Restoring Moral Authority To Nature 1700-1850

(July 6, 2022) While the first phase of the Enlightenment restored authority to nature setting the stage for science, the second phase of the Enlightenment restored moral authority to nature setting the stage for freedom.

A well stated overview of the Enlightenment was published in 1966:

• "To call the Enlightenment Pagan is to conjure up the most delightfully irresponsible sexual license: a lazy sun-drenched summer afternoon, fauns and nymphs cavorting to sensual music and lascivious paintings, preferably by Boucher. There is some reality to this fantasy: the philosophes argued for a positive appreciation of sensuality and despised asceticism.... In speaking of the Enlightenment as pagan therefore, I am referring not to sensuality but to the affinity of the enlightenment to classical thought. Words other than pagan - Augustan, Classical, Humanist - have all served as epithets to capture this affinity ...." (Peter Gay 1966)

The dawn of Freedom began in Britain in 1688  because that was the year of the "Glorious Revolution" in which constitutional limits were placed on monarchical power and religious toleration was made state policy. This phase had its roots in the philosophy of government from the classical era. This is why all the original government buildings in the United States look classical. 

The idea of liberty based upon natural rights only emerged during the Enlightenment. Freedom never emerged in nations having authorities not based upon nature.  

In this phase, the Enlightenment thinkers tried to separate the role of the state from the role of religion. Europe had seen too many religious wars and wars against heretics in its history. They concluded that the state would be responsible for material things while religion would be responsible for emotional/spiritual things. This first stated by John Locke  (1632-1704) who was also important in closing out the previous phase of Enlightenment. He wrote the following between 1689 and 1693:

• The commonwealth seems to me to be a society of men constituted only for the procuring, preserving, and advancing their own civil interests. Civil interests I call life, liberty, health, and indolency of the body (freedom from bodily pain); and the possession of outward things, such as money, lands, houses, furniture, and the like. (Locke, A Letter Concerning Toleration in Kramic 1995)

Thomas Jefferson in the U.S Declaration of Independence shortened and generalized Locke's phase to "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."

• "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

The concept of happiness as used by Jefferson thus includes the right to health and the right to acquire and hold possessions. During the civil war Abraham Lincoln and the nation elevated in blood the Declaration of Independence above that of the constitution to justify the elimination of the property right of slavery. The Declaration as a statement of purpose trumped any legal document meant to implement that purpose. Freedom is Pagan.

References

Gay, Peter (1966)  The Enlightenment - The Rise of Modern Paganism 

Kramic, Isaac [editor] (1995)  The Portable Enlightenment Reader.  Penguin books 

(July 6, 2022) Freemasonry was a Manifestation of the Freedom Stage of the Enlightenment. It was not meant to replace any existing religion but became popular because it was a place for free thinkers to associate in a private club atmosphere. Its popularity was due to doing ceremonial royal-like rituals together and working towards gaming-like level advancements in regards to those rituals. Its members were free to work out and choose their own religious path. This desire for freedom from the repressive state and religious authorities of the time led to most of its workings being secret.

Freemasonry also provided much of the ritual structure for later Nature based magical practices. Many modern Nature Pagans still use the Freemasonry ritual practice of calling the cardinal directions, using its closing phrase of "so mote it be" and its original three degrees of advancement in education schemes. Also the 1950's founders of the British Wicca (Gerald Gardner) and the more nature based Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids (Ross Nichols) were members of a Freemason inspired organization called the Ancient Druid Order.

Freemasonry's first informal lodges were formed in London starting around 1680. In 1717 the remaining members of these lodges came together and formally formed a grand lodge (Morris 2013). Consequently, their rise paralleled that of the 3rd and last stage of the Enlightenment which focused on social freedom. By joining a Freemason lodge its members were making more of a personal statement about being anti-authoritarian instead of seeking a nature based religion.

The ancient tradition most in line with freedom and which was adopted by these new Freemasons was that of stone-craft masonry which was in steep decline at the time due to the rise of brick as a building material. Brick had been of poor quality until the time of King Henry VIII (ruled 1509 to 1547) who build several palaces out of it. By the mid 1600's it was the building material of choice, especially for the conversions of old stone houses into houses having the new invention of fireplaces.

