FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION
Freemasons find
it extremely perplexing
that in spite of
our high
ideals and moral
standards, our belief in a Supreme
Being and
the Brotherhood of Man, and our
religious and ethnic
tolerance, we find
ourselves under attack
and unjustly
criticized. Many of
our new brethren
are surprised to learn
of the
viscous accusations against
Freemasonry largely in the
name of
religion, and also the alleged great Masonic conspiracy
to achieve
world-wide dominance. This paper
will touch on the
religious aspect.
Some attacks are
mild and come from those who have little
knowledge about
the Craft. While other
assaults are made by
those who deliberately malign our fraternity and seek to outright
destroy Freemasonry.
It is not too difficult to respond to
critics who have little
or no
accurate knowledge about
Freemasonry but have an open
mind on
the subject. Usually a cordial
and constructive dialog
will dismiss or at least minimize anti-Masonic attitudes.
Our real
problem is with
those who have a closed mind, a
warped view
of the Craft and who will use
every means at their
disposal to
discredit Freemasonry. An example of some of the
most vicious
and virulent attacks
on the Craft can be found
on numerous Web sites.
Freemasonry has
been attacked by
various individuals and
groups who
have been hostile toward our
Craft down through the
ages. Our fraternity has
always been assaulted by
those who
want to control the hearts and minds of men in both the religious
and political spheres.
We Freemasons are fundamentally at odds with those who would
seal off
the light of
freedom and knowledge. As such we have
always been
and continue to be one of the primary targets for
destruction by
tyrants, extremists, and repressive governments.
Freemasons have
historically resisted them, frequently at the
cost of
the lives of
many of our brethren around the
world.
When one
considers the tenets and history of the Craft, it is
not difficult
to understand why Freemasonry has been anathema
to Communist,
Fascist, Nazi, and leaders of
equally repressive
forms of governments, and their followers.
Given
Freemasonry's
belief in a
Supreme Being and
the
Brotherhood of
Man, its high
moral standards and its ideals,
its uncompromising rejection of atheism, its religious tolerance,
and its
diverse ethnic membership, Freemasons cannot find any
justification for
the attacks (some
very vicious) by certain
religious groups on our Craft.
We are
accused of having
a Masonic God,
and a Masonic
religion, of being
anti-Christian and being
incompatible with
Christianity. We are
also accused of being anti-religious, and
often described
as a satanic cult that worships the devil along
with other
equally absurd and offensive charges. All of which
are totally false and deceiving.
Freemasonry's oldest
document, the Regius Poem also known
as the
Halliwell
manuscript, circa 1340,
is actually a poem
of moral
duties. It instructs Freemasons
to "Pray we to God
almighty..." this practice
has been followed
by Freemasons
continuously up to the present time.
Freemasonry has
without question repudiated
atheism. In its
entire history
Freemasonry as practiced
in our Blue Lodges
has never
claimed or remotely suggested that it is a religion
nor has
it ever sought
to compete with any religion. Every
Freemason and
unprejudiced student of
our Craft knows there
is no
such thing as
a Masonic religion. The alleged
Masonic
religion by
some of our critics is in absolute conflict with
our core beliefs as Freemasons.
No Master
Mason who is a member of a regular Masonic Lodge
can possibly
conceive of Freemasonry
being anti-Christian in
particular, or anti-religious in general. All thinking Freemasons
know that the Craft is not the enemy of any
religion, but rather
its ally. Also that Freemasonry is
compatible with all the great
faiths of
the world, not
the least of which is Christianity.
Any impartial, in-depth study will prove this to be true
beyond
a doubt.
As an interesting aside, the seal of the Grand
Lodge
of
crescent overlaid on the Star of David.
To the
extremists who would
attempt to intimidate some of
our brethren
into leaving the Craft, or to
discourage good men
from seeking
admission to our noble fraternity in the name of
religion, your interpretations, your
conclusions, and your
assertions regarding
Freemasonry, are not
only contrary to
simple straight
forward justice, but
thoroughly misleading.
To you
extremists who condemn
us on religious grounds based
on a superficial review of our tenets and some of our activities,
you have
failed to comprehend
what Freemasonry is all about.
As such
you are not in the least qualified to evaluate our Craft.
To all
those who state
that Freemasonry is not compatible
with this
religion, or that religion, you should know that down
through the ages Freemasonry has been the
handmaiden of religion
and continues to be.
Some of
the founders of our
great nation as well as those
who fought in our War of Independence such as
George Washington,
Benjamin Franklin,
and John Paul
Jones to name a
few were
Freemasons. Are the
extremists who criticize
Freemasonry so
vehemently telling Americans that these fine patriots
of yester-
year were misguided men because they were Freemasons?
Do we
discard the memory
and accomplishments of our WW II
Presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry
Truman, both of
whom were
Freemasons? Were Freemasons like
John J. Pershing
who led
the AEF in
WW I, Jimmy Doolittle who led the
first
bombing raid over
Tiger fame,
and Admiral Ernest King who led
all the U.S. Naval
forces in WW II misguided men or lacking in principles?
Here in
the Hawaii Jurisdiction
we have a
multi-ethnic
population which
is reflected in the diverse
membership of our
Lodges. This ethnic
mix consists of brethren of many different
religious persuasions
with roots that
originate from almost
every part
of the globe.
As a
47-year Hawaii Freemason I am
proud and
happy to be
able to say that in spite of the
many
different religions
of our brethren coupled with their varied
ethnic roots there is no religious or ethnic
discord among them.
At no
time have differences in religion and ethnicity disturbed
the harmony
of our meetings, our social
affairs, or our public
appearances.
Looking at
the terrifying religious
and ethnic strife in
so many
parts of the world at the present time, one cannot help
but be
reassured and gratified
by the harmony we Freemasons
enjoy within
our great fraternity. This congenial environment
which is
cherished by all of our brethren
is attributed to the
practice of tolerance, a hallmark of
Freemasonry...and we intend
to keep it that way.
Herbert G. Gardiner,
PGS
Grand Historian Grand Lodge
of