So which religions do openly accept Free Masons in their church as members?
I just received the question "So which religions do openly accept Free Masons in their church as members? " in a comment to one of my previous blog posts.
This is certainly an interesting question, though I think it would be easier to list the ones that openly *reject* Freemasonry, as they are easier to identify.
The single religion at the top of the list which is opposed to Freemasonry is Catholicism. This has a lot to do with history and the fact that the Enlightenment ideas in Freemasonry largely came about in response to the ideological oppression of the Roman Catholic Church in past centuries. Freemasonry and the rise of protestantism also have a lot in common.
Today the Catholic Church is still 'officially' against Freemasonry and has reaffirmed that position fairly recently. That said, few Catholics actually abide by every rule and regulation set forth by the Roman Catholic Church. For example, the RC still says you shouldn't use condoms but I'm quite sure that today there are millions of Catholics who ignore this little rule. Likewise, many Catholics also choose to become Freemasons and just don't bother to tell their Church leaders about that fact. Personally I think it is nice to see individual Catholics exercise their free will from time time time, I find it intellectually refreshing.
Likewise you might expect other authoritarian religions to be opposed to Freemasonry. For example, I do not know for a fact that "Jehovah's Witnesses" are against Freemasonry but, let's get real, I find it hard to believe they would allow it. This is a religion that will not allow twin brothers to speak to each other if one of them used to be a member of the church and later dropped out (I know this for a fact from personal experience.) The "Jehovah's Witnesses" is probably the most controlling and authoritarian psuedo-mainstream religion in the world.
"Mormonism" is also a very controlling and authoritarian religion but, strangely, many of its members are Freemasons. This is largely historical, as the founders of this religion were Freemasons and borrowed many elements of our ritual to incorporate into their ceremonies. (For example, the square and compass are represented on the breast of the sacred undergarments, and many other ritual elements were borrowed for the Temple Ceremony).
Another mainstream authoritarian religion in our culture is the Baptist Church. Of course there are many different flavors of dogma even within Churches that all still consider themselves Baptists. There was a particular controversy some years ago when at the Southern Baptist Convention there was a movement to deny any member of the Church from becoming a Freemason. There was a lot of vocal support for this movement and it was a big controversy. In the end the change did not occur, since so many members of the Baptist Church have traditionally been Freemasons. Many members of my own lodge are devout Baptists and you often find Baptist clergy involved as well. This debate continues to wage and it is certainly true that in many Baptist Churches you would be in big trouble if you admitted you were a Freemason.
Other than that I don't know of any particular issues. Freemasonry and Protestantism developed side by side and most Protestant religions have no particular issue with their members being Freemasons. Likewise, many Jews have been involved in Freemasonry as it was the one place where members of different religions could meet together in peace and harmony. Much of the Freemason ritual makes reference to important Old Testament elements that resonate with members of the Jewish faith. I know of no conflicts between Judaism and Freemasonry.
I am sure there are no conflicts between Freemasonry and either Buddhism or Hinduism. Likewise, any of the more ancient religions, such as Native Americans, Wiccans, or other nature based theologies would fit nicely within the framework of Freemasonry.
As far as Islam goes, it is hard to say. Who speaks 'officially' for Islam anyway? These folks are still killing each other over subtleties that few of us can even understand. I did find the following article on the topic, you can read it at this link.
It is difficult to make broad statements about religions and religious belief. Within a single protestant faith you can find a vast and broad divergence in dogma; often leading to wide schisms based on subtleties that few parishioners even know about, think about, or can even grasp.
Enter a Baptist Church in the same city, one predominantly white and the other predominantly black, and you may suffer culture shock that can boggle your mind. Now compare one Church in the East coast, to one in the Midwest, to another in the South and finally one of supposedly the same denomination in San Francisco.
All I can say for sure is that Freemasonry itself doesn't give a damn what religion you belong to. It simply asks that you profess a belief in The Great Architect of the Universe and no further discussion will ever entail between you and your brethren on the topic.
Comments
While it is true some Southern Baptists have big problems with you being a Freemason this only true of some but by no means all Baptist denominations or even the majority of Baptist denominations.
My own denomination for example, American Baptist Churches, USA has no problem with a man being a Mason. I also know that there are a lot of PHA Masons among several large African-American Baptist denominations.
As far as I know the SBC is the only Baptist entity in the US that has made a concerted effort to oppose Freemasonry.
S&F
Tim
From my own cynical point of view I believe that most religions that are opposed to Freemasonry are simply against it as a threat to their own financial interests. I have strong personal reasons for this level of cynicism.
