My Professor is a Freemason

well christians make up the majority of the US population regardless of denomination so is it hard to make the leap to guess MOST us masons are christians?

Originally posted by Damocles
well christians make up the majority of the US population regardless of denomination so is it hard to make the leap to guess MOST us masons are christians?

Yes, it in fact is. Statistics 101. In order for the sample (masons) to represent the population (of the united states), the defining characteristics of the sample must be similar to the population, and there can be no material difference. But oh wait, arent all "mainstream" masons men since its a fraternity? Oops, material difference. Can't generalize.

reply to post by LightinDarkness


unless of course most US men happened to be christian....one flavor or another

reply to post by Damocles


But then again they really aren't, and this also assumes no other material difference (which would be wrong). Who gets to define what is christian? The truth is that most people will claim they are christian because of the social desirability factor.

Why do you insist on arguing this? Let it go.

From my own personal experience, I can say that most Masons I personally are of the Christian faith. Masonry was originally Christian-only, so even though it now admits non-Christians in most countries, it still retains a traditional heritage (for example, the dedication of Lodges to the Holy Saints John).

Even in the US, UK, and Canada, where Christianity is not required to join the Lodge, Chapter, and Council, Christianity is nevertheless a prerequisite to join the Commandery, as well as some other Masonic organizations, such as the Royal Order of Scotland, the Rite of Strict Observance, and the Masonic Rosicrucian Society. In the UK, one must also be a Christian in order to join the Ancient and Accepted (Scottish) Rite.