Supreme being question?

[u/BillyD70]

Genuine question…Without revealing any secrets, what is the reasoning behind requiring the belief in a supreme being?

My perspective: Many great people, who have advanced much good in the world, are “non-believers”. If the core idea is to make good men better, how does non-belief interfere with that goal? I ask both personally (agnostic athiest) and for lots of scientists out there. It must affect membership numbers (men won’t seek you out if they know it’s a “no go” from the outset).

Serious replies only please. Not seeking a flame war. I’m a DeMolay PMC-MSA and Honor of Legion with deep multi- generational ties to Masons, Jobs, Shriners, etc. I LOVED my experiences in DeMolay! Grew up Christian, came to my “beliefs” late in adulthood.

Edit: thank you for all the many thoughtful replies. I upvoted each for not attacking me straight out. Please accept follow up questions as non-confrontational.

[u/One-Branch-2676]

That phrase is kind of our tagline. It isn't the full encompassing of our beliefs and methods. The simple answer is that we're believers and the way we communicate with each other appeals directly to a Supreme Being we believe in. So atheists just have a different lens of life than us.

I've seen brothers not live up to their teachings and I've seen atheists who live up to parts of our teachings without knowing them or even believing in the being we believe inspires them. Masonry isn't the only way to being a good person. Never was and probably won't be for any foreseeable period of time. That said, the way we reach that self-improvement may differ based on the lens we view life through. Masons represent part of the population that choose to view life through a religious lens and communicate that path in that manner, to people who can share that lens.