I can't speak for lodges in other countries, but I have attended regular meetings at masonic lodges in multiple states within the US. I was a born again Christian before I became a Mason, and I have never heard anything at a lodge meeting that was contrary to my Christian beliefs, nor have I ever heard anyone maintain that lodge membership or being a Mason was a substitute for church or for Christianity. I was not, nor was I witness to anyone else, professing or being encouraged to profess, a loyalty to any deity other than God, which to me, includes the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

It seems that some on this thread are determined to believe untrue things about freemasonry, despite multiple reassurances that they are in fact, not true. I am sure that the element of secrecy surrounding the lodge fosters this somewhat.

While I will never maintain that all Masons are good men (they are all human), almost all of the ones that I have known were fine individuals. I am not aware that any Mason has been forgiven for a crime just by virtue of him being a Mason, nor would I forgive such. The wording that I remember specifically refers to "worthy brother master Masons". I never took this to mean that criminal acts were allowed or should be overlooked, as those acts would prove to me that the man was NOT worthy.