MAN,
MUSIC AND MASONRY
FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION
RITUAL IS GOOD FOR YOU!
WILLIAM LITTLE
MANY
FAITHS, ONE BROTHERHOOD
THE LADDER
OF JACOB
FREEMASONRY AND RELIGION:
ARE THEY COMPATIBLE?
Introduction
Freemasonry and Religion: Are They
Compatible? This is a rather general question.
However, I'm sure you will not object if I concentrate
on Freemasonry and its relationship to Christianity
in particular, as this is the predominating religion
of members of the Craft in this country. I will
endeavour to respond to the main criticisms and
areas of concern which have been expressed in
the general community, and the responses the Craft
has made to them. I will be using the material
produced by Grand Lodges in Australia and overseas,
but I will also move into aspects which they do
not cover.
Basic Statement
It
has been frequently stated that Freemasonry is
not a Religion, nor is it a substitute for Religion.
It does demand of its candidates for initiation
a belief in a Supreme Being, but it does not provide
a system of belief of its own. Notice that the
prerequisite for membership is the belief in a
Supreme Being, not the God of a particular
Religion. And so Freemasonry is open to men of
all religious faiths. It must also be made very
clear, and repeated many times, that Freemasonry
does not exclude anyone on the basis of a particular
faith or doctrine. The person may exclude himself,
or may be excluded by the teachings or directives
of his particular faith-community, but Freemasonry
itself does not exclude anyone on the basis of
his religion.
Definitions
But,
having said this, someone may argue that the statement
just made raises more questions than it answers!
Let us then attempt to define our terms: What
is Freemasonry? And what do we mean by the
word Religion? I must say that both words
are not easy to define as they depend very much
on the person who is doing the defining as well
as the person to whom you are speaking! But I
will try.
Freemasonry is defined in our own ritual as "a system of morality,
veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols".
I think this definition has stood the test of
time very well. My own efforts at explaining in
more detail what Freemasonry is can be found in
my leaflet on the subject. I think we will leave
it at that for the moment.
As
to what is Religion, this is much more
challenging. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary has
a rather lengthy definition (one of them), and
I will give the whole of it here. It reads: "Recognition
on the part of man of some higher unseen power
as having control of his destiny, and as being
entitled to obedience, reverence, and worship;
the general mental and moral attitude resulting
from this belief, with reference to its effect
upon the individual or community; personal or
general acceptance of this feeling as a standard
of spiritual and practical life." The word
Religion is derived from two words: religio
and on, and originally it described a bond
or oath between man and the gods. And so we could
say that Religion is that which 'binds' us to
God. It is that which links us with a Higher
Power, with the Source of Life, with the Transcendent,
with God. And so you can see that it embraces
more than what a particular institution, church
or synagogue may present to the world or its members;
Religion is essentially a personal matter.
The Supreme Being
The various names which are used
in the lodge room for the Supreme Being give cause
for concern for some people. These words or names
are of a general nature and are used in this
way in order that men of different faiths may
join in the work, including in prayer, without
feeling that they have compromised their own personal
faith by doing so. There is no separate God
of Freemasonry. The Craft's God remains the
God of the religion which a member professes.
Also, the Craft makes no claim to a special revelation,
in fact it directs the brother to practise the
faith he professes.
It should also be emphasised that
Freemasonry does not attempt to join religions
together. There is no composite Masonic God. And
so it is not correct to accuse Freemasonry of
religious eclecticism! Yes, we do use different
names or words for God in the various degrees,
but these are our endeavour to point to the essence
of God, and to particular attributes/qualities
of the Divine - and most of these descriptions
or names can be found in the Bible anyway!
Freemasonry a Substitute for Religion?
The
definitions which I have given for Freemasonry
and Religion may suggest that there is some overlap
between the two. This is true, in the sense that
Freemasonry uses religious concepts at times,
has prayers, and refers to the Deity and our duties
to Him as well as to each other. But as our Craft
is a metaphysical and philosophical organisation,
as well as a fraternity which instructs in certain
aspects of morality, it is not surprising that
we find such features in our ritual and meetings.