At the end of the day, any of these 'authoritarian' religions which try to tell what you can or cannot do or, worse yet, what you can or cannot think, are in fundamental conflict with the core principles of Freemasonry.
These controlling religions have good reason to be afraid of Freemasonry, our ideas of freedom of speech, freedom of thought, and principles of morality which transcend dogma, are a threat to their bottom line.
Brother John
I would suggest that the majority of Jehovah's Witness Masons were already Masons before they became Jehovah's Witnesses. (Conversion to JW is probably more likely than being born into it, due to their well known proselyting behavior.) Their Masonic obligation can never be repudiated, or laid aside. They may become inactive in Masonry, possibly admonished to do so by their religious leaders, and as Masons, we need to support them in putting God first, as nothing in our obligation can conflict with one's duty to God. We also have to respect their free will to determine what their duty to God is, to the best of their ability.
I am a Mormon. (Albeit, an unusual one.) There are many other Mormons in my Lodge, I think the number is eight right now, and there are many others I know in other locations who are Masons as well. The Historic connection is indeed powerful. There are Masonic emblems on many of our public buildings erected from the 1840's-1910's, and Masonry is clearly the reason the Beehive became the state emblem of Utah (by way of Brigham Young's affinity to that symbol.)
Catholics. I know of those who are Masons as well. I would be careful to come down one way or the other on whether this is a good thing. Duty to God and Duty to Church are so easily confused, while sometimes they are aligned, and sometimes they are not, and it isn't my place to decide when that is. Personally, I like to see them in Lodge, and have heard from them that their experience is Lodge is enriched by their experience with Catholicism. (Something I also relate to, as a Mormon.)
I pause at the reference to our Islamic brethren. I haven't met any in my locale, but my heart goes out to them and I wish them all the best in Lodge. I would be proud to see the Holy Quran open on our altar. I hope that Masonry inspires true unity and tolerance in a way that would help keep any Muslim (or any Christian, for that matter) tempered in such a way that they do not become an extremist.
Thanks for a thought provoking post!
I thought my post was carefully worded and balanced. Except for my frank statements about JW, I thought it was quite fair and balanced.
Please look to my concluding statement where I made some effort to point out how varied the ideology can be between one organized religion and the next as it crosses communities and cultures.
Moreover, the original question was about specific organized religions, not the belief of any individual follower of that faith.
Finally, look, I have a major problem with Jehovah's Witnesses. I mean a *MAJOR* problem. My reasons are solid, well founded, and based on untold amounts of intimate personal experience as I have seen this religion rip families apart and hasten the death of children.
So, don't get me started.
My opinion of Mormonism probably isn't a secret any more, but I thought I was very generous in my commentary in this most recent post.
Just because I think Mormon is a (opinion redacted) doesn't mean anyone else can't believe whatever they want.
I really felt I made a thoughtful, balanced, and restrained post. I'm surprised you felt otherwise.
Brother John
http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1993/9306qq.asp
>"Personally I think it is nice to see individual Catholics exercise their free will from time time time, I find it intellectually refreshing."
While you may find serious sin intellectually refreshing, most Catholics find it spiritually destructive. (BTW, neither you nor the Freemasons have the authority to decide what is a sin and what isn't, the Church does.)
I didn't say I had a problem with what you said. In fact, I liked your conclusions and found them thought provoking, as I said. I was merely trying to say that had I been a brother of one of those other faiths, I may have found the words a little bit on the harsh edge, which may have put me off from actually reading the post all the way to conclusion.
But I did read it to conclusion. And I agree, by and large. And I've seen the JW family ripping thing too. In fact, I have a close friend who went through it. I was merely trying to show that you can never have too much tact when talking about something that may be considered sacred to a worthy Brother.
As you may or may not be aware, I've had my history of quarrels with the Mormon Church. I find the modern Church nearly repulsive, which saddens me, because I find so many of the original doctrines so valuable to my spiritual journey. What I'm trying to say is, you could slander the Church openly and it wouldn't slander my own faith, so I don't really speak from the perspective of one of them.
To brother Tim,
Good to see you again! And, I would contend that Churches have no right to decide what is or isn't sin. Only God does. And people have the right to decide which Church they will fellowship with, or become a member of, or if they won't go along with any of them at all. :-) Oh yeah, scored one against the minister. Just kidding.
Brotherly love to the both of you, and happy new years!
