Christianity and Freemasonry - Protestant Churches

Protestant Churches

Although many Protestant denominations do not prohibit or discourage their members from joining Masonic lodges and have not issued any position papers condemning Freemasonry other churches have formally opposed Masonry and spoken of the problems they see with Christians belonging to Masonic lodges.

In some instances, these are relatively small church bodies which broke from the mainline Protestant denominations in recent decades, citing as their reason their opposition to theological liberalism or diversity. The largest by far of the Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Methodist church bodies in the United States have not taken a stand against Freemasonry, and many Masons are active members of them. The largest of the Anglican churches in the United States, The Episcopal Church, has taken no stance against Masonry, nor have the various smaller Continuing Anglican and independent Anglican church bodies.

There is a range of intensity among those Protestant denominations which discourage their congregants from joining Masonic lodges. Denominations that, in some form or other, discourage membership of Freemasons include the small Evangelical Lutheran Synod, to larger Protestant church bodies. Among Protestants opposed to Freemasonry are the Church of the Nazarene, Mennonites, The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Church of the Brethren, Assemblies of God, Society of Friends (Quakers), Free Methodist church, Seventh-day Adventist Church, Orthodox Presbyterian Church, Free Church of Scotland, Baptist Union of Great Britain and Ireland, Presbyterian Church in America, Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland. Most of these condemnations resulted from the work of church committees appointed only in recent decades. Many of these Protestant condemnations have never been enforced.

The Church of Scotland does not ban congregants from becoming Freemasons, but in 1989 the general assembly said there were "very real theological difficulties" with Church of Scotland members being Freemasons.

The 1985 Methodist Conference in England said that Freemasonry competed with Christian beliefs, asking that Methodist Freemasons reconsider their membership and that Masonic meetings be banned from Methodist premises. It did not, however, call for a ban on membership, and some Masonic meetings have continued to take place on Methodist premises.