What is the Volume of the Sacred Law?

The Volume of the Sacred Law is one of the Three Great Lights, serving as a symbol of obedience to written divine law and a guide pointing out moral duties, as the United Grand Lodge of England and The Square Magazine note. It represents the revelation of the Will of the Great Architect of the Universe 2 and is described as a fountain of truth and instruction 3.

Because membership is open to men of diverse religious faiths, the specific scripture recognized as the Volume of the Sacred Law is adapted to the candidate's personal creed 12. For a Christian candidate, this text is the Bible; for a Muslim candidate, the Quran; for a Hindu candidate, the Shastras; and for a Parsee candidate, the Zendavesta 1. The Grand Lodge of Scotland records that Scottish lodges may display holy books such as the Quran, Vedas, Tanakh, or Talmud alongside the Bible during ritual work. The Grand Lodge of India notes that the Bible contains historical accounts of the building of the Holy Temple, supplying narrative elements that inform the ritual degrees.

Candidates take their obligations upon the sacred text that holds binding spiritual authority for them, ensuring the sanctity of the promise made, as the United Grand Lodge of England states 1. In lodges operating under the English Constitution, the Bible remains open during lodge proceedings while candidate obligations may be taken on another scripture appropriate to the individual 1. The Bible itself is first recorded as a Great Light around 1760 2. The use of these texts emphasizes universal brotherhood rather than sectarian theology, serving as a center of union for men of all religious persuasions 12.

Accommodation of candidates and brethren of various religious traditions centers on aligning the ritual obligation with the scripture most binding upon the individual's conscience 1. A nineteenth-century decision issued in the District Grand Lodge of the Punjab and confirmed by the Grand Secretary in London established that candidates should be obligated on the sacred text of their own faith—such as the Koran for a Muslim, the Shastras for a Hindu, or the Zoroastrian code for a Parsee—while the English Bible remained open in the lodge 1. The Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon and the Provincial Grand Lodge of Wiltshire similarly note that a candidate's obligation is taken on the holy book most relevant to his faith.

Present-day lodges frequently display multiple Volumes of the Sacred Law upon the altar simultaneously, allowing members of different faiths to sit together in peace and harmony, as the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon notes. The Grand Lodge of British Columbia and Yukon records that some lodges, such as one in India, place up to seven Volumes of the Sacred Law on their altar to accommodate the various faiths represented among their membership.

This practice reflects the Masonic principle that the Volume of the Sacred Law functions symbolically as a Great Light, representing divine truth and moral guidance 2. Because the fraternity requires belief in a Supreme Being while leaving specific religious creeds to the individual 25, the open text on the altar serves as a symbol that obligations are taken in the presence of Deity 42.

The First Charge of the Constitutions obliges a Mason by his tenure to obey the moral law 1. As the 1723 Constitutions project notes, it provides that if a Mason rightly understands the Art, he will never be a stupid atheist nor an irreligious libertine.

This requirement replaces older statements of Trinitarian Christian belief with an obligation to adhere to "that Religion in which all Men agree," leaving particular religious opinions to the individual brethren 15. As the 1723 Constitutions project observes, the Charge affirms a belief in a divine being rather than a specific church doctrine, requiring Masons simply to be good men and true, or men of honor and honesty, regardless of their religious denominations or persuasions 1.

By focusing on a shared moral framework, the Charge establishes the fraternity as a center of union and a means of conciliating true friendship among persons who otherwise must have remained at a perpetual distance 1. In later summaries of the ancient charges presented during installation, this fundamental principle is preserved as an agreement to be a good man and true and strictly obey the moral law 6.

Interpretation of the First Charge in James Anderson's Constitutions has shifted over time between broad universalism and Christian ecumenism. The original 1723 text replaced traditional requirements of Trinitarian Christian belief with an obligation to adhere to "that Religion in which all Men agree," establishing a framework centered on personal morality and religious tolerance 5. Scholarly analysis, such as that by D. Knoop and G. P. Jones, situated this shift within the 18th-century context of natural religion and Enlightenment principles, as Quatuor Coronati Lodge records. While some contemporaries viewed the Charge as an effort toward Christian reconciliation among differing Protestant denominations 5, others interpreted its reference to the "Great Architect of the Universe" and general morality as an embrace of Deism or natural religion 5.

In the 1738 edition of the Constitutions, Anderson expanded this framework by specifying that a Mason must observe the moral law as a "true Noachida," bound by the basic precepts attributed to Noah 1. Laurence Dermott subsequently adopted this Noachide phrasing in *Ahiman Rezon* 1. As 1723constitutions.com notes, replacing explicit Christian dogma sparked external opposition, leading to Roman Catholic condemnation in the 1738 papal bull *In eminenti*.

Despite initial debate, the broader interpretation of the Charge prevailed 5. Commentators and lodge practice progressively understood the phrase to welcome members across diverse faith traditions, including Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Zoroastrian brethren, using the Charge as a center of union to unite men of conscience 51.