Does Masonry teach salvation by works?
No. Religions teach salvation. Masonry is not a religion; it is a fraternity of men, most of whom are active in their churches or synagogues. Masons are encouraged to be faithful in their houses of worship. Many critics quote Albert Pike in Morals and Dogma when he says, Every Masonic Lodge is a temple of religion; and its teachings are instruction in religion. Pike also spoke of a religion of toil, and a religion of society. In another place in Morals and Dogma, he says, Masonry is not a religion. He who makes of it a religious belief, falsifies and denaturalizes it. What does Pike mean by his use of the term religion? Pike is not saying there is a religion of toil or a religion of society any more than he is saying there is a religion of Freemasonry. As I said in Fundamentalism and Freemasonry, Pike is using the term religion in a much broader sense than one typically thinks when a person uses the phrase the Christian religion. Pike is using the term to mean the general awareness tha
