A Folow Up, my response to the question "is there a valid reason for Freemasons to exclude atheists?"

Kyle wrote: "....that being said, is there a valid reason for Freemasons to exclude atheists?"

Not really. As I said, it is just semantics. I'm not the only pantheist who has joined Freemasonry. Afterall, it's all about stating what you *do* believe as opposed to what you don't.

The logic within Freemasonry is that the meaning and purpose of our rituals would be lost on an atheist. The meaning and purpose of Freemasonry is to evolve an individual man spiritually and, in so doing, evolve the spirit of the human race. In many ways Freemasonry (and the Enlightenment in general) can claim major success in this effort.

Freemasons brought on the American Revolution introducing our Democracy with such high ideas as freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Freemasons fought hard for the public school system so that every child has the opportunity to an education. It was a Freemason President that brought about the New Deal and many of the lasting social programs that have done so much to enhance our society in this past century.

Freemasonry helped throw off the yokes of monarchies, dictators, and oppressive churches, most especially the Roman Catholic Church and its Holy Inquisition.

The question remains today, what are Freemasonry's next great battles? We try to spread a little bit of light one person at a time. We have the Shriners hospitals, the Masonic Home, and our many other charities as well as the small things we do within our community.

If you are a true atheist, one who believes that we are nothing but atoms and molecules, that we are a purely reductionist creation, a tick-tock man in a tick-tock world, that human consciousness contains no mystery and that free will is an illusion, then I'm not certain you would find much in Freemasonry that would appeal to you.

You would find it to be irrational by your measure and its reverence for the spirit of man, and humanity as a whole, and an unbiding reverance for the Great Architect of the Universe, would not find any appeal.

As a Pantheist who does not believe in a fundamentally material Universe, instead I view reality as a vast interplay and web of creative and alive energy, I find a great deal of affinity with the underpinnings of our institution.