George IV of the United Kingdom, admitted in 1780 while he was Prince of Wales, was the first documented of many Odd Fellows to also attend freemasonry, although the societies remain mutually independent.

[5] Likewise, by the mid-19th century, the Independent Order of Oddfellows Manchester Unity had become the largest and richest fraternal organisation in the United Kingdom.

[7] Odd Fellows promote philanthropy, the ethic of reciprocity and charity; some grand lodges imply a Judeo-Christian affiliation.

[citation needed] Several theories aim to explain the etymological background of the name "Odd Fellows," often rendered "Oddfellows" in British English.

[11][need quotation to verify] The name was supposedly adopted at a time when the severance into sects and classes was so wide that persons aiming at social union and mutual help were a marked exception to the general rule.

These days they are more commonly known as "The Grand United Order of Oddfellows Friendly Society" (GUOOFS),[24] abandoning all political and religious disputes and committing itself to promoting the harmony and welfare of its members.

[27][28] The Catholic Church in the 19th and early 20th centuries condemned secretive societies such as the Freemasons, deemed "pseudo-religious", but also addressed other organisations, including expressing suspicions against the stated religious neutrality and independence of Oddfellows.

[36][failed verification] In 1907, the Apostolic Delegate to the United States, the Most Rev Diomede Falconio, in reply to a query from the Rev Novatus Benzing, OFM, of Phoenix, Arizona, determined that the Daughters of Rebekah, the auxiliary of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, as well as the female auxiliaries of other condemned secret societies, fell under the same category of condemnation.

[citation needed] However, permission for "passive membership" in female groups affiliated with societies condemned by the church in 1894 (including the Knights of Pythias and Sons of Temperance) could be granted individually under certain conditions, viz.

that the person in question had joined the group in good faith before the condemnation, that leaving the group would cause financial hardship due to the loss of sick benefits and insurance, that if permission is granted dues would only be paid by mail, the parishioner would not attend any lodge meetings, and the society would not have anything to do with the person's funeral.

[38] However, since the new code of Canon Law did not explicitly mention Masonic orders and other secret societies, the Office of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration on Masonic associations in 1983, stating clearly that the opposition of the Catholic Church stated in the earlier version of the Canon Law had not changed.

[39] The origins and history of the Oddfellows are not easily verified; some of the possible facts are mixed with unverifiable myth, legend, folklore and opinion.