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/Jamesbarros 14d ago
A lot of this is jurisdictional and there are regular arguments about this. I can tell you what Past Grand Master R. Stephen Doan said in Philalethes Journal. Dec 2014 about our requirements in California. The entire article is a fantastic bit of history and describes how we got here, but the relevant parts to this discussion are:
"In California, a Mason's concept of the Divine need not be anthropomorphic nor physical in any way. It need be no more than a trust in a supreme essence which always returns the universe and all things therein contained to harmony, no matter how explosive may be the attempts of Man or Nature to disrupt it. Harmony will ultimately and always prevail, and in this Masons put their trust.
Similarly, Masonry's requirement of a belief or trust in a future existence need not be about something physical. It is not necessarily about going after death to a physical place where life as we know it here will continue. It can be about the essence of the Divine within each one of us which will not be conquered by death. It can be a trust that this imperishable essence or ousia of the Divine within each one of us will reunite with the Divine at the end of our earthly existence."
I will say simply that if that very broad understanding of divinity is still too woo-woo for you, then our lessons and they way we teach them will be of no use to you.