The member is assisted in living a godly life,
but he must find his own faith-community in which
to enact it. And so to say that Freemasonry is
a Religion would be taking the definition of religion
to an absurd length, I believe. For example, would
you say that the Scouting Movement is a religion
because it has a spiritual foundation to its work,
uses occasional prayers, has church parades? Would
you say that our Federal Parliament is a Religion
because it opens with prayer and reciting the
Lord's Prayer? I think not.
On
the other hand, one must also admit quite candidly
to enquirers that there is a religious/spiritual
air about masonic ritual, and that certain biblical
events and personalities are included in our ceremonies.
But, as I have just mentioned, there are many
other movements and institutions which have a
religious air without being a religion. Masons
declare a faith in God, they do ask for God's
blessing, but there is no form of adoration
or worship - these are features of a religion.
Likewise, there is no credal statement and no
theology is taught in our assemblies - these must
be sought elsewhere. The Craft concentrates its
effort on complementing the work of churches
and religions, not competing with them. And so
it seeks to inculcate in its members a standard
of conduct and behaviour which it believes to
be acceptable to all creeds, but does not enter
the fields of dogmas or theology. Freemasonry
is largely a commentary on life and our duties
as responsible citizens. It provides us with certain
valuable "working tools" of morality
and philosophy for living a useful life. Freemasonry
goes no further than this, and therefore is not
a Religion. In fact, it does not even explain
its own teachings and symbolism to any great extent,
let alone those belonging to a particular religion!
Freemasonry as a Means of Salvation?
A
major concern for many sincere Christians is that
the Craft seems to suggest that being a Freemason
will lead you to salvation. Masons would all dismiss
this claim out of hand, but it will pay to take
a closer look at how those people may have arrived
at this conclusion. You see, Freemasonry is one
of the most positive and forward-looking of movements
in the world. It makes the claim that the world
is a better place because there are masons working
to make it so. Likewise, it expresses a sublime
hope that, when this earthly life is finished,
we will indeed come before our Maker who will,
hopefully, say "well done". Outsiders
misunderstand this sense of optimism as a presumption,
which of course it is not. Should Freemasonry
be condemned because its teachings encourage its
members to have a holy confidence in their all-loving
God?
As
Freemasonry is not intended to be a rival religion
or a substitute for a personal faith, it has no
intention of taking the member away from their
particular faith-community. Neither does it make
claims to having an inside running on salvation.
On the contrary, the fraternity encourages the
brother mason to hold fast to his personal faith,
to his commitment to church and family. The preaching
of eternal salvation, and the means of attaining
it, is to be found in one's own religion, not
in the lodge room.
Many
sincere Christians are also concerned that the
name of Jesus Christ is not mentioned, let alone
revered, in our assemblies. We need to point out
to the enquirer that the background to the rituals
of the Craft degrees are certain stories and personalities
from the time of building King Solomon's Temple.
Naturally, Christ is not mentioned in this context.
These stories, and the moral and spiritual lessons
they teach, are respected and accepted not only
by Christians, but also by Jews and Muslims. The
brethren of the Far East, such as in India and
Malaysia, respect them too; they have no problems
with these stories or what they teach us. This
is why the scenarios for the Craft and some other
degrees are so effective because brethren of different
faiths and cultures can accept them unreservedly.
These stories and the lessons they teach us are
the unifying force of our rituals.
We
do have other Orders and Degrees under the umbrella
of Freemasonry which are specifically Christian,
and these satisfy the particular needs of Christian
masons. They can be found listed in the Masonic
Guide. And as an active member of most of them,
I can affirm that they provide wonderful and inspiring
rituals, sublime teachings and further opportunities
for personal development. In these Orders Jesus
Christ is revered and some of them such as the
Knights Templar, provide us with wonderful stories
of heroes of past ages who fought and died for
their Faith.
