Freemasonry is a society concerned with initiation, tradition and renewal. It has proven to be of considerable influence on cultures in Europe, North America, South America, and in other diverse regions of the world, since its modern establishment in the 17th and 18th centuries. As stated in numerous places by the stichting ter bevordering van wetenschappelijk Onderzoek naar de geschiedenis van de Vrijmetselarij in Nederland (OVN)—The Foundation for Academic Research Into the History of Freemasonry in the Netherlands—“Through the individual members of the order, Masonic ideas and symbols found their way into literature, art, science and politics during three centuries and thus became a part of our society.”

The importance of studying freemasonry in multiple disciplines has been recognized by more and more academics. Special chairs have been founded at universities in Europe toward this end, for example, at the University of Leiden in The Netherlands. At the same time, more than one European museum and library offers collections with relevant archives, literature and objects. In this emerging landscape it has become important that research can be supported financially. This is one significant reason the OVN has been established as a non-profit corporation in The Netherlands.

The OVN according to it mission statement aims to ‘stimulate academic research from all disciplines into the history of Freemasonry in The Netherlands and its former territories from the time of its foundation until the present day, as well as to stimulate the exchange of knowledge and the results of research into this field’.

In its development the OVN has been gathering small donations in order to establish a larger endowment that is made available to undergraduate students, graduates, and scholars. The first grants have been of modest size but it is planned they will grow as increasing numbers of contributors pledge their support.

It can be noted that the OVN was founded as a private initiative by several academics and it is not associated with any Masonic organization. The foundation is completely autonomous within the field of study. The board is advised by a Committee of Recommendation which is composed of academic experts on freemasonry and western esotericism from universities in Europe, the USA and Canada.

However, there is now a need for similar developments in North America to those underway in Europe, the Caribbean and South America. And that is the purpose of the chartering of the Roosevelt Center as a corporation in the State of California. The Roosevelt Center has chosen to emulate and localize—in a Californian and American context—the scholarly and institutional model pursued by the OVN. In following the model of the Dutch OVN the Roosevelt Center is in the process of supporting scholarly work and communication in the field of Freemasonry. In the nascent Roosevelt Center there is an added emphasis on academic research into the wider field of the origins, development and contemporary mis-en-scéne of civil society. This is occurring at multiple geographic scales in comparative and global studies.

The Roosevelt Center is in the process of developing its protocols for grant applications for scholarships, fellowships and symposia that will be possible in the future. It has already awarded travel grants, and co-funded public addresses by scholars in California. At the same time it is developing procedures for becoming a donor in support of the scope and scale of the areas of academic study it supports. The Roosevelt Center also hopes to establish Memoranda of Understanding with research institutions and non profit corporations in California, the United States and around the world.

Article 2 of the Articles of Incorporation of the Roosevelt Center states—“this corporation is [intended to be] a non profit public benefit corporation and is not organized for the private gain of any person. It is organized under the Nonprofit Public Benefit Corporation Law for charitable purposes. The specific purposes of this charitable organization are to support and promote scholarly research and inquiry, education and communication in general around the study of civil society and Freemasonry. It approaches Freemasonry as an association representative historically of civil society as it developed from the eighteenth century onwards. The approach at the Center is multi-dimensional. It concerns the meaning that Freemasonry could assume in private and public life, as well as it examine Masonic thought in a variety of historical and contemporary settings. Work at the Center is intended to address an array of questions in the arts, humanities and social sciences relevant to civil society, including the areas of cultural studies, the study of symbolism, ritual and theater, comparative religion, moral and political philosophy, geography, and the 300 year history, and prehistory, of modern speculative Freemasonry.”

The Roosevelt Center is developing as a network of scholars and students in California and more broadly.

List of individuals whose work is recommended for further study

INDIVIDUALS:
Dr. Margaret Jacob
Cecile Revauger
Roger Dachez
Pierre Mollier
Jan Snoek
Andrea Kroon
Andreas Onnerfors
Individuals whose work is recommended for further study
::forthcoming::

INSTITUTIONS:
Dutch OVN Society
Center for Research into Freemasonry
Free University of Belgium
UGLE Library and Museum
Institutions with a Memorandum of Understanding with the Roosevelt Center
:: forthcoming::