European Union to hold atheist summit . . . plus freemasons

The European Union has agreed to host a summit for atheist and humanist groups following pressure from Belgium. Oh, and Freemasons, too. Perhaps something was lost in translation?

European Union leaders have met with Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Sikh religious leaders annually since 2005. The most recent such summit took place this year, the first year it has been legally required (Article 17 of the Lisbon Treaty).

Belgium, an EU member state, protects and supports humanist organizations as well as churches, and pressured the EU for inclusion of such groups. The EU has agreed to host a virtually identical summit for “non-religious” groups on October 15.

In a confusing move, they have included not “freethinkers”, but “freemasons” among the “non-religious”. Anglophones may find this particularly bizarre.

Freemasonry has as one of its central tenets the belief in the “Great Architect”, designer of the Universe. English-speaking Masonic lodges, both in Europe and the United States, do not allow atheists to join; belief in a higher power of some sort (not any particular deity) is a basic requirement of membership. However, non-English speaking lodges do not have this requirement.

David Pollock, president of the European Humanist Association, finds the inclusion perplexing. “I find it rather odd. Some of the Grand Lodges are secularist organisations, and strongly for separation of church and state, but they also retain all sorts of gobbledygook and myths such as the Great Architect of the Universe.”

Pollock and other humanists are more disturbed by the “separate but equal” treatment received; it had been their goal not to have any special summits for the religious or the non-religious, because “no one has any right to some special summit any more than any other type of organisation . . . we should wait in line to speak to commissioners, to access at the highest level, like any other NGO (non-governmental organization), which is what churches are.”

The Catholic Church, for its part, was upset to find Hindus included this year, accusing the EU of becoming “religiously correct”.

Related articles:

1. June 23 Atheist Cartoon: At the student union
2. Humanists Hold 69th Annual Conference in San Jose, California
3. July 27 Atheist Cartoon: Just hold your breath
4. Humanists Mourn the Loss of Lloyd Morain
5. Atheists select Des Moines, Iowa, as venue for 2011 convention, April 21-24, 2011

Mike Daniels is co-editor of Secular News Daily.

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