what is the craft position on religion according to the 1723 constitutions

The First Charge of the 1723 Constitutions, titled "Concerning God and Religion," replaced the specifically Christian obligations of older manuscript charges with a requirement to observe the moral law 2. Instead of adhering to particular denominational tenets, members are charged only to hold "that Religion in which all Men agree," defined as being good, true, honourable, and honest, while leaving specific religious opinions to each brother 12. This framework was established as a center of union to reconcile men who would otherwise remain at a perpetual distance 1.

While requiring a belief in God or a Supreme Being and respecting the personal convictions of its members, Freemasonry functions as a shared space of harmony rather than a religion or a substitute for religion, as the United Grand Lodge of England states. Atheists—termed "stupid Atheists" in the text—and "irreligious libertines" are excluded 12. In the early eighteenth century, non-believers were viewed as lacking the foundation required for oaths and moral obligations, making their exclusion standard practice to protect the standing of the Craft 2.

Scholars disagree on the intended scope of the 1723 text. Robert Peter outlines a view held by several Masonic historians that James Anderson intended only an ecumenical reconciliation among Christian denominations following the conflicts of the preceding century 2. However, Peter argues that the actual wording went further by removing explicit Christian doctrines in favor of an inclusive natural religion 2. This broader phrasing enabled lodges in the Craft to admit Dissenters, Catholics, and, within a decade of publication, non-Christian members such as Jewish brethren 2. The principle established in 1723 allowed members to pursue universal religion rather than being bound to a specific denomination, as an article on the 1723 Constitutions website notes.

James Anderson drafted and authored the First Charge concerning God and religion for the 1723 Constitutions 2, as an article on the 1723 Constitutions website notes. Before its publication under the authority of the Premier Grand Lodge of England, Anderson's manuscript was read, amended, and approved in 1722 by a committee of fourteen learned brethren 2.

Although Anderson was a Presbyterian minister with orthodox theological views, he phrased the Charge to establish the moral law as the primary principle of the Craft rather than any specific Christian dogma 2. Prominent Grand Lodge figures such as John Theophilus Desaguliers worked alongside Anderson during this period, accepting his removal of explicit Christian references in order to avoid religious controversy and make the lodge an inclusive center of union 2.

The Antient Masons strongly objected to the removal of Christian elements from masonic practice, viewing the Moderns' replacement of Christian allusions with Old Testament figures as an unwarranted disruption of traditional landmarks 2. This resistance to the de-Christianization of Craft ceremonies remained a major point of friction throughout the eighteenth century 2.

Paradoxically, when Laurence Dermott compiled the Antients' official statute book, *Ahiman Rezon*, he extracted the Old Charges directly from the 1738 edition of James Anderson's Constitutions 1. The Antient Grand Lodge thereby adopted Anderson's formal constitutional charges on religion into its own governance, even while its membership opposed the ritual excisions taking place among the Moderns 21.

The controversy was resolved only with the 1813 Union, when the Antient Grand Lodge yielded most of the positions for which it had previously fought 3. By 1816, specific Christian references were formally removed from most Craft rituals under the United Grand Lodge of England, establishing a universal non-sectarian requirement of belief in a Supreme Being regardless of a member's specific mode of worship 23.