The governing guild charter of stone-craft masonry goes back to 1390 CE with the Regius Manuscript. It shows an egalitarian organization of traveling masons having a legendary ancient history. This fake history has the craft masons going back to the time of Babylon and then having the guild associated with Abraham and the Greek geometer Euclid in ancient Egypt at the same time.

Freemasonry invented "secrets" for itself. These secrets consist of passwords, various secret signal, and most of the rituals themselves. Over time most such secrets have been exposed. Why they did so can only be guessed. Perhaps it was to insure security against a misunderstanding and hostile world, perhaps it was to give it an aura of mystery and exclusivity. Yet by claiming to have these "secrets" Freemasonry has generated much hostility to itself. Many people think that they must be doing something nefarious if they have such deliberate secrets. 

Freemasonry's rituals in their temples (also called lodges) have been their most important gift to Nature Paganism. These rituals are done around a central altar.  The ritual room is orientated along the cardinal directions. Yet these rituals are done without the aim of generating feelings. They involve a lot of rote memorization. Often they are done to illustrate some ethical principle. While the initiation rituals can generate feelings that is not their goal. Instead, Freemason's seek to connect to the Divine with prayers thinking words are somehow transmitted across the veil (the material-spiritual barrier).

 Freemasonry is generally segregated by gender. It is also composed of many different organizations which are open to all Master Masons (3rd degree Masons) which belong to a Blue (Symbolic) Lodge. Some of these higher level male organizations are: York rites, Scottish Rites, Shriners, Grotto, Tall Cedars of Lebanon, and Knights Templar. The male African American Masonic orders are Prince Hall

The groups for the female relatives of male Masons are the Order of the Eastern Star, Order of the Amaranth, and the White Shrine of Jerusalem.

References

 Morris, S. Brent (2013) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry (2nd edition) Alpha books

(July 6, 2022) The first attack on Freemasonry was a 1698 leaflet published in London. This attack occurred even before the formation of the Grand Lodge there. It is reproduced below:

• To All Godly People in the Citie of LONDON

The earliest Freemason statement on the religion of Freemasonry was made in 1723 by Freemason and Reverend James Anderson in his book Constitution of the Free-Masons. He imagined some common natural religious framework as the "religion which all men agree" with some natural "Moral Law" without stating what that was or how to find it. Beyond that all sectarian religious opinions were not to be discussed within Freemasonry. His important section of text is as follows:

• A Mason is oblig'd by his Tenure, to obey the moral Law; and if he rightly understands the Art, he will never be stupid Atheist, nor an irreligious Libertine. But though in ancient Time Masons were charg'd in every Country to be of the Religion of the Country or Nation, whatever it was, yet 'tis now thought more expedient only to oblige them to that Religion in which all Men agree, leaving their particular Opinions to themselves; that is, to be good Men and true, or Men of Honour and Honesty; by whatever Denomonations or Persuasions they may [be] distinguish'd; whereby Masonry becomes the Center of Union, and the Means of conciliating true Friendship among Persons that must else have remain'd at a perpetual Distance. (in Morris 2013, page 212)

The Catholic church under Pople Clement XII issued its first encyclical against Freemasonry in 1738 called "In Eminenti." The Catholic church did not argue against it on doctrinal grounds since that would mean promoting their own doctrine and condemning all other Christian denominations. Instead they seized upon it as being a secret society and assumed it like all secret societies was plotting against the state and the church. They also commanded the inquisition to go after all Catholic members:

This has continued to be the position of the Catholic church through it new Code of Canon Law of 1983:

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger who soon became Pope Benedict XVI (2005-2013) issued a clarification on this:

The Southern Baptists also do not find Freemasonry compatible with Christianity. The following is a report from their missions board which was approved at the 1993 annual session of the Southern Baptist Convention. It's eight reasons of incompatibility are reproduced below:

