I know almost nothing about Freemasons, and I ask this strictly from a Point of Information standpoint: aren't there European Masonic groups which are quite different from the typical American ones? What I mean is, Continental Masonic groups (not related to the one you belong to) which tend more toward agnostic/deist rituals and clandestine political involvement?
As I said, I know little about this. I brought up these points once with a U.S. Mason who assured me that the Continental lodges are not "regular" Masons, implying that they are "irregulars" whose philosophy and activities he could not vouch for.
Some are, others aren't. I think the one that the shooter belonged to (past tense) was connected through the Grand Lodge of England which meant it was a "regular" lodge.
But yes, many Continental lodges are "irregular" and we have no contact with them.
Here is what the Norwegian Grand Lodge had to say about this:
The Norwegian Masonic Order of expressing compassion and care (for victims of Breivik murders)
There are indeed differing variations of Freemasons in Europe, sometimes several within a country (France being the most confusing, with over a dozen grand lodges, including female and “co-ed” groups). Norway, Iceland and Sweden are unusual in that, while they are recognized as regular by the majority of mainstream Freemason grand lodges around the world, the dominant grand lodges in these countries require prospective members to state that they are Christian. That’s not true in the overwhelming majority of Masonic groups in the rest of the world, where candidates are simply asked if they have a belief in a “Supreme Being” and the details of their religious beliefs are considered private.
Not that pesky details about faith and morality seemed to bother Breivik.
The Christian-only variant in Scandinavian Freemasonry goes back to the late 1700s Illuminati scares, and developed as a way to let royal families become the titular heads of Masonry in those countries, along with their existing positions as heads of their state churches. But, as with the “Breivik is a fundamentalist Christian” style of reporting, the press can’t be bothered with actually trying to do anything but plaster surface labels on the story. The same is true of the superficial Knight Templar connection being written about by people who haven’t the foggiest idea what they are saying.