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Add to FavoritesAre the Freemasons a religion?
Yes, freemasons do participate in a religion. They worship and put there faith in a god they call the Great Architect of The Universe. A very generic bland term to hide the truth that they do not worship the one true God of the Bible. This is how they want to initiate the new inductees.
When the degrees climb the blandness starts fading and you start seeing a more buffet style, you pick the god you want. The mason can fill in the name of god as Allah, Krishna or Buddha. There is no requirement to worship the God of the Bible. There is a requirement to acknowledge a monotheistic higher deity. To quote a Masonic authority, Albert Mackey:
"Be assured, that God is equally present with the pious Hindu in the temple, the Jew in the synagogue, the Mohammedan in the mosque, and the Christian in the church."
As can be seen from this quote the god of the mason can be any of the false gods the world has to offer. However, if you look at the Bible you will see a God who is a jealous God and warns about putting anything before Him. The question here is why would a person who claims to be a Christian want to be involved with a secret society that believes this. These two statements have shown the lack of an acknowledgement of the Savior, Jesus Christ. There is never a mention of Him, which is a sign that this secret society is of Satan. To further show that it is an anti-Christ led organization we have this quote:
No one owns God, just as surely as no one owns "truth." Not one among us can be truly certain about the nature of God, so "Great Architect of the Universe" is a particularly apt reference to the Deity, as the reference acknowledges both the design and the designer without staking a claim on some exclusive jurisdiction. Deists, Christians - both Catholic and Protestant - Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and men of many other faiths have been welcomed into our Fraternity. One point of commonality is their belief in the one God. Masons believe there is one God and one God only. Masons also know that since time immemorial, people have employed many different ways of seeking and expressing what they know of God, of their experiences and relationship with that which transcends all knowing.
Though the Deity has been called by many sectarian names through the ages, perhaps Lao-Tzu's description of the "Tao" or "the Way" best clears away the robes, trappings, trumpery, and shadows surrounding the mystery to which we bow with reverence.
In the first chapter of the "Te-Tao Ching," it is written: The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the mother of ten thousand things. Ever without desire, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name. This appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery.
Masonic use of the title "Great Architect of the Universe" is our reverential denotation of the Deity, of that eternal name which cannot be named. (SOURCE: California Freemason Online, the Meaning of "the Great Architect of the Universe")
Now we have the total denial of the Son of God Jesus Christ, which according to the Bible is a sign of an Anti- Christ.
With all of this information and a lot more not written here it can be ascertained that Freemasonry is a religion which denies Jesus as, "the way the truth and the life."
Learn more about this author, Anthony Bertrand.
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No
Freemasonry has entered mainstream pop culture in the last few years and certain questions have been asked about our institution. There are those in the anti-masonic court who claim we are a religion; seperate from the faiths we all chose to embrace. This, my friends, is not true.
In my lodge we have brothers from numerous Christian demoninations, those who follow the teachings of Judaism, and a few who believe in Allah and his prophet Muhammad. Masonry enables these men from different religious backgrounds to stand by each other and improve the character of themselves and their lives. We come together under the knowledge that we all believe in the Supreme Creator, which ever name he is called.
Freemasonry is a philosophy of life; a way to square yourself and to keep you grounded on the level. We use symbolism from the builders tools and allegories from the building of King Solomons Temple to strengthen and build who we are as men, brothers, fathers and sons. Masonry teaches that we are a "part" of the world not "apart" from the world. It teaches us to strive for unity in our comunity, support of our nation and accountabily in our lifes.
The purpose of Masonry isn't to replace religion but to compliment your faith. It is there for those who want to become more involved in life whether on a spiritual, intellectual or comunity service level.
Our oaths are also questioned by those who claim we are a religion. They claim that our oaths place Masonry above our respective faiths. Also, that if broken, we will enact our murderous punishments that are spelled out in them. This is simply not true. We, as speculative Masons, have adopted some practices from the groups of operative masons that lived and died by their trade during the middle ages. We don't physicaly practice Masonry we symbolicly practice it. The purpose of the oaths that we take binds us together. It says, "You and I are different; different walks of life and faiths that we practice, but we are brothers and I will respect and stand by you the rest of your days." It also means that the brother will always look out for your character, even if that means pulling aside and sitting down and saying, "Brother I think you might have a problem, lets fix it."
This institution will stand the test of time; almost 300 years has it stood so far. Our buildings and members will continue to be pillars in our comunities and families. We will always strive for unity in our brotherhood of Man. While strife occurs in our world from misunderstandings and lack of communication between the faiths, Masonry brings them together under the belief that we all believe and that is what truly matters.
Learn more about this author, Corey M. Podwinski.
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