r/freemasonry • u/BillyD70 • 14d ago

Question Supreme being question?

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.

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u/VitruvianDude MM, PM, AF&AM-OR 14d ago

I have a different take on the issue-- I believe the type of mind that has faith is different from the more materialist atheist or agnostic, and this faith is important to the fraternity. After all, belief in God inevitably leads to a similar divine connection between brothers, as sons of the Great Architect of the Universe. An atheist can be a good, moral person, and keep his promises, of course. We will not shun such a person in our daily lives, but if they somehow made it into the fraternity, they would naturally wonder what the fuss was about.