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Morris I. Budkofsky
Thanks to M.W. Bro. Budkofsky,
PGM and Grand Historian of the Grand Lodge of Connecticut for his very
insightful look at Prayer in our Masonic Lodges. Frequently we tend to forget that
Freemasonry is non-sectarian and represents men of all faiths who believe in
GOD.
To most Masons, especially those who have made no special
study of the Craft and its philosophy—the universality of Masonry, of which they
hear so much, means only its wide distribution throughout the civilized world.
If we were to ask a hundred average Master Masons, whether
or not Freemasonry is a Christian organization, without a moment’s thought, many
will agree that it is. There was a time when Freemasonry was Christian in
character, and some of its early enthusiasts did all they could to keep it so.
Some Christian influences still survive in our ritual and practice—the Holy St’s
John are characters taken from the New Testament, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah
is difficult to explain except as a Christian symbol, the New as well as the Old
Testament is the Book of Law on Masonic Altars in all English-speaking
countries.
But Masonry is not Christian: nor is it Mohammedan nor
Jewish nor to be classified by the name of any other sect. The power which has
held it together, the nourishment which has caused its growth, the central theme
which makes it unique, is the opportunity it affords men of every faith, happily
to kneel together at the same Altar, each in worship of the GOD he reveres,
under the universal name of C~reat Architect of the
Universe.
Here, and here alone, is the real universality of
Freemasonry. It is the drawing power
which brings men together to follow a common ideal of charity and brotherhood.
It is the cement which holds men to their obligations and makes for common
understanding. It is the tie which binds one generation to another, and which
says to all initiates “you are brothers because of mutual manhood, not because
of your beliefs.”
The universality of Freemasonry is in its toleration of
every man’s faith, so it is monotheistic.
Freemasonry must constantly be aware of those within our
fraternity who would attempt to convert us into an organization we were never
intended to be. It is of paramount importance in todays
Masonic circles of leadership that there be a
continuing emphasis on the universality of Freemasonry. As relates to the First
Book of Constitution (“it is the religion in which all good men agree”) it is
based on a foundation which supports all religions, creeds and sects. Once
Masons unite under its banner, they may afterwards proceed to build for
themselves temples of worship for all the great religions of the world. While
Freemasonry does not interfere with these extra curricular activities, we must
insist that whatever be their private opinions, Masons shall stand on that
foundation.
One of the most important of all our regulations is that
which forbids us to participate, as Masons, in any form of religious or
political sectarianism. The fraternity’s attitude towards all such sectarianism
is more than merely one of a negative position. It goes further than
just a hands off policy. It
is rather an affirmative position, for it definitely prohibits all Masons from
sectarian controversies in any form.
Such controversies are un-Masonic, that is, they are outright violations of
written Masonic law.
It is not difficult for one to understand the reason for
this regulation. Freemasonry exists for the sake of, is dedicated and devoted
to, the philosophy of Brotherhood. Brotherhood means that many of us, men drawn
from all walks of life, with a great variety of racial characteristics,
religious and political opinions, are brought together, and kept together, in a
relationship of friendship, harmony and good-will.
To maintain that harmony, it is necessary that whatever
passions and prejudices might divide
us into opposing groups,
feuds, schisms or conflicting
cliques, must be kept out at all
cost. Nothing is more likely to
destroy the peace and harmony of
the craft than religious and
political sectarianism. For this
reason, sectarianism is prohibited
in Freemasonry because the
welfare of the fraternity and the
brotherhood it teaches require
All of which adds up to the fact that Freemasonry seeks to
unite men into one guild or union and thus becomes the means of conciliating
true friendship among the persons that might have remained at a perpetual
distance. And the prinicple of universality as to
religious beliefs has been and continues to be our greatest heritage and our
greatest challenge.
Innovations in the body of Masonry over the years have had
a way of becoming fact instead of fiction. When innovations in the body of
Masonry either esoteric, exoteric or physical are
introduced and virtually-go unchallenged, they have a way of becoming the
accepted practice and their elimination becomes the innovation.
In the “Charge” of the Master Mason degree, we were
admonished to carefully preserve the Ancient Landmarks of the Order entrusted to
our care. The Landmarks of Masonry are those an-cient
principles and practices which mark out and distinguish Freemasonry as such, and
constitute our source of Masonic Jurisprudence.
