Freemasonry and Religion
Freemasonry is not a
religion, nor is it a substitute for religion, but it is of a
religious nature. Every Mason has a personal belief in God. This
is a requirement for membership. Masonic ceremonies include brief
prayers, to reaffirm each individual's dependence on God and to
seek divine guidance. Freemasonry is open to men of any
denomination, but denominational differences are not discussed at
Masonic meetings.
Freemasonry does not have
any “Bible” of its own, or any “faith” of its own. In Lodge
the Bible is by tradition, commonly referred to as the “Volume of
the Sacred Law”, and it
rules and governs the faith of each man present. The Bible is
central to every Masonic meeting.
The
obligations taken by Freemasons of this Lodge are taken on the the
Bible. In Kempenfeldt Lodge the Holy Bible is the open book which
is traditionally on prominent display at Lodge meetings. These
obligations are only “symbolic” or “traditional” in nature. They
do not conflict with his religious beliefs, or his civilian,
military, police, governmental, or other duties, or his oath to
allegiance to the monarchy (if he has taken one at any point in
his life). Neither can they require him to conceal any crime or
offence. They refer only to the pain any honest man should feel at
the thought of violating his word. They
are the undertakings of an honest and sincere man to follow the
principles of Freemasonry and to keep confidential a Freemason's
means of recognition.
Should a man
later decide to quit his membership in the Lodge, this is very
easy and simple to do, he need only write a letter to the Lodge
asking for a “demit”, and nothing “bad” will happen to him, even
if he were to reveal our “secrets”. (They have already been
revealed many times over the centuries, in various parts of the
world.)
Freemasonry lacks the basic
elements of religion: (a) It has no dogma or theology, no wish or
means to enforce religious orthodoxy. (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.
This is all
explained at great length in the book
Workman Unashamed (Second Edition 2005)
described above, from both a Masonic and Church
perspective. There have been many Church ministers from various
denominations over the history of Freemasonry who have been active
Freemasons and Royal Arch Masons, and they saw no conflict with
their role as ordained Ministers and their membership in this
men’s fraternity.
Freemasonry is far from
indifferent toward religion. Without interfering in religious
practice, it expects each member to follow his own faith and to
place his Duty to God above all other duties.
There is a tradition of
Masons attending a Devine (Church) service, held annually by the
District, in a local Church, as guests of the congregation.
Outside of a Masonic funeral service, this is often the only time
members of the public will see a Masonic Lodge assembled in
Masonic Regalia (like a uniform, but consisting mainly of Masonic
aprons). It is customary for the brethren to have their wives,
children, and perhaps other family accompany them at this public
service.
In regards to a Masonic
Funeral service, it is only conducted on the (prior) request by
the deceased member, or by his family. It does not interfere with
the Church service, but may (if so requested, and if agreeable to
the Minister) be held in conjunction with it. Sometimes such
services arranged by other Lodges, have by happy coincidence seen
a Church Minister, publically clothed as both a Minister and a
Freemason leading such a service.
Misinformation, and just
plain false information (as well as hate literature) on
Freemasonry can be found (and is often recycled) in many books,
and other publications, as well as on the internet. There are also
those who at times lay claim to the name Freemason, who are not
recognised Freemasons, as well as outlandish claims by others that
some non-Masonic groups which may or may not even exist are
somehow Masonic in nature. At times this material can even creep
into public libraries and Church libraries.
For the non-Freemason it
can be a very difficult task to separate truth from fiction (or
worse). Due to such, Church Ministers may accidently be
misinformed, or at least confused, if they have any pre-conceived
notion at all of what Freemasonry is and is not, this is
especially so if they do not know any Freemasons first hand. Yet,
in those congregations where many men were Freemasons (and even
some Ministers), more than one man who ended up becoming Master of
his Lodge, began his Masonic career by learning about Freemasonry
at a causal coffee in his Church after Sunday service, because he
saw a Masonic lapel pin or Masonic ring, asked about it, found
what he heard to be of genuine interest, and then or at a later
date “asked for an application”.
Any Church Minster in the
local area, having questions on Freemasonry, is most welcome to
e-mail the Master of the Lodge, to discuss them. If the Master
does not feel equipped to provide a suitable answer to the
question, then he will arrange a suitable answer to be provided by
someone more knowledgeable, or properly forward the question to
Grand Lodge. Of course in all matters related to Freemasonry in
the Province of Ontario, the official spokesman remains the Grand
Master.
Rest assured there is no
conflict between a man belonging to the fraternity of Freemasonry,
and his involvement in any Church, unless of course others outside
the fraternity choose to create a conflict for him, in which case
they must speak for themselves as to their reasons for doing so,
and the good Lord will be among those who listens.
