CRC Scholar Discusses 19th Century Controversy over Freemasonry

One of the bitter debates that divided the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Church in America, especially in the 19th century, involved the issue of Freemasonry, according to Harry Boonstra, visiting research fellow at the Van Raalte Institute of Hope College.

Boonstra recently presented an address titled "The Dutch Equation: The RCA-CRC Controversy over Freemasonry, 1867-1885" on the campus of Hope College in Holland.

Boonstra, a retired Calvin College theological librarian, says he chose the topic partly because the CRC and RCA are currently working more closely than ever before on various programs.

“They are no longer lobbing verbal bombs at each other, but have joint meetings, projects, and pulpit exchanges, and sing from a jointly published hymnal,” Boonstra writes in an article from which he was to base his lecture. The denominations are also in discussions that could link them together in other ways, he says.

Freemasonry, though, was one issue that pushed the denominations far apart in the late 1880s. In effect, it caused several RCA congregations to leave their denomination and become members of the CRC. The two churches fought in various ways over this issue for many years.

“Freemasonry is a movement that has existed from at least 1717 as a worldwide phenomenon, with millions of adherents, with no central authority,” said Boonstra. “Membership in a (Masonic) lodge is by invitation and involves a series of rituals as a member advances . . . Most of the rituals and ceremonies are based on and adapted from ancient sources, including the Bible.”

Many men in the RCA, including church leaders, were member of the Masons. As a result, the RCA showed a more tolerant attitude toward members of Masonic lodges.

This isn’t to say that the RCA totally accepted the fraternal organization. Some in the church believed Freemasonry was anti-Christ. They believed that “one must choose whether to be a believer or a Freemason,” writes Boonstra.

Some RCA members tried to get church authorities to condemn Freemasonry and ban church members from joining. But church officials never officially opposed Freemasonry.

The CRC, however, never embraced Freemasonry. Many saw it as another example of modern values and beliefs of which it wanted no part. Rev. Lammert J. Hulst, a leading CRC pastor in the late 19th century, wrote that the CRC could not in good conscience maintain close ties with the RCA. The RCA, Hulst contended, was a denomination that has “publically chosen the Barabbas of the world over Jesus.”

Freemasonry was by no means the only issue that divided the CRC and RCA, but it did reflect a certain acrimony that had existed historically between them.

“I am not sure if contemporary church disagreements are less vitriolic because the church is less concerned about the importance of the ‘truth,’ or because she has learned to be more civil and gracious,” said Boonstra.

“In the case of the RCA and CRC I am grateful that one of their recent efforts at reconciliation has been the joint production of a songbook: Sing: A New Creation. That joint effort speaks and sings words full of grace.”

Boonstra is the author of Our School: Calvin College and the Christian Reformed Church and co-author of Pillar Church in the Van Raalte Era. He has also published articles on a variety of topics and has translated books.

Chris Meehan, CRC Communications