Freemasonry is defined in its “Statement of Principles” as
a charitable, benevolent, educational, and religious society. Religious in that it teaches monotheism, which is the sole dogma of Freemasonry. Belief in one God is
required of every initiate, but his conception of the Supreme Being is left to
his own interpretation. This is the basis of our universality. The Holy Bible is
open upon its altar whenever a lodge is in session,
reverence for God is ever present in its ceremonials. The Great Light of
Freemasonry is the Volume of the Sacred Law which is an indispensable part of
the furniture of a Masonic Lodge. The Grand Lodges of the United States use the
Holy Bible as the volume of Sacred Law on their altars, however the candidate
who is not a Christian or of the Jewish faith is entitled to have his own sacred
book substituted for the Bible.
In some Lodges in other countries, the altars of Masonry
have more than one volume of the Sacred Law on them and the candidate may choose
the one on which he is obligated.
No lodge may stand open and remain so unless the Holy Bible
is open upon its altar, its pages displaying the proper passage appropriate to
the degree in which the lodge is working. The open Bible signifies that by the
light of its teachings, we must regulate our conduct, for it is the rule and
guide of our faith.
Past Grand Master, The Rev. Thomas S. Roy, D.D., Grand
Master of Masons in
“I am quite sure that as Brethren we shall strengthen the
bonds that unite us as we find common expression in prayer rather than assert
our right to use, each his own, distinctive phraseology.”
Writing on belief in God, as the first of
the Ancient Landmarks in his classic book, “Dare We Be Masons?” The Rev.
and Most Worshipful Brother Roy says: “It is when we
formulate our beliefs about God that we create divisions.”
“Faith in God unites us, but belief about God, which is
theology, divides us.”
“Freemasonry has no theology. It does not go from faith to
speculation, which is theology, but from faith to demonstration, which is life.”
“Freemasonry makes no attempt to put a label on God that
would place him at the front of a Masonic procession.”
In 1953, Most Worshipful Brother Robert A. Nisbet, addressing the Grand Lodge of Connecticut said in
part:
“Masonry is the common ground where men of every race and
nation, where men of every sect and creed, where men of every shade of religious
belief and of every political opinion can meet and be united in one Brotherhood,
under one God, and in a natural religion in which they can all agree and yet
still retain their.... individual religious and political beliefs.”
“If men wish to foregather and work for their ideas and
convictions with men whose religious and political beliefs coincide closely with
their own, there is a wide field for their activities and they conceivably may
do much good in the world for proselyting and even
fighting for their convictions, either political, or religious, or both.”
“But a Masonic Lodge is not their sphere for such activity.
The strength of Masonry is its nonpolitical and non-sectarian character, and
anyone who tries to Christianize Masonry, as did Dermott early in the Eighteenth
Century, or as many still try to do, no matter what their good intentions, do
Masonry a disservice.”
The Universality of Freemasonry can only be accomplished
when we accept and understand what we read in the Old Charge; i.e. we recognize
non-sectarianism as an important lesson in the teachings of Freemasonry; when we
subscribe to the 1939 Declaration of Principles, as adopted by the Conference of
Grand Masters in North America; when we take seriously that which we teach and
speak a great deal of and on occasion seemingly practice very little. Then and
only then will one’s religious denomination or persuasions become secondary,
thus Freemasonry becomes the center of union, and the means of conciliating true
Friendship among persons that might have remained at a perpetual distance.
In summation, Masons meet on the level and seek to
conciliate true friendship among those of every sect and
opinion ..Any prayer in the lodges should be such that any Mason could
freely respond, “So mote it be,” an old phrase which
may be interpreted to mean, “This is my prayer, too”.....
Then let us pray and lecture in those universal terms which
can unite all Masons in agreement. Let each Mason hold to his own faith firmly
while he accords the same precious right to every other Mason.
It may be in some lodges, particularly in smaller
communities, that all of the local Brethren are professing Christians. Still,
visiting Masons may come to the meetings of such a lodge. All of us would want
any visitor to feel at home, and welcome. The visit of a Mason
who is a Jew or a Hindu, should not require a change in the usual practices of
any lodge. All Masons should be received in the spirit of brotherhood and
hospitality.
Let it be a precept of the Craft that everything done in the lodge should be such that any Mason could join in without offense to his faith or discomfort to his conscience.