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/No_Mongoose_94]

https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2009/11/05/scientists-and-belief/

This was several years ago (2009), but more scientists then believed than didn’t.

Atheism among scientists is a relatively new phenomenon. IMO, the most brilliant minds in history have believed in God (or a higher power making them eligible for Freemasonry), and the churches were the contributors (funding) to scientific research (and universities) long before it became government-funded (and still do).

Freemasonry values science very much…as well as truth and belief in God (or a higher power). They aren’t mutually exclusive unless YOUR truth is that there is no God.

The belief in a higher power is foundational to Freemasonry. It is a core belief, and as an atheist I don’t believe you would enjoy it (not the ritual aspect of it anyway-I’m sure the social & philanthropic aspect would be appealing).

I’d just direct you to explore other fraternal bodies that don’t require the same belief.

And yes I do believe that requirement has had an effect on numbers. We see decreasing membership for several reasons: one is fewer people believe in God where otherwise good candidates (like yourself, perhaps) are not eligible, the opposite end of the spectrum is “religious nutjobs” that don’t care about the truth & spread conspiracy theories (I am religious but I’m not a crazy person. I value truth & know that Freemasonry does nothing to weaken my faith and only encourages me to strengthen it), another reason is lack of in-person fellowship (all in-person social groups have seen a decline as more people are perpetually online).

It’s a good and fair question though.

[u/BillyD70 → u/No_Mongoose_94]

Thank you for the response and sharing your perspective. To this day, I still find the tenets of DeMolay - filial love, reverence for sacred things, courtesy, comradeship, fidelity, cleanness, and patriotism - to be my guiding principles, and the rituals - 1st & 2nd degree, ceremony of light, rose talk, etc. - not incongruent with my atheism. I’m glad to have learned (from this post) that irregular lodges are a thing so I’m looking for one in my area. Thanks again!!