1. The prevalent use of offensive concepts, titles, and terms such as "Worshipful Master" for the leader of the lodge; references to their buildings as "mosques," "shrines," or "temples;" and their use of words such as "Abaddon" and "Jah-bul-On" the so called secret name of God. To many these terms not only are offensive but sacrilegious.
2.  The use of archaic, offensive rituals and so called "bloody oaths" or "obligations" among these being that promised by the Entered Apprentice: "All this I most solemnly and sincerely promise and swear swear ... binding myself under no less penalty than that of having my throat cut from ear to ear, my tongue torn out by its roots ... should , in the least, knowingly or wittingly violate or transgress this my entered apprentice obligation." ... (more examples)
3.  The recommended readings in pursuance of advanced degrees, of religions and philosophies, which are undeniably Pagan and/or occultic, such as much of the writings of Albert Pike. Albert Mackey, Manley Hall, Rex Hutchins, W.L. Wilmshurst, and other such authors; along with their works such as Morals and Dogma, A Bridge to Light, An Encyclopedia of Freemasonry, and The Meaning of Masonry.
4.  The reference to the Bible placed on the altar of the lodge as the "furniture of the lodge" comparing it to the square and compass rather than giving it supreme place in the lodge
5.  The prevalent use of the term "light" which some may understand as a reference to salvation rather than knowledge and truth.
6.  The implication that salvation can be obtained through good works, implicit in the statement found in some Masonic writings that "Masonry is continually reminded of that purity of life and conduct which is necessary to Obtain admittance into the Celestial Lodge above where the Supreme Architect of the Universe presides." Even though many Masons understand that the "purity of life and conduct" can only be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ, others my be led to believe they can earn salvation by living a pure life with good conduct.
7.  The heresy of Universalism (the belief that all people will eventually be saved), which permeates the writings of many Masonic authors, which is a doctrine inconsistent with New Testament teaching.
8. The refusal of most lodges (but not all) to admit membership of African Americans. (https://www.chick.com/bc/2011/mason_report.pdf)

References

(July 28, 2025) With the rise of equality coming out of the Enlightenment the history of the common people also started to gain attention. Prior to this, histories and historians were only concerned with presenting a narrative history of church and state which kept official records. These new common people historians came to be called antiquarians. Anything old was of value and together they eventually, maybe be used to write some history. This also led to their ridicule as this collecting was thought by some to be a useless waste of time.

The first antiquarian society called the College (or Society) of Antiquaries was founded in London in around 1586 to debate matters of antiquarian interest. It's papers and collections, known as the Cotton's collection after member Sir Robert Cotton, became one of the founding set of artifacts for the British Museum. It was disbanded in 1604 by King James I for becoming a center of resistance against him. It was reformed in 1717 and even received a charter from King George II in 1751.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antiquarian

(July 6, 2022, updated January 26, 2025) The romantic poets made the spiritual/emotional responses to nature respectable again. Prior to this time the only proper spiritual expression was within Christianity. This is why the rituals of Freemasons are emotionless and based upon recitations of memorized passages.

The romantic movement began in Germany (perhaps inspired by the French and American revolutions) with Friedrich Schiller (1759–1805) who was a poet, playwright, philosopher, and historian. His adolescence under the abusive rule of a petty tyrant caused Schiller to address such abuses in most of his plays and early poems. His first play, Die Räuber, was a stirring protest against stifling convention and corruption in high places and this got him arrested. Its first performance (Jan. 13, 1782) at the National Theatre at Mannheim created a sensation; it was a milestone in the history of the German theatre. Schiller travelled to Mannheim without the Duke’s permission in order to be present on the first night. When the Duke heard of this visit, he sentenced the poet to a fortnight’s detention and forbade him to write any more plays. He managed to escape to a neighboring barony to avoid arrest.

“The idea of freedom,” Goethe said, “assumed a different form as Schiller advanced in his own development and became a different man. In his youth it was physical freedom that preoccupied him and found its way into his works; in later life it was spiritual freedom.” Schiller’s early tragedies are attacks upon political oppression and the tyranny of social convention; his later plays are concerned with the inward freedom of the soul. Schiller believed an “aesthetic education” of the individual citizen, made a happier, more humane social order. 

