Study
Tolerance and Its Limits
Masonic teaching asks members to be tolerant of differing opinions and beliefs, while recognising that tolerance does not require silence before conduct that harms others.
Masonic teaching asks members to be tolerant of differing opinions and beliefs. Tolerance means allowing others to hold views that we do not share, and treating them with courtesy in the lodge. It does not mean abandoning the lodge’s own rules or pretending that every act is equally acceptable.
The limit of tolerance is conduct that harms others or breaks the trust of the body. A member may disagree with a brother without contempt, but he may not use the lodge to attack the dignity of others. Where a line is crossed, the lodge applies its rules through the proper process, with a fair hearing for the member concerned.
Example: two members hold opposing views on a public question. They argue respectfully at a meeting and agree to differ. A third member then uses a meeting to mock one of them for his beliefs. The presiding officer stops the remark, reminds the member of the duty of courtesy, and refers any further complaint to the proper procedure. Disagreement was tolerated; contempt was not.