Is Freemasonry A Religion Or A Fraternity? ( Legal precident)

In a 1921 decision, the Supreme Court of Nebraska, in the case of the

Scottish Rite Building Company vs. Lancaster County, ruled that

Freemasonry was not a religion.

"The true interpretation of the Masonic attitude in that respect

[religion] is that no religious test at all is applied as a condition

of membership. The guiding thought is not religion but religious

toleration. The order simply exacts of its members that they shall not

be atheists and deny the existence of any God or Supreme Being. Each

member is encouraged to pay due reverence to his own God, the Deity

prescribed by his own religion.... The Masonic Fraternity, in other

words, refrains from intruding into the field of religion and confines

itself to the teaching of morality and duty to one's fellow men, which

make better men and better citizens. The distinction is clear between

such ethical teachings and the doctrines of religion."

Scottish Rite Building Company vs. Lancaster County, 106 Nebraska 95,

184 N.W. 574 (1921), pp. 102-106.