Religion
Freemasonry
The Masonic degrees as the published rituals give them, the Great Architect of the Universe, Albert Pike and the Taxil hoax, and what churches have ruled.
The United Grand Lodge of England says, “It cannot be too strongly asserted that Masonry is neither a religion nor a substitute for religion.” Its members must “affirm a belief in a ‘Supreme Being’.” The rituals printed in the nineteenth century add an altar, oaths on the Bible with physical penalties, and the staged death and raising of Hiram Abiff.
This shelf quotes those rituals, the grand lodges, Albert Pike and Albert Mackey, and the churches’ own rulings. Ritual wording differs between grand lodges and has changed over time; England removed the physical penalties from its obligations in 1986. Claims without a primary source, such as the Taxil “Luciferian doctrine” letter, are marked as fabricated or left out. See Christianity for comparison.
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How grand lodges describe Freemasonry, and what the published rituals say happens in the lodge.
The Blue Lodge Degrees
The Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft, and Master Mason degrees, quoted from the nineteenth-century exposures and the grand lodges’ own changes.
- What Are the Masonic Oaths and Penalties?
The obligations of the Blue Lodge and Royal Arch, as the nineteenth-century exposures print them, carried penalties of a cut throat, a torn-open breast, a body severed in two, and a skull smote off. The United Grand Lodge of England removed the physical penalties from its obligations in 1986.
- What Happens in the Entered Apprentice Degree?
The first Masonic degree, as Duncan’s 1866 monitor prints it: the candidate is hoodwinked with a cable-tow, received on the point of the compasses, kneels at the altar, swears an obligation with the penalty of a cut throat, and receives a lambskin apron.
- What Happens in the Fellow Craft Degree?
The second Masonic degree, as Duncan’s 1866 monitor prints it: an obligation with the penalty of a torn-open breast, the winding stairs to the Middle Chamber, and the letter G for Geometry and the Deity.
- What Happens in the Master Mason Degree?
The third Masonic degree, as Duncan’s 1866 monitor prints it: an obligation with the penalty of a body severed in two, a drama in which the candidate plays Hiram Abiff, is struck down, laid in a grave, and raised on the five points of fellowship.
- What Is the Hiram Abiff Legend and the Raising?
The Master Mason degree acts out the murder of Hiram Abiff, the builder of Solomon’s Temple, and the raising of his body. Masonic writers call it a lesson of the resurrection. Many Christians see a staged death and raising as a counterfeit of being born again.
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- What Happens in the Master Mason Degree?
The third Masonic degree, as Duncan’s 1866 monitor prints it: an obligation with the penalty of a body severed in two, a drama in which the candidate plays Hiram Abiff, is struck down, laid in a grave, and raised on the five points of fellowship.
- What Is the Hiram Abiff Legend and the Raising?
The Master Mason degree acts out the murder of Hiram Abiff, the builder of Solomon’s Temple, and the raising of his body. Masonic writers call it a lesson of the resurrection. Many Christians see a staged death and raising as a counterfeit of being born again.
Higher Degrees and Related Orders
The York Rite and the Scottish Rite, and the orders that require a Masonic connection.
- What Are the Order of the Eastern Star and DeMolay?
The Order of the Eastern Star is a Masonic-related order for men who are Master Masons and for women. DeMolay is a Masonic-sponsored order for young men aged 12 to 21. Both are tied to Freemasonry by their membership rules.
- What Are the York Rite and Scottish Rite Degrees?
After the three Blue Lodge degrees, a Master Mason may join further bodies. The York Rite adds the Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and Royal Arch degrees and the Knights Templar orders. The Scottish Rite numbers its degrees from the 4th to the 32nd.
God, Pike, and Lucifer
The Great Architect of the Universe, the Royal Arch word, Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma, and the Taxil hoax, with the documented text kept apart from the fabricated.
- Did Albert Pike Teach Lucifer Worship?
Albert Pike’s Morals and Dogma (1871) mentions Lucifer on pages 102, 321, and 324, and this page quotes each passage in context. The 1889 “Luciferian doctrine” instructions often attributed to Pike were written by Léo Taxil, who confessed the hoax in 1897.
- What Is the Great Architect of the Universe?
Grand lodges use “Great Architect of the Universe” as a name for a Supreme Being each member defines by his own faith. This page quotes those definitions, the Royal Arch word Jahbulon and the church reports on it, and traces the claim that high-degree Masons worship an evil god to a confessed hoax.
What Churches Say
Official texts from the Catholic Church and Protestant and Orthodox bodies, linked to each document.
- Can a Christian Be a Freemason?
Grand lodges say Freemasonry is not a religion and welcomes men of every faith. Most churches that have studied it say its rituals, prayers, and oaths make it a religious system that a Christian should not join. This page sets out both claims from their own texts.
- What Do Churches Say About Freemasonry?
Official texts from the Catholic Church (1738, 1983, 2023), the Southern Baptist Convention (1993), the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, the Church of Greece (1933), the Methodist Church of Great Britain (1985 and 1996), the Church of England (1987), the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (1942), the Assemblies of God, and the Christian Reformed Church.
Common Arguments and Objections
Claims that come up in this conversation, with the article that walks through each one.
- Freemasonry is a men’s fraternity for friendship and charity, nothing more.
The published rituals include an altar, prayers to the Great Architect of the Universe, oaths on the Bible, and a degree that speaks of being raised to the faith of salvation.
- Grand lodges say Masonry is neither a religion nor a substitute for religion, so a Christian can join.
Mackey called Masonry an eminently religious institution and Pike called every lodge a temple of religion; most churches that have studied it reject membership.
- Many respected pastors and church leaders have been Masons, so it must be compatible with Christianity.
The 1993 Southern Baptist report named Masonic Baptist leaders and still found many Masonic teachings incompatible with Christianity.