The Bible in the Lodge Room
On
the top of the pedestal in the East in the lodge
room, in front of the Master, is a cushion and
on this rests the Holy Bible. It is the Bible
because - as I said before - Christianity is the
dominant religion of this country and so the Bible
is the holy book which is placed there. It is
one of the Landmarks of Freemasonry. Above all,
it indicates that the Fraternity is founded on
the Fatherhood of God as well as the Brotherhood
of Man. However, when it comes to each candidate
taking his own obligation in each degree, he uses
his own Volume of the Sacred Law, and this one
will be the sacred text appropriate to his religious
affiliation. And so you can see that a candidate
for our fraternity must already profess a particular
faith. The sacred volume, or for most of us the
Bible, is that book which contains the revelation
of the mind and will of God to Man, and all Freemasons
are required to revere it as such. This means
reverence not only for your own sacred text, but
also respect for the sacred texts of others. For
example, if you go to a lodge in India - which
I did in 1975 - you will find quite a few sacred
volumes placed around the Master's pedestal or
altar, as they represent the different religions
of the brethren present. This acknowledgement
of other sacred texts does not in any way compromise
one's special reverence for one's own sacred volume,
it merely displays a mature appreciation and awareness
of other people's religions and the source of
their personal faiths. Brethren are encouraged
to read and reflect on their own sacred texts,
and to regulate their lives and actions accordingly;
they must never belittle the religion or sacred
text of another member .
Freemasonry and Christian Denominations
The
attitudes of the many Christian denominations
towards Freemasonry varies somewhat, although
most of them these days do not get too concerned
about us. Hardly any denomination has an official
policy on Freemasonry today, but this was not
always the case.
The Anglican Church in Australia has
had several attempts, in different dioceses, to
investigate Freemasonry and its compatibility
with Christianity. One of the most recent was
a report from the Sydney Diocese. It expressed
the view that Freemasonry was incompatible with
Christianity, but gives no direction to Church
members. No parishoner has been asked to leave
the Craft as a result of this report. It should
also be noted that this report does not speak
for the whole Anglican Church in Australia. One
of the concerns expressed, and which has been
attended to, is the conduct of the Masonic Funeral
Service. The instructions given by the Grand Lodge
in Sydney is that the Masonic Funeral Service
cannot be carried out on its own; the Service
must be carried out in conjunction with the rites
of the faith of the deceased brother, and with
the permission of all those concerned.
The Roman Catholic Church has forbidden its members from joining the Craft for
over 200 years. This came about when all Christian
references were removed from the Craft ritual
in England soon after the first Grand Lodge was
formed there in 1717. This proscription still
stands, although you will here rumours to the
contrary. It is true that the occasional Catholic,
in Europe, has been given permission to join the
Craft. I know personally of several Roman Catholics
who are members of the Masonic Lodge in Melbourne.
The Orthodox Church consists of a number of national churches and some of
these have policies in regard to Freemasonry.
The Greek Orthodox has no problems with Freemasonry.
The Craft is very active there, and many brethren
of Greek nationality are also members in this
country. The Gregorios Lodge No.865 meets at the
Masonic Centre in Melbourne and is a Greek lodge.
On the other hand, the Russian Orthodox Church
is vehemently anti-Masonic. I have discussed this
with one of their priests, and it seems that this
goes back to the time of Napoleon Bonaparte, when
he invaded Eastern Europe. Many of his generals
were Masons and so Freemasonry was seen, and is
still seen by this Church, as being an integral
part of the Western European political machine
and a cause for much of their misery in the East.
The Salvation Army has had its concerns about
Freemasonry, and may still do so. However, this
has softened over the years and we now have a
"Salvation Army" lodge, the Crusaders
Lodge No.778 in Kew. And I am also aware that
in the past those who were taking leadership/officer
positions in the Salvation Army were encouraged
to leave Freemasonry. The current leader of the
Salvation Army is not in favour of Freemasonry,
and as a consequence Crusaders Lodge was recently
closed.
