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Freemasonry is not a religion although some lodges require a belief in a supreme being but not any specific religion.
It is eclectic in that there should be a ‘volume of the sacred law’ at every lodge meeting. But that book can be from any religion. For example, there are Jewish lodges that use the Torah. And any religious book could be u…
Freemasonry is not a religion although some lodges require a belief in a supreme being but not any specific religion.
It is eclectic in that there should be a ‘volume of the sacred law’ at every lodge meeting. But that book can be from any religion. For example, there are Jewish lodges that use the Torah. And any religious book could be used. In India it could be the Bhagavad Gita. So, while the Masons accept Christianity, they accept all religions. They believe in the separation of church and state.
The separation of church and state is essential.
But, unfortunately, not a reality.
The concept of ‘civil religion’ suggests that a pervasive, nonsectarian understanding of morality and transcendence sacralizes the nation-state, the polity, and the history and destiny of a society.
In 1787 US all lodges were blue lodges.
There are divisions. The "York" rite is exclusively Protestant. The "Scottish rite" is nonpartisan. But at the time of the writing of the Constitution, the texts and symbols are consistent.
Masonry and Deism were also similar.
What was called Deism in the 18th Century, housed people who would be called atheists today, as in those days there were only deists and satanists, it was a Manichean world.
AA calls out to a higher power, and you can choose your own. I choose the fan overhead.
I choose the truth, and if there is no truth, there is also no God!