Religion And Freemasonry

Dr. Jack J. Early, 33 Chaplain, Scottish Rite Valley of Louisville
200 E. Gray Street, Louisville, Kentucky 40202-2056

The author asserts Masonry and religion are not antithetical to
each other, but are naturally complementary. Bro\ Early also points
out that arguments to the contrary are usually the result of faulty
logic and failure to consider contextual meaning.     

Recent articles underscore the need to examine the relationship
between the teachings of Freemasonry and the teachings of religion.
What is religion? What is Freemasonry?  What is the relation, if
any, between them? Is there a conflict between religion and
Freemasonry? Obviously, these questions have been asked by friends
and foes alike. Often answers depend on the motives of those
responding to the questions. To set the record straight, I want to
state I am an ordained United Methodist minister and a member of
the Masonic Lodge for over 40 years. There are many ministers and
rabbis who are ordained in their respective bodies and who hold an
active Masonic membership.

What Is Religion?

        Authorities in the field of religion indicate that religion
per se offers a plan of salvation and a theology which attempts to
define the nature of God. Webster defines religion as any system of
faith and worship. Masonry does not provide a system of faith or a
plan of salvation. However, we do ask that a member of a Masonic
Lodge have a belief in God.

        Thus leaders and students of the Craft do not regard
Masonry as a religion, but religious . . . not a church, but a
fellowship in which men of all religions may unite.

        Albert Pike in Morals and Dogma, Chapter X, states:
"Masonry is not a religion. . . . But Masonry teaches and has
preserved in their purity, the cardinal tenets of the old primitive
faith, which underlie and are the foundations of all religions.
Masonry is the universal morality." Note: morality, not religion

        After reviewing definitions of religion, it is my personal
assessment that Masonry does not meet the criteria to be called a
religion.

What Is Masonry?

        Something is unique in Masonry, a tie uniting men of all
ranks, types, and temperaments into a closely knit fellowship. We
sit in a Lodge together, each knowing exactly what will come next;
we meet upon the level and part upon the square, old and simple yet
familiar symbols; and somehow, no one knows how, "a tie is woven
light as air yet stronger than steel." Arthur E. Powell, in his
book The Magic of Freemasonry, states: "Who knows what it is, or
how or why, unless it be the long Cabletow of God ru rom heart to
heart!"

        Masonry and religion are not antithetical to each other,
but are mutually complementary. Masonry is no substitution for a
church or a synagogue. A Mason who practices the tenets of Masonry
will strengthen his own religious commitment in a church or
synagogue.

        Masonry is an art of the Brotherhood of Man, a code of
ethical precepts encouraging its members to extend justice to all
mankind; instructing its students to be open to new insights;
supporting its resolve for the right; and inculcating love of God,
home, country, and respect for the rights of others.

What Is The Relation Between Religion And Freemasonry?


        In Masonry we are everywhere taught that no one ought to
enter upon any important undertaking without prayer to God for
guidance. It is my personal prayer that God will provide me with
clarity of purpose and the wisdom to discern fact from fiction.
Prayer is both a mystery and necessity.

        In June of 1992, Dr. James L. Holly, of Beaumont, Texas,
distributed a booklet entitled, "The Southern Baptist Convention
and Freemasonry" to the messengers at the Southern Baptist
Convention meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana. See page 79 of this
issue. It is not my intention to present a refutation to each and
every item in the booklet; however, I do want to indicate the
faulty reasoning and the use of a "proof-text" approach to the
subject. Evidently, the writer or writers of this booklet have take
d such as 'secret' and gone to a biblical concordance to check on
all the references to the word, and then used the scriptural
materials to "prove a point" without an understanding of the
context in which the Scripture was written.

        To give one example, a subsection in the booklet is
entitled, "Secret Organizations Condemned By The Word Of God."
Under that title is a subtitle, Secrecy Is The Hallmark Of
Occultism. The writer states: "The first characteristic of the
Masonic Lodge which condemns it is that is secretive. . . . The
Bible warns believers not to do things in secret and in the dark."
The Scripture reference is to St. Luke 12: 1-3. Actually, this
biblical reference has to do with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees.

        Apparently, the writer of this booklet misunderstands early
Christianity. The Christians of the first and second centuries
A.D., for fear of their lives, used special symbols, met in secret
and in the dark, and communicated with each other with symbols and
signs.     

        Masons who have religious commitment and dedication can be
active Masons and practice their own religion without conflict with
their Masonic teachings. Masonry teaches belief in God, love of
one's fellowman, and the immortality of the soul. One definition of
Freemasonry is "a science of morality, veiled in allegory and
illustrated by symbols." The cornerstone of Masonry is belief in
God, the Great Architect and Master-builder of the Universe; there
is no other foundation; upon God Masonry builds its . Masonry
believes in the Fatherhood of God and practices the Brotherhood of
Man.

        The Masonic philosophy of life means that we are here in
the world to build something, to do something, and to become
something. God made the earth, the sea and the sky, but He made no
roads, built no houses. We, as Masons, are the builders. We must
build together, if the Temple of Brotherhood is to be completed!


Jack J. Early is an ordained United Methodist minister and a former
State Representative in the Kentucky Legislature. He has served as
President of Dakota Wesleyan University, Pfeiffer College, and
Limestone College. A long-time member of Middletown Lodge No. 732,
he is also a member of the Louisville-DeMolay Commandery No. 12
K\T\  and the Scottish Rite Valley of Louisville, Kentucky.