The Presbyterian Church has also had an investigation into the Craft some years
ago. As it was chaired by one of their most senior
ministers in Melbourne, the Rev. Chris Goy, one-time
Grand Chaplain of Grand Lodge, the right information
was presented and a balanced report produced.
No more has been heard from this Church, although
you will hear of individual members of that denomination
who have launched a personal campaign against
Freemasonry. (We have a 'Presbyterian' lodge in
our Constitution - John Knox Lodge No.636.)
Fundamentalist groups are vehemently opposed to Masonry. Their grounds for
having such a negative attitude are mainly theological
ones, some of which I have touched on. The material
they have published on this subject is of very
indifferent quality.
Notwithstanding what I have reported
here, it is still the case that there are people,
including clergy, in just about every Christian
denomination, who do not approve of the Fraternity.
Some of them are so vigorous in their opposition
that they bring up the issue in their local church,
at church synod meetings, even print leaflets
and books on the subject. Their propaganda is
usually based on a very selective and uninformed
use of Scripture, selective use of personal opinions
and actions of individuals, and also a misleading
representation of Freemasonry and its official
documents.
Freemasonry and other Religions
It
is perhaps useful to make brief mention of other
religions, as Australia is very much multicultural
these days, and we need to be aware of the views
held by other faiths in regard to Freemasonry.
Judasim has no official policy, to my knowledge,
in regard to Freemasonry. There are two main groups
in this religion, Orthodox and Liberal Jews. There
are brethren in the Lodge from both groups. There
have been leading liberal and orthodox rabbis
as members and leaders in the Craft. There are
several lodges which consist of Jews, such as
Mt. Scopus Lodge No.689 and King David Lodge
No.460.
The Faith of Islam is growing
in Australia. As with other minority faith-communities,
they are a very closely-knit group and provide
much mutual support. The activities of each member
of the community are, therefore, known to others.
I have had the experience in my former lodge of
two candidates of this religion being initiated.
However, they did not go any further and resigned
a few months later, owing to pressure from their
own community to withdraw from Freemasonry.
Hinduism does not have any difficulty with Freemasonry, as evidenced
in India, where there are many Hindus who are
members of the Craft.
Buddhism has two main schools, the so-called
Northern and Southern Schools. There was a most
interesting paper in Ars Quatuor Coronati,
the transations of Quatuor Coronati Lodge No.2076
in England. It is the premier lodge of research
in the world. In Vol.86, 1973, there is a paper
by Bro. Alex Horne entitled "Buddhist Ideas
Concerning God and Immortality". The conclusion
arrived at was that as some Buddhists could not
declare categorically that they believed in a
Supreme Being, those particular people would not
satisfy the Craft's first requirement of membership.
However, notwithstanding the fact that their theology
and terminology are considerably different to
ours (due to significant cultural and theological
differences), Buddhism does seem to satisfy the
Craft's requirements of a belief in a Supreme
Being and in the immortality of the soul. What
makes it a very complicated issue with Buddhism
is that the many sects in this religion vary considerably
in their teaching (e.g. some believe in a personal
God, others do not).
Oaths of Secrecy
There
are three major criticisms made of Freemasonry,
they are (i) that it is a religion, (ii)
that it is secret, and (iii) that you have
to take an oath. I have dealt with the
first objection, and so let us reflect on the
other two together as they are interrelated.
On
the matter of secrecy, the Grand Lodge
of New South Wales has responded in a very creative
way in one of their publications, and I will summarise
their comments here. Freemasons should not be
apologetic about the question of secrecy. Firstly,
we are not a secret society, rather, a
society which has some secrets. This is a most
important distinction. If you recall the answer
the Senior Deacon gives to the Wor. Master in
the opening of a lodge, he says ".... and
await the return of the Junior Deacon". This
refers to the time when the Secret Societies Act
was in force in England, and in order that Craft
lodges could be exempt from the proscriptions
of the Act, the attendance/appearance book needed
to be taken to the local office of authority so
that the State knew who was meeting in the lodge
room. And so, we can truthfully say that we are
not, and never have been, a secret society; our
membership is known, and our appearance book is
always available for perusal by others.