The freedom of the soul romanticism reached Britain about 1800 and reached the United States about 40 years later.  The British romantic movement was shepherded by Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) who was an editor some of the most influential journals of poetry of the era.  He looked to Italy for a “freer spirit of versification” and translated a great deal of Italian poetry, and in The Story of Rimini (1816), published in the year of his meeting with Keats, he reintroduced a freedom of movement in English couplet verse lost in the 18th century. From him Keats became acquainted with Italian poetry. Much of Hunt’s best verse was published in Foliage (1818) and Hero and Leander, and Bacchus and Ariadne (1819). That he was serious about these new nature ideas is shown by this quote from one of his letters to a friend apparently around Christmas:

• "I hope you paid your devotions as usual to the old religion and hung up an evergreen." (Leigh Hunt 1818 in a letter to a friend as reported by Ronald Hutton in the video).

In 1808 Leigh Hunt and his brother John had launched the weekly Examiner, which advocated abolition of the slave trade, Catholic emancipation, and reform of Parliament and the criminal law. For their attacks on the unpopular prince regent, the brothers were imprisoned in 1813. Leigh Hunt, who continued to write The Examiner in prison, was regarded as a martyr in the cause of liberty. After his release (1815) he moved to Hampstead, home of Keats, whom he introduced in 1817 to Shelley, a friend since 1811. 

The British Romantic era poets are represented by William Blake (1757- 1827), John Keats  (1795-1821), Lord Byron (1788–1824), and Percy Shelley (1792–1822). In the U.S. the movement was represented by Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) and Walt Whitman (1819–1892). They all saw Nature as a source emotional/spiritual strength and insight. For example:

The word “pagan” started to become something more than a derogatory insult as shown in this passage about the poet Walt Whitman made by William James in his lecture “The Varieties of Religious Experiences” written in 1901. (James, 1987):

References

(July 28, 2025) The Romanticizing of the Pagan past led to various national/cultural revival attempts based upon assuming a people's mostly lost Pagan past represented the original genius of a people. The problem is that these movements were more concerned with "discovering" national mythologies for national identity instead of providing only historical truth. They ended up producing many sloppy and even fraudulent ancient text translations which fool people and corrupt history to this day,  

A Welsh example comes from Edward Williams, better known by his bardic name Iolo Morganwg  (March 10, 1747 – December 18, 1826) was a Welsh antiquarian and poet who was overly creative in writing his history of Wales. He was seen as an expert collector of Medieval Welsh literature, but it emerged after his death that he had forged several manuscripts, notably some of the Third Series of Welsh Triads. Even so, he had a lasting impact on Welsh culture, notably in founding the secret society known as the Gorsedd, through which Iolo Morganwg successfully co-opted the 18th-century Bardic Eisteddfod revival.  

His main concern was not with writing an accurate history but with creating a nationalist cultural revival. When history was lacking he created new cultural icons.

Iolo's philosophy represented a fusion of Christian and Arthurian influences, a romanticism comparable to that of William Blake and the Scottish poet and forger James MacPherson, the revived antiquarian enthusiasm for all things "Celtic", and such elements of bardic heritage as had genuinely survived among Welsh-language poets. Part of his aim was to assert the Welshness of South Wales, particularly his home region of Glamorgan, against the prevalent idea that North Wales represented the purest survival of Welsh traditions. The metaphysics elucidated in his forgeries and other works proposed a theory of concentric "rings of existence", proceeding outward from Annwn (the Otherworld) through Abred and Ceugant to Gwynfyd (purity or Heaven). 

Iolo Morganwg developed his own runic system based on an ancient druid alphabet system, in Welsh Coelbren y Beirdd ("the Bardic Alphabet"). It was said to be the alphabetic system of the ancient druids. It consisted of 20 main letters, and 20 others "to represent elongated vowels and mutations." These symbols were to be represented in a wooden frame, known as peithynen. His while system was just guesswork and is completely wrong. They have never produced a translation except with fraud.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iolo_Morganwg