Are freemasons anti-atheists?
No. Regular freemasons are, by definition of membership requirement, non-atheists, but this does not mean that they are anti-atheists. On the other hand, Freemasonry has on occasion been accused of being atheistic simply because the accusers have defined any belief other than their own as such. In fact, regular Freemasonry has always restricted its membership to men who express a belief in Deity. But does this make Freemasonry anti-atheistic? Dr. James Anderson, in The Charges of a Freemason, wrote in 1723: “A Mason is obliged by his Tenure, to obey the moral Law; and if he rightly understands the Art, he will never be a stupid Atheist nor an irreligious Libertine.” This phrasing was carried forward unchanged for many years although at this time, in many jurisdictions, the term “stupid” has been dropped as gratuitous and insulting. While individual freemasons may consider atheists to be stupid, or ignorant, or unfortunate, many other freemasons will simply consider atheists as individu