But, you are right. Leaders have been antagonistic towards it, but I'd say this antagonism is more recent, but lingers even today. Nonetheless, the younger generation is becoming more interested, as they don't carry with them their parents dogma surrounding the Fraternity, and the Internet spawns interest in the historic connections between the two. In Utah, however, the number of Mormons among the Masons is probably lower than elsewhere, because strong peer pressure keeps alive the old feelings.
Here in Roseburg, Oregon, I'd venture a guess (And all it is is a guess, because I don't typically inquire as to the churches which my Masonic brethren attend), that the LDS as a single specific denomination outnumber any other single denomination of active Masons. I do say Active Masons - as I'm only considering the ones I see at Lodge on a regular basis. And I'm not saying we outnumber the others in general, just that we are probably the single largest group. I think Southern Baptist is the second largest. These are only rough guesses based on what I've heard from other brethren. I'm sure it differs from place to place, relative to the predominance of various denominations in the area and whether or not local churches have had any anti-Masonic "curriculum" floating around them.
And now back to the topic at hand. I myself am really curious about the Jehovah's Witnesses who ARE Masons, if there are any? Their founder, Charles T. Russell had a certain personal intrigue in Masonry, which may give them an interesting angle on it. He was buried beneath a pyramid with a Knights Templar logo on it, for one. But, knowing their teachings as much as I do, I'm inclined to think they would really frown upon Masonic association today. Does anyone have a definite answer on this or a quote from one of their leaders (or the Watchtower, as it were)?
There is another class of individuals to whom I will briefly refer. Shall we call them Christians? They were Christians originally. We cannot be admitted into their social societies, into their places of gathering at certain times and on certain occasions, because they are afraid of polygamy. I will give you their title that you may all know whom I am talking about it—I refer to the Freemasons. They have refused our brethren membership in their lodge, because they were polygamists. Who was the founder of Freemasonry? They can go back as far as Solomon, and there they stop. There is the king who established this high and holy order. Now was he a polygamist, or was he not? If he did believe in monogamy he did not practice it a great deal, for he had seven hundred wives, and that is more than I have; and he had three hundred concubines, of which I have none that I know of.
-Brigham Young, Journal of Discourses, Vol. XI, February 10, 1867.
I gather that you've had a bad experience with the organized religious group of your childhood and, I'm very sorry about that.
But, it kind of stings to hear the old saw that all churches (or clergy running) are after is your money. I know other Christian clergy who are opposed to Freemasonry for what they believe are doctrinal grounds. Other than a handful of anti-Masonic authors who are making money off of this, I've never heard a complaint from a Pastor that the Masons stopped supporting the church budget so they oppose the fraternity. And, I know clergy from numerous denominations and quite a few other religions.
Given that mainline Protestant clergy are some of the most highly educated and poorly paid professionals I know and that mainline churches give millions of dollars to the poor and needy, if we were after the almighty dollar most of us would choose to do something else for a living.
I'm afraid you are projecting your bad personal experience on an entire religion rather than blaming the local church or your own former denomination for what happened to you.
Large Organized Religious Institutions have a great amount of complexity inherent in their governance. While I suspect that money (and more likely they wish to maintain all control over the morals, dogma, rituals, beliefs, AND financial charity of the followers of the organization) may be one part of the grand equation that causes a religion to reject masonry, I suspect the larger reason would be (an arbitrary) tradition. It commanded members to not join masonry yesterday, last year, etc, and stubborness is a trait that I think many organizations share with many individuals (Being stubborn serves many purposes, many of which may be benefitial.)
Every individual makes the choices they feel are best for their own situation as they live life. Some people (including those at the upper eschilons of orgranized religion) may view certain choices made by others as being dishonest and wrong, but really... only you, or your god (if you believe in such) will ultimately know the true intent of your choice.
They sent me a thing telling me that not only was masonry incompatible with Catholocism, it was indeed incompatible with Chrtianity... you know, I dont think God, or Jesus really cares whether or not I am a Mason...
The most outspoken and harsh critic of Freemasonry is the Roman Catholic Church, but also some protestant denominations, especially evangelical ones, such as the Southern Baptist Convention (now I remember President Harry Truman was both, a Southern Baptist AND a freemason, but the SBC became a critic decades later), Free Methodist Church, Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Seventh-day Adventist Church, almost all Pentecostals if not all, Quakers, Anabaptists (including Menonites), among others. The Eastern Orthodox Church is also a critic of Freemasonry, as well as Islam (although in secular states such as Turkey, it's not banned and there are some muslims who are freemasons; it's the very opposite in Islamic States such as Iran).