On the European mainland, after 50 years of fighting, the Concordat of Worms provided a similar, but longer lasting, compromise when signed on September 23, 1122. It eliminated lay investiture, while leaving secular leaders some room for unofficial but significant influence in the appointment process.
The Freemasons is a fraternal organization formed in the late 16th or early 17th century, which permits men of any religion to join.
by Robert Hieronimus. George Washington. Mackey's Revised Encyclopedia of Freemasonry (1966) clearly shows that Washington's membership in the order was more than token. Washington was initiated, in 1752, in the Lodge at Fredericksburg, Virginia, and the records of that Lodge, still in existence, present the following entries on the subject.