As
to the question of having our meetings as private
gatherings, i.e. opened only to those who are
members, we are no different to so many other
organisations in society. The difference with
us is that we perform ritual at our meetings,
most other private organisations do not. For this
reason, people who are paranoid by nature will
assume that we are up to no good; worse, that
our rituals must have something to do with the
Devil!
Freemasonry is proud of its mystery.
This mystery is a strength rather than a weakness.
The main purpose of the mystery of Freemasonry
is to enhance the impact of its ceremonies on
its candidates and thus the moral, philosophical
and spiritual lessons which are learned by participating
in these ceremonies is more indelibly imprinted
on the mind of its members. It is also a source
of unity and strength among its members. (The
analogy one could make is the difference in impact
between reading a book, seeing it enacted as a
play, and then being one of the actors on the
stage.)
As
you know, anyone who is desperate to find out
what the so-called "secrets" of Freemasonry
are, need only go to the public library and find
out what we do. Yet, we continue to maintain this
discipline of secrecy, even within our own membership.
This is because revealed knowledge is very powerful,
and we use this time-honoured technique of bringing
members to more advanced levels of understanding
by progressive revelation. Many societies and
religions embody the concept of imparting knowledge
in stages to those who are "properly prepared".
For example, would the critics say that the early
Christian Church was wrong in excluding the catechumens
(candidates preparing for intitiation into the
mysteries of the Faith) and the general public
(the profane) from certain portions of their services?
Of course not, yet the same people are extremely
critical of the Craft in following the same procedure,
i.e restricting our private meetings to members
only, and revealing our knowledge to our members
in stages together with oaths of secrecy. One
can also make the observation that the public
is not permitted at meetings of the boards of
companies, at cabinet meetings of government,
or in the confessional. The lodge meeting is a
private one, and in western democracies we have
the privilege of being able to meet in private.
Let us take another culture which
can be used as a valid comparison, and that is
the traditions and customs of our own Aborigines.
The Aboriginal dreamtime legends are part of a
similar philosophy to ours, and are revealed in
a similar way to that of the Craft, i.e. to the
initiated only. This is why certain parts of Ayers
Rock (Uluru) are now forbidden to visitors, because
their revelation was carefully planned and kept
secret, and the knowlege associated with these
areas was progressively imparted by tribal elders.
As the youth's knowledge of tribal lore increases,
so he or she is admitted to different areas of
the Rock.
Freemasonry
has a similar approach and methodology. The sense
of mystery and revelation in stages of moral,
philosophical and spiritual teachings is the hallmark
of both traditions. And so the description of
Freemasonry as being a progressive science, in
which we make a daily advancement, is no mere
platitude but a very accurate statement. And to
increase our knowledge of its mysteries requires
personal commitment, application and perseverence,
and the mysteries of the Craft unfold their lessons
to us as we proceed on our journey. (Our education
system has a similar methodology, i.e. teaching
the liberal arts and sciences in stages.)
The other issue is the act of taking
an oath. As you know, there is in our courts
the alternative of making an affirmation in place
of taking an oath. This is to satisfy those who
have a conscientious objection to taking one,
usually based on religious grounds. There are
several references in the Bible to taking oaths.
In fact, there are about thirty of them, most
in the Old Testament but also a few in the New
Testament. You will find that critics will quote
the Letter of James ch.5 v.12, where it is written:
"But above all, my brethren, do not swear,
either by heaven or by earth or with any other
oath, but let your yes be yes and your no no,
that you may not fall under condemnation".
But the fact is that you can quote scripture to
support just about any point of view quite easily!
For example, among the numerous references to
the taking of an oath, we also find in the Book
of Acts ch.2 v30 the words "knowing that
God had sworn an oath"; this is in reference
to David. And so on this issue, as on many others,
one just has to agree to disagree with those who
object to the taking of an oath, and their strongly
held belief must be respected. Likewise, we are
entitled to hold to our own beliefs and expect
others to be just as respectful of ours as we
are of theirs.
