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Is MASONRY a Cult or Religion?
By Bro Steve Grant

Bellow is a quote from a thesis by PGM di Bernardo:

**** Quote ***
The Declaration on Freemasonry and Religion, issued by the United Grand Lodge of England in 1985, which will be the object of the following analyses. As this declaration is essential to understand the relationship between Freemasonry and Religion, I report it in its entirety.

Basic statement

Freemasonry is not a Religion, nor is it a substitute for religion. It demands of its members a belief in a Supreme Being but provides no system of faith of its own. Freemasonry is open to men of all religious faiths. The discussion of religion at its meetings is forbidden.

The Supreme Being

The names used for the Supreme Being enable men of different faiths to join in prayer (to God as each sees Him) without the terms of the prayer causing dissension among them.There is no separate Masonic God; a Freemason's God remains the God of the religion he professes.

Freemasons meet in common respect for the Supreme Being as He remains Supreme in their individual religions, and it is no part of Freemasonry to attempt to join religions together. There is therefore no composite Masonic God.

Volume of the Sacred Law

The Bible, referred to by Freemasons as the Volume of the Sacred Law, is always open at every Masonic meeting.

Freemasonry compared with Religion

Freemasonry lacks the basic elements of religion:

a. It has no theological doctrine, and by forbidding religious discussion at its meetings will not allow a Masonic theological doctrine to develop.

b. It offers no sacraments.

c. It does not claim to lead to salvation by works, by secret knowledge or by any other means. The secrets of Freemasonry are concerned with modes of recognition and not with salvation.

*** end of quote ***

It seems to me that we should not try to argue that we do not perform acts of devotion to TGAOTU, which we agree to remain a common God of all masons, leaving the particular Faith of each brother to himself. This seems to me the reason why no cult can ever develop in Freemasonry, since when we express our joint reverence to TGAOTU we leave each brother to address his particular Supreme Being. This means that in the joint prayers we have, since each addresses *his* God, no masonic cult can develop.

This may be the point which resolves this discussion. We are neither a religion nor a cult. When we pray and worship together, we know that each brother addresses his particular Supreme Being.