AN OBJECTIVE VIEW OF FREEMASONRY (XVI)- TEMPLES AS PLACES OF LABOUR

By a blog reader

We have thus far established that though Regular Freemasonry is not a religion it nonetheless requires a belief in a Creator. I have explained that the reasons for this are both traditional but more importantly philosophical, namely that a belief in a creator presupposes the existence of an external morality and that as far as Freemasonry is concerned while people of faith are more likely to find common ground the world view between people of faith and those without it is ultimately simply unbridgeable.

But if Freemasonry is not a religion why do they then pray together and why do they also have spaces within their lodges called Temples?

The first is easy enough to explain. Freemasons pray, at the commencement and end of their labour for providence and guidance:

May our work begun in Thee

Ever blest with order be

And may we when Labours cease

Part in harmony and peace

Essentially, Masons pray, in the same way a school assembly would pray prior to the commencement of learning or in the way a family says grace before beginning to eat. But how would you pray if your family or school consists of people of different faith? Sadly in this secular world, the unimaginative answer as we are increasingly witnessing, is simply to eliminate prayer altogether as it may be considered divisive. Well, in my opinion, the Freemasons got this one right – faced with the conundrum, rather than eliminate prayer or considering it divisive – they use wording that people of different faiths could all relate to – and in this way, they have preserved the necessity of prayer, and therefore the principle of belief in an external morality alive in a multi-confessional space. In this way, persons of different faiths may join together in prayer, concentrating on God, rather than differences among themselves. I honestly think that this was one of the strokes of genius that Freemasonry should be lauded for. How edifying it is to see the recent popes joining together with leaders of other faiths in prayer. Does this mean that anyone of those leaders somehow diluted their own idea of God? Of course not – only the fundamentalist would think that. People who unite in prayer are more likely to live in harmony than those who do not. It’s as simple as that and Freemasonry realized this centuries before the leaders of established religions did.

But why do Freemasons call the space where they perform their rituals Temples?

Regular Freemasonry defines itself as “A peculiar system of morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols”.  The key words being morality, allegory and symbols.

The Masonic Temple is not to be considered as a substitute for a church or a Mosque or any other place of worship, as in revealed religion. Masons do not perform liturgy or worship – theirs is a very different preoccupation. The Temple refers to King Solomon’s Temple which features prominently in Masonic tradition and ritual. Taken from this Masonic perspective, the Temple is therefore not a place of worship but a product of labour – with a temple allegorically rebuilt each time by those taking part, built by the forging of bonds. In other words, for the temple to be rebuilt it must be created by a common effort, man must surmount the temptation to focus on difference but focus on a higher common goal than individual impulses. Brotherhood is itself thereby an inherent good and a manifestation of morality: God, after all, can only exist between beings – the Trinitarian God is Himself a relationship of love between different persons.

In the ritualistic and allegorical rebuilding of the Temple, Masons of different religious convictions and denominations – learn to suppress (but not forsake) their differences for the sake of both the common good and the betterment of the individual himself. Masonry intrinsically understands that in this fallen world, humanity is fragmented – and that whilst the recreation of Eden is ultimately unattainable while we inhabit the material world – there are ways to at least not make the problems between humans worse – and the recipe for that is by focusing on the things that unite us rather than divide us.

In this sense, the Temple provides an inclusive space, that a Church or a Mosque or Synagogue can never achieve for they are all exclusive by their very nature. The rebuilding of the Temple teaches the craftsman that while his personal salvation is his personal matter – entirely based on his faith and his works, people of faith and goodwill can co-exist not simply as the modern world believes by respecting their differences but more importantly on building on that which they hold in common.

In this sense, Masonry not only does not undermine religion and revelation but actually complements it.