09/18/2026
For all that has been written, imagined, and speculated about Freemasonry, sometimes the clearest explanation is found in what is openly visible inside the Lodge.
In a Texas Masonic Lodge, when the Lodge is at work, the Holy Bible lies open upon the altar at its center. Our degrees are rich in Biblical imagery, with the building of King Solomon’s Temple providing the principal setting for much of our symbolism and instruction. The Grand Lodge of Texas states both of these facts plainly.
That Biblical connection is not accidental. Freemasonry evolved from European stonemasons' guilds whose daily operations and traditions were shaped by Christianity, and early Masonic writings reflect that heritage. But as speculative Freemasonry took recognizable form, it also embraced an important principle: men whose particular religious beliefs differed could still meet in brotherhood. Anderson’s Constitutions of 1723 spoke of leaving a man’s particular religious opinions to himself while making Masonry a “Center of Union” among good and honorable men.
That history helps explain something about Freemasonry that is often misunderstood.
Freemasonry is not a religion.
It does not offer salvation. It has no sacraments, no creed intended to replace a man’s faith, and no claim upon the place properly occupied by his church or his relationship with God. In fact, the Grand Lodge of Texas expressly states that Masonry is not a religion and that it should not interfere with a man’s religious life.
But saying Freemasonry is not a religion does not mean that it is devoid of religion or spirituality. Quite the opposite. Texas Masonry requires belief in God and teaches its lessons in a setting that continually reminds a Mason of moral responsibility, reverence, and accountability to a power greater than himself.
Here in Texas, many of our Brothers are Christians. For them, Jesus Christ is their Lord and Savior, and the Holy Bible is not merely an object resting upon a Masonic altar, it is the Sacred Scripture of their faith. Masonry does not ask a Christian to diminish that conviction, reinterpret Christ, or substitute the fraternity for his church. Nor does it ask a Brother of another faith to abandon his own sincere religious convictions.
What Masonry seeks to do is to impress upon a man the importance of integrity, charity, humility, self-examination, service to others, and faithfulness to the obligations he has undertaken before God.
A Lodge cannot give a man his faith. It should, however, continually remind him that faith ought to be lived.
Perhaps that is the simplest way to understand the Bible upon our altar. It is not evidence of some hidden Masonic religion. It is a visible reminder that the work of becoming a better man is ultimately about more than words, titles, or ceremonies. It is about the life a man leads when the meeting is over, the apron is removed, and he returns to his family, his church, his community, and the world outside the Lodge.
Freemasonry does not ask a man to leave his faith at the Lodge door. It challenges him to live that faith more faithfully when he walks back out.
