IS FREEMASONRY A RELIGION?

What is Religion?

Webster's Dictionary states religion to be "the feeling of reverence which man entertains towards a Supreme Being, the recognition of God as an object of worship, love and obedience.

Funk & Wagnell "New Standard Dictionary" as quoted from Coil's Masonic Encyclopaedia, Page 512, states:

"defines Religion as: "A belief in an invisible superhuman power (or powers), conceived of after the analogy of the human spirit, on which (or whom) man regards himself as dependent, and to which (or whom) he thinks himself in some degree responsible, together with the feelings and practices which naturally flow from such belief." This comes close to defining Freemasonry as many writers have defined it saying that the father- hood of God and the brotherhood of man is the whole story. Freemasonry certainly requires a belief in the existence of, and man's dependence upon, a Supreme Being to whom he is responsible. What can a church add to that, except to bring into one fellowship those who have like feelings? That is exactly what the Lodge does."

In the Blue Lodge, a candidate is told the following:

The Work, Page 29 states:

"The S. Obs. you are required to take are taken in the name of God, and, when once taken, can never be laid aside or repudiated. Yet I am free to inform you that these Obs. contain nothing that can conflict with your duty to God, your country, your neighbour, or yourself. With this pledge on my part, as W.M. of this [ ], I ask you are you willing to take such Obs. as all E. As. have done before you?"

The idea that Freemasonry may be a religion is taken from the candidate's head by the above statement, during the 1st degree initiation.

Masonic authorities all state that Freemasonry is a "religion".

1. Coil's Masonic Encyclopaedia, Page 512, states:

"(c) Belief; Creed; Tenet; Dogma. Does Freemasonry have creed (I believe) or tenet (he holds) or dogma (I think) to which all members must adhere? Does Freemasonry continually teach and insist upon a creed, tenet and dogma? Does it have meetings characterised by the practice of rites and ceremonies in and by which its creed, tenet and dogma are illustrated by myths, symbols and allegories? If Freemasonry were not religion, what would have to be done to make it such? Nothing would be necessary or at least nothing but to add more of the same. That brings us to the real crux of the matter; the difference between a lodge and a church is one of degree and not of kind. Some think that, because it is not a strong or highly dogmatised religion such as the Roman Catholic Church where it is difficult to tell whether the congregation is worshipping God, Christ, or the Virgin Mary, it can be no religion at all. But a church of Friends (Quakers) exhibits even less formality and ritual than does a Masonic lodge. The fact that Freemasonry is a mild religion does not mean that it is no religion."

2. A. Mackey in Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry, page 618, 619, states under the title of "Religion of Masonry. There has been a needless expenditure of ingenuity and talent,by a large number of Masonic orators and essayists, in the endeavour to prove that Masonry is not religion. This has undoubtedly arisen from a well- intended but erroneous view that has been taken of the connection between religion and Masonry. ....Masonry may rightfully claim to be called a religious institution....But the religion of Masonry is not sectarian. It admits men of every creed within its hospitable bosom, rejecting none and approving none for his peculiar faith." 3. The Spirit of Freemasonry - Foster Bailey, page 29, states: Masonry is the descendant of, or is . founded upon, a divinely imparted religion which long antedates the prime date of creation as given in our Bible. Masonry and its allegorical rituals, and its symbols and numbers, is all that remains to us of the first world religion which flourished in an antiquity so old that it is impossible to affix a date."

4. Morals and Dogma - A Pike, Page 213 states: "Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instruction in religion." "Masonry (is that religion) around whose altars the Christian, the Hebrew, the Moslem, the Brahman, the followers of Confucius and Zoroaster, can assemble as brethren and unite in prayer to the one God who is above all the Baalim.

5. Lost Keys of Freemasonry - Manly Hall, Page xxiv - Introduction states: "Freemasonry is a philosophy which is essentially creedless. It is the truer for it . ..... No truer religion exists than that of world comradeship and brotherhood, for the purpose of glorifying one God and building for Him a temple of constructive attitude and noble character."

6. The Meaning of Masonry - W.L. Wilmshurst, page 74 states:

"Masonry, then, is a system of religious philosophy in that it provides us with a doctrine of the universe and of our place in it."

7. The Masonic Bible with the Masonic emblem on its cover, by association, suggests that Freemasonry is a religion, though its doctrines are contrary to those of the Holy Bible.