anti-Masonic movement is composed of Protestant fundamentalists who believe that the Freemasons are implementing a worldwide conspiracy, a threat announced in prominent political evangelist Pat Robertson’s book The New World Order . The Anti- Masons are a unique group who use their personal experiences as born-again Christians and often as former Freemasons to promote their version of Chris - tianity. The formation of the modern Anti-Masonic movement has allowed them to justify and sustain their newly-conservative identities in an increas - ingly secularized yet religiously diverse culture.
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 13:18:42 +0000