IS FREEMASONRY A RELIGION?
Bro. John J. Robinson's last book was A Pilgrim's Path. In this book Bro.
Robinson responds to numerous religious criticisms of Freemasonry as well as
writing about the "Evangelist Mentality." We are printing several STB's as a
series to help our readers have a response to some of the misleading,
inaccurate, and often times untrue statements made by the religious extremists
against Freemasonry! (The title Is Freemasonry A Religion? is from a chapter
title in the book.)
This Short Talk is the third in a Series from John Robinson's book: A
Pilgrims Path The first two are: 8-97 Fundamentalist Fury-Part I 10-97 The Media
Mogul-Part II
A Pilgrim's Path, by John J Robinson, was published in 1993 by M Evans &
Co., Inc. in New York City. the book is available in many bookstores or can be
ordered through your, local bookstore using ISBN O-87]3I-732-X Editor
I've lost count of how many times I have been asked, 'isn't Freemasonry a
separate religion?" It's a question that creates a question: "How in the world
did anyone come to believe that Masonry is a religion?" When I ask that, I am
usually told by the caller'; that they heard the charge on an evangelist's
broadcast, or read it In an anti-Masonic tract or book No one who has asked me
the question has claimed to have come up with the notion from personal knowledge
or experience.
The basic question has been addressed over and over again. "No, Masonry is
not a religion. It has no intention of being a religion. It doesn't want to be a
religion". But those replies rarely have any impact on non-Masons for the simple
reason that the defense of Masonry is usually directed at other Masons, not at
the masses who are the targets of the anti-Masonic evangelists. What is
obviously needed is a broader audience for the defense.
One point that is confusing to many is the frequent statement by Masonic
writers that Freemasons are "religious." They are, but being religious in no way
carries with it the concept of being part of a separate religion. My own parents
were very religious, but I really don't believe that they were a separate
religion. Any minister of the gospel will agree that he is religious, but every
one will deny that he considers his teachings to he those of a separate
religion.
Usually, the allegation that Masonry is a separate religion is helped along
by one or more blatant falsehoods--for example, the charge that Masonry has its
own path to salvation, through the performance of good works. I never met a
Mason who believed that, or who would he able to understand how anyone could
ever draw such a conclusion. In practice, it is a handy point for anti-Masons,
who are frequently confronted with, "But if the Masons are such evil people, how
do you explain their free hospitals their language-disorder clinics for
children, their eye-care program, their homes for the elderly, and all those
other Masonic charities?"
The anti-Masonic answer comes back as, 'The Masonic charities are not beloved
of God because the Masons teach that good works are the way to salvation. That
makes those charities against the will of God:' That's sick, but it's what some
of them say.
Masonry leaves it up to the individual Mason to choose his pathway to God,
and that policy naturally includes no rules, advice, or admonitions as to the
means of salvation. The Mason is expected quite properly, to get that spiritual
guidance from his own denomination, which he is encouraged to support with both
his energy and his personal finances.
Time after time in various lectures, the Freemason is told never to put his
duties and responsibilities to the Masonic fraternity ahead of his duties and
responsibilities to his church, to his country, and to his family. As for
Masonic charities, whether they are organized major efforts or individual acts
of kindness (such as aid to a destitute brother, or to his widow and their
children), the Mason is told to make no gift that will affect his duty to care
for his own family In the ceremonies and lectures that lead to a man being
raised to the status of Master Mason, he hears no description of heaven or hell
He hears no religious dogma He hears no mention of Satan. He is told of no
Masonic pathway to salvation for the simple reason that there is none.
The only religious item in the Masonic lodge is the holy book of the
initiate's own faith. Since most Masons are Protestant Christians, that book is
usually the King James version of the Bible. The initiate may be given a Masonic
Bible by his lodge, his friends, or his family, but it varies from other
editions of actual Scripture by not one single word. It is only a 'Masonic"
Bible because it also contains a brief history of Masonry, or a concordance to
relate certain Masonic ritual to scriptural passages. Masons who are not
Protestants bring their own holy books for their initiations.
Let's start at the beginning: When a man decides to become a Mason, based on
what he has seen, heard, or experienced, he files an application, or "petition,"
with a local Masonic lodge. In signing that petition he asserts that he believes
in God, the Supreme Being, and in the immortality of the soul. In the lecture
accompanying the initiation rites of the first degree, called Entered
Apprentice, be is told that how he chooses to worship God is up to his own
conscience,
The religious experience in the lodge is prayer. Every meeting of Masons
opens and closes with prayer. Every meal begins with prayer. As is done so often
by the federal government (as. for example, with "In God we trust"), all prayer
is addressed (or should be) to God the Father, so that a mixed audience of
Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists, for instance, relate that prayer to
their own worship. Masons also offer prayers for charitable endeavors, for
bereaved Masons and their families, or for a departed brothers.
Clearly, one can easily assert that Freemasonry is not a separate religion.
It promotes no heaven, no hell, and no means of salvation. There's no
"witnessing" or arguing over religious beliefs in the lodge. There is no
religious dogma. It can't be a religion.
Nevertheless, it is frequently charged that the Masonic lodge has its own
God, whose name is "The Great Architect of the Universe." That Masonic term is
not a name; it is a designation or reference, as are all terms beginning with
the word "The": The Almighty, The Creator, The Most High. If
it starts with "The," it is not a name. So why do the Masons use that
designation?
Masonry, as Its name implies, centers symbolically around the ancient
builders of temples and cathedrals. It is natural for groups to fashion a
designation for God that relates to their interests. In the mili- tary, I
attended an outdoor church service conducted by a visiting chaplain, an ordained
minister He referred to God as "Our Supreme Commander-in-Chief in heaven." The
Masons often do refer to God as The Great Architect of the Universe, but what's
wrong with that? The architect is one who plans and brings a structure into
being. Historians refer to the Founding Fathers as the "architects of the
Constitution." As a designation for God, The Great Architect of the Universe
makes sense, and it means precisely the same thing as the universally popular
"The Creator." The slight difference is that the Masonic designation implies
that God created the world according to a plan, although there is no Masonic
description of what that plan may be.
*Judeo/Christians use the Holy Bible Other faiths may use their Holy Book,
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