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There are quite a few fraternities with this requirement. It's in the pledge manual. It's in the ritual. It's in the oath. For these groups, a man who does not believe in god is not to be initiated. But of these groups, most offer some additional guidance for what to do when a prospective member balks at this during the initiation - and the general consensus is that it's OK as long as the guy professes a belief in some kind of higher authority.
Also, none of these groups have any provision for what to do once someone IS rightfully initiated. There are only 2 grounds for expulsion in most GLOs – failure to meet financial obligations and conduct unbecoming an XYZ.
To my knowledge, no fraternity has ever sought expulsion of a member who lied about beliefs or who later changed his mind. Personally, I would support expulsion for someone who lies - not because I really care so much about his beliefs, but because a man who is willing to lie about his values in order to gain some benefit is a man I don't want in my organization. Lying is “conduct unbecoming an XYZ”.
As for someone who sincerely professes a belief in god and then later changes his mind, I personally do not support expulsion , though I can see why many would disagree. But in my opinion, beliefs are not “conduct” and therefore not a valid basis for judgment whether they are becoming or unbecoming of an XYZ. For example, is it possible to not believe in god, but to still conduct yourself as a Christian? I say yes, basing this purely on following the very simple teachings of Christ (whether you think he’s the son of god or just a historical figure). Christ’s teachings were extremely simple – it’s people like Hatchett that attach all the other gobbledygook to it.
Remember too that the people taking these oaths are usually teenagers. I think it's unrealistic to expect a person's opinions and beliefs to be the same a decade later.
wptw
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