Grand Orient USA Announces the Civic Virtue Center

In the late seventeenth century Freemasons championed the ideas of Civic Virtue and Civil Society. At a time in history when the idea of democracy was considered an evil and a failed institution of the ancient Greeks, Masonic lodges adopted it as their model of self-government. This required Freemasons to inculcate the concept of Civic Virtue in each of their members. The result was a Civil Society of Free-Thinkers that became known as “Accepted Free-Masons”.

The underlying principles of American democracy and our republic were born out of concepts that originated in Masonic lodges. It’s no coincidence that many of the Founding Fathers of our country were Freemasons. Freemasonry was the College of Civic Virtue where a member could learn the art of citizenship.

Unfortunately, the American Grand Lodges eventually devolved into mere social clubs, and the very important role that they had played in creating our Civil Society was lost and forgotten.

In continental Europe Freemasonry continued in its role as the College of Civic Virtue. The Masonic concepts of Liberty, Equality, Tolerance, and Justice remained the focus of Masonic lodges.

In 2005 a group of American Masons decided to restore the Freemasonry of the Founding Fathers, and with the aid of the Grand Orient of France created the Grand Orient of the United States.

Today, the Grand Orient of the United States is the College of Civic Virtue where individuals can come together to learn the art of citizenry. The necessity of this becomes more evident with each passing day as our country becomes more polarized and divided.

Our system of government cannot work when the citizenry are unaware and under-educated in the three principles of Civic Virtue, Civil Society, and Advocacy. The Constitution was written with the assumption that each citizen understood these ideas and concepts, but our generation is witnessing the decay and disappearance of these three foundations of a the democratic republic.

The Lodges of the Grand Orient of the United States are places where men and women of good will and high character can mature and better understand the importance of their roles in the government of our country.

The Civic Virtue Center was created by Halcyon Charities in cooperation with the Grand Orient of the United States of America to promote the advancement of civic virtue in modern America. Halcyon Charities is a registered 501(c)(3) public charity.

To find our more information on the Civic Virtue Center click here.