Hello,

For maybe a couple of months now, I have been very curious as to what Masons are all about.
I’m currently only 18, and live in Toronto Ontario Canada, so I’m confident in finding a lodge and possibly attempting to join it, but I have a few questions about the practise first.

I am especially concerned in my eligibility in becoming a mason knowing that all masons must have belief in a supreme being. Would anyone be able to clarify exactly why this is? I understand the concept of a supreme being, and how it might influence the actions and moral compass of each individual, but at the same time I feel as though I am a very moral person, without the influence of ancient texts.
I further believe that as a human being, a Non-Devine creature myself, my mental capacity for comprehending such overwhelming concepts as the existence of god is lacking, and thus establishing my own belief is very hard.
I consider myself a non-established believer in intelligent design; my conclusions are all derived from Reason, Logic, and Quantum physics, which can all validate the existence of a supreme being.
I think the proper terminology would be Deist, yet my lack of established belief might have me seem agnostic. Could someone tell me what he or she thinks I am?
That being said, I am very interested in the philosophical views of people around me, but at the age of 18, I lack any intellectual forum to express my ideas, listen to others, or to teach and to learn from.

My second fear is that masons may have a foundation that parallels the fundamentals of ‘RELIGIOUN’ (Not to have this confused with the general acceptance of a supreme being).
My simple question here is: Are masons ‘Established’ or ‘Emerging’?
And is the foundation of Masonry Established or Emerging?

Established: a structure that conserves it’s ways regardless of the changing world around it.
Emerging: a structure that accepts that it’s own architecture may not be flawless, or that it can becoming flawed, and will change its own structure accordingly.

One last note; if the fundamentals of masons are established in stating that they are emerging, simply say that they are emerging..

Thank you very much for your time in reading all of this. I wish for you the best in whatever belief you have.

All candidates for Masonry, must profess belief in the Supreme Being. The definition and beliefs of the individual, are a matter of privacy, and are of no concern to Freemasonry. No atheist can be made a Mason. The reason for this requirement, is that all Masons are required to pledge to the craft (an oath). Since atheists do not believe in a Supreme Being, they cannot take a meaningful oath. Atheists therefore exclude themselves from Masonry.

see:

http://www.masonic-renewal.org/freemasonry_explained.htm

But what does that mean for me as a deist without any established belief? I am capable of pledging an honest oath and swear on the supreme being I believe in, but if Freemasons at no point question your actual beliefs, I should have no problem getting in, right?

The freemasons don’t require you to swear on a book or a religioun do they?
They don’t ask you to take your oath with an established belief of a certain book?
I can’t say I’m christian, muslim, jewish, hindu, etc; but I can say that I overall believe that something greater than us had a hand in creating us.
Is this is all that’s required of me?

Good questions. There are many individuals in Masonry, who do not belong to one specific church or denomination. So no problem in this respect.  I see no difficulty, in your qualifying for Freemasonry.

You must pledge to your oath, on a Volume of Sacred Law. This can be the Holy Bible, or a sacred text of your own choosing. Muslims swear on the Holy Qu’ran, for example. If you decide to petition Freemasonry, you must swear an oath.  If you cannot in good conscience, take this step, and swear an oath on the Volume of your own choosing, then I suggest that you re-consider petitioning Freemasonry. Your choice.