Two sides of the masons' mark

Your article "Masons seek formal partners in academy" requires several clarifications.

The Canonbury Masonic Research Centre is not an organisation sponsored or controlled by the freemasons. It is an independent company limited by guarantee and managed by trustees and for which charitable status is being sought. Its membership will be open to all those who are interested in the centre's work.

It was founded through an initiative that was undertaken by me, a non-mason, to establish a centre where information about different masonic traditions will be gathered and where such findings will be made available to those who are interested in and would like to study the various aspects of freemasonry. It was not the case that "masons seek formal partners in academy". As an educational institution we have sought and gained access to the masonic libraries and archives purely to study their enormous wealth of historiographical, sociological and other material, some of which relates to the specifically western esoteric movements.

The centre is not funded by the freemasons. It will be funded by appeals, membership fees and income from its courses, seminars and facilities.

There are no more dangers for academic freedom at CMRC than in any other academic institution. The centre is an independent institution and does not receive directives from any sources - masonic or otherwise - but the overall strategy and development is planned by all of the people involved in its work.

The University of Kent is not and never has been involved with the centre. Leon Schlamm (a lecturer in religious studies at Kent) is, but on a consultancy basis only.

Our MA programme is only one of a number of programmes that we have been developing at the CMRC.

Snezana Lawrence. Canonbury Masonic Research