A Summary
1.
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation which
encourages its members to lead a moral and God-centred
life. The various moral and spiritual lessons
are taught and portrayed, often in dramatic form,
in its rituals for fixing more indelibly on the
mind of its members their importance.
2.
It does not teach religion and does not present
a dogma. In fact, it forbids the discussion of
religion (and politics) in its assemblies.
3.
It offers no sacraments, it offers no means to
salvation; these are the province of the member's
own personal faith and religious affiliation.
The secret knowledge, so-called, is not of the
sort which is a substitute for the teachings and
revelations of one's personal faith or religion.
What is provided is largely a commentary on life
and the importance of the Golden Rule, and especially
on putting these things into practice.
4.
The secrecy which surrounds the lodge meeting,
its rituals etc., are designed to present the
knowledge and work of the Craft to its members
as strongly and effectively as possible. It is
a technique and a discipline which the early Christian
Church used, and is one which was or is used by
nearly every religion at one time or other.
5.
The personal faith and religious affiliation of
the member of the Craft is not compromised by
his membership of Freemasonry. His personal beliefs
are respected and they are private to that member.
Freemasonry does not enquire into these things.
6.
Freemasonry is not in the business of changing
its rules, teachings or practices in order to
satisfy every demand and criticism of the general
population. However, it recognises that the Craft
is a living, evolving Tradition and that it operates
within the community as a private organisation.
It is therefore appropriate, indeed desirable,
that the Fraternity should consider its practices
from time-to-time, in the light of society's development
and also its legal imperatives.
7.
There is one other feature of the Craft which
should be mentioned before I close.
Freemasonry has an inclusive
approach to things, whether it is to do with membership,
teaching, or practice. It starts from the premise
that we are all brothers, irrespective of our
colour, race or creed. This doesn't mean that
we are all the same, but it does say that we are
all one family. Neither does it say that all
religions are the same, but it does say that we
are not going to allow our personal and private
religious faith to get in the way of working together
for the good of humanity, anymore than we will
allow political differences to divide us. This
is why discussions on Religion and Politics are
specifically banned from our meetings, as they
will divide us rather then unite us. History has
proved this to be so true, and that is why Freemasonry
has survived, indeed flourished, all around the
world for three hundred years in its present form.
We should be very proud of this achievement and
not be apologetic to anyone! One could say that
Freemasonry was the very first ecumenical movement
in the world. One of the quotable quotes which
I keep in mind is where Jesus said "by their
fruits ye shall know them" (Matt:7:16). For
me, that is the bottom line. A person's beliefs
are important, and the opportunity to share our
beliefs with each other is a privilege, and often
a wonderful experience. But what is even more
important is not only who we really are,
but what we do, i.e. how we put into practice
what we believe.
The other side of the coin is that
a dogmatic or fundamentalist world view, as portrayed
by many religious groups in society, is, by its
very nature, exclusivist rather than inclusivist.
This is the fundamental difference in looking
at things, and each of us must decide on which
path we are going to travel. In my opinion, the
dogmatic view leads to the cutting off of possibilities
for change, for new insights, new experiences
and being truly open to the Spirit. The dogmatic
approach leads to an either/or, us/them response
to all issues. Just have a look at what is happening
in parts of the world today for examples of extremist
religious fundamentalism, of imposing one's beliefs
on others and their disastrous consequences. Of
course, this does not mean we cannot hold strongly
to our beliefs and endeavour to live according
to them. And so it's not only a matter of what
we believe, but also how our life and actions
may impact upon others.
Conclusion
Freemasonry,
in being inclusive, does not deny the reality
or veracity of the different religious and other
views held by its members. Rather, the Craft offers
a challenge: brethren are to meet together on
a non-sectarian and apolitical basis, and to work
for a common cause. It invites us to bring our
special insights, skills and knowledge as our
own personal contribution to the Fraternity, and
the Craft instructs us how to be united in working
for the betterment of humanity in general and
the brethren in particular.
