what can you tell me about Freemasons and religion?

here come the conspiracy theories

EDIT:

see, what did i tell you

look at David's response

freemasonry has nothing to do with the devil

on the contrary, they are a very charitable organization that has helped millions

My father was a Freemason in his later years, and my source on this is him. The Masons are not a religion. They are a fraternal order, similar to Elks, Moose, Eagles, and so on. They are not a secret organization, but an organization with secrets, like most others. To my knowledge, these 'secrets' consist mainly of handshakes and other recognition signs, by which one brother Mason may meet and know another. To be eligible, one must profess a belief in a Supreme Being. No specific god is named, but they refer to it as "The Supreme Architect of the Universe." To join, one must ask a Mason one knows to become one's sponsor.

They do not, as many seem to think, worship Satan. My father would certainly never have been one if that had been the case. Among their charities are the world renowned Shriner's Hospitals for crippled children, none of which has ever turned away a child for lack of its family's ability to pay.

That's about it. Pretty boring, really. No Illuminati, no blood-soaked rituals, none of that nonsense. Just guys in goofy hats.

How about a short, sweet, answer from a Freemason?

Every Freemason has a religion. Belief, faith, and trust in the Creator is a primary mandate to become a Mason.

What a man's religion is however, his specific beliefs, etc. concerning the Creator- is his own business and concern- not anyone else's, and not that of the Fraternity.

I can tell you that Freemasonry is a fraternity, not a religion. What an individual Freemason believes is between him and the Great Architect of the Universe.

It all started from Enoch, the grand father of Noah; it seems that he possessed superior building skills that experts say could have come from an alien source. Enoch travelled to many countries outside the Middle East building fantastic structures in other lands.

Enoch passed on his knowledge to Noah who built a boat whose dimensions are unique by modern standards.

The knowledge was secretly preserved and passed on through slavery in Egypt to the building of the temple of solomon.

The Templars sealed the sacred order and made it international to special folks through the centuries. A good example of a modern freemasoner is Sir Christopher Wren. The secret skills can be observed in many great structures all over the world today...and it goes on.

But there was another link with the Freemasons which was started with an Englishman Cecil Rhodes; a member of the secret order, Rhodes left loads of money to the University of Oxford for the purpose of educating intelligent young men to spread a secet discipline to Europe and America; it was then the conspiracy began...but you said you were not looking for conspiracy...so I will stop here.

Actually Freemasonry accepts any good man that believes in a higher power. It is involved with religion only as far as encouraging masons to render the worship that is due to their god(s).

Each lodge has its own character, and while some (especially in the south) may be "good old boys", others have members from various religions.

My understanding is that it requires the belief in some God or deity. In ceremony and such they simply say the "Great Architect." I think that a majority of Masons are deist. Also, they aren't allowed to talk about religion within their lodge.

That really about sums it up.

what would you like to know?

you need to believe in a supreme being, a creator God, to be a freemason. freemasonry is not a religion, it does not teach a path to salvation, there is no worship in freemasonry.

ignore david... he's lying, and has admitted it.

Freemasons are a private social club. Any resemblance to religion is just cosplay. It is a Good Ol Boy's club, so don't be surprised if they don't allow religious minorities in.

There are a couple of sources below. I'm trying to learn more myself.