George Washington Mason

The following is an excerpt from Founding Faith, by Steven Waldman.  It’s an interesting take on the development of the First Amendment right of Freedom of Religion.

The author suggests that George Washington promoted freedom of religion as a strategy to hold his Continental Army together as a fighting unit when disputes between protestant and catholic troops, and among protestant sects, threatened its readiness.  The author suggests another reason for freedom of religion for Washington...

Though I believe that his role as commander of the Continental army was the most important factor shaping his vision of tolerance, there may have been one other influence:  he was a Mason.

Freemasonry began as an association of bricklayers and craftsmen, in the 1720s in England, evolved into “speculative Masonry,” connecting non-craftsmen and elites for a variety of callings.  Masonry became quite important in the colonies in the period just before, during and after the American Revolution, providing a way for social elites from different realms to gather, form bonds, complete business deals, and promote common values.  The Founding Fathers were fairly obsessed with the question of how to instill enough virtue into citizens that a republic could flourish.  Institutions that could imbue personal and communal values – such as Masonic lodges and churches – were viewed as essential building blocks for democracy.  …

Though they renounced claims to being a religious organization, the Masons did have a distinct attitude about faith.  First, Masonry maintained substantial ties to biblical Judaism.  The original Masons claimed to have descended from Hiram Abiff, the master bricklayer for King Solomon’s Temple, allegedly murdered during construction.  “Rituals firmly placed Jewish biblical tradition at the hearts of all Masonry,” historian Steven Bullock has written…  By the 1700s, Masonic lodges required members to believe in a Supreme Being – what they called “the Grand Architect.”  In the years before and after the Revolution, temples typically kept a Bible in a place of honor and used scriptural passages in their rituals.  …

Later, the Masons become even more explicitly and exclusively Christian – and later still were attacked by evangelicals as anti-Christian – but during the period when Washington was most involved, the Masons stressed a broad religious tolerance.  …  Philadelphia’s St. John’s Lodge included Baptists and Presbyterians, the lodge in Newport, Rhode Island, even included Jews.

To what degree was Washington influenced by Masonry?  He was open about his involvement...  He apparently attended few private meetings, but did participate in public Masonic rituals.  ...  Most dramatically, in 1793 Washington led the ceremony laying the cornerstone of the US Capitol:  He wore a Masonic apron and sash, placed a silver plate on the stone, and then baptized it with the Masonic symbols of corn, oil and wine.  ...  [H]e was sworn in as president on a Bible borrowed from a New York Masonic temple, was surrounded in the Continental army and in his government by other Masons, and was buried with full Masonic rites.  There is no direct evidence that Masonry influenced Washington’s approach to tolerance – perhaps Washington developed the sensibility on his own and was attracted to the Masons because they shared his views – but at a minimum it reinforced Washington’s desire for nonsectarianism.