In addition to stressing the importance of brazilian freemasonry in the late 19 and early 20th centuries, this article's purpose is to reassess freemasons' activity at that significant point in our political process. Contrary to traditional historiography, which portrays Freemasonry as an insignificant institution at that time, the article shows that it was one of the main institutions involved in the struggle to establish a new national identity, thus directly confronting the Catholic Church, which strengthened by conservative tramontane discourse. I also show how the emergence of the Religious Issue in 1872 both galvanized Masonic debates and led to changes in Masonry's field of action. The first such change was a greater identification with the so-called brazilian enlightenment movement in its struggle to change the face of the country. A second new trend was an increase in investment in charity and education as a way of counteracting the Catholic Church. What was at stake we the ability of each of these institutions to influence how society was becoming organized.
freemasonry; brazilian enlightenment; Catholic Church