Education Outside The Lodge
Let's discuss it
Last night on Rummer & Grapes Brother Dustin Phelan asked a superb question that I thought we might do well to discuss here today. (Yep, he told me that I could steal it for Emeth.)
What do you do, outside of Lodge [And reading Emeth of course] to further your personal Masonic education?
There are an awful lot of options out there. Books, podcasts, newsletters, research Lodges and societies, discussion groups, probably more that I’m not thinking of.
What calls to you, and is effective for you?
Let’s chat about it in the comments below…
Because I am sort of in charge of masonic education in my lodge, I spend a good amount of time researching subjects, either through books, online, research papers, etc. This space is also a good resource to get opinions and discussions as well.
AI has been a wonderful addition to do research of this type, but it is only as good as the questions you're asking. The biggest feature is how you can ask follow up questions, or more details about something as you go along. For example I was researching George Washington and his early masonic career, and from the responses I was getting, I asked for a timeline covering the results I received. It responded with a great list of events by date that showed the data I was looking for to reinforce the point I was trying to make. And all of this was certainly a great way to learn about the subjects you're interested in.
As you get used to how the AI is structured, you get better at designing queries to return the right responses. It's actually quite enjoyable, at least to me.
We have a four-pronged problem in the United States beyond the fact that Masons do not read. The problems are:
• The lack of literacy continues to grow in general
• For those who do read, the bulk of anti-Mason propaganda is overwhelming
• Lack of interest in reading is fueling unintentional Masonic education programs.
The Literacy Issue
While research is lacking specifically for Masons who don’t read, a significant portion (around 21-28%) of adults are struggling with functional literacy, reading below a 5th or 6th-grade level, a trend that has worsened since 2017. This is aggravated by foundational texts from the late 19th and early 20th century (specifically Pike or Mackey) that can be difficult even for voracious readers to grasp in the first time reading the material. Even the ancient texts such as the Regius manuscript in Old English are difficult to grasp unless you have an English literature background in Shakespeare or Chaucer.
The research involving the general population bears this out. It includes large numbers of adults (around 43-45 million) unable to handle complex texts and educational disparities as well as declining scores in national assessments for students.
You don’t require formal research to understand this. Just talk to the teachers and librarians involved in your local Bikes for Books programs.
Fake Information
Fake information, often categorized as misinformation (accidental) or disinformation (intentional), has become a pervasive global issue.
Recent data highlights its rapid spread, low public trust in media, and the significant role of social media platforms.
Roughly 86% of online users believe they have been exposed to fake news.
In 2024, more than half of all internet traffic was non-human, with 37% consisting of "bad bots" designed for malicious purposes—a 5% increase from the previous year.
It is impossible to determine an exact number of anti-Masonic articles in the world, as they span centuries of religious, political, and conspiracy-focused opposition. Thousands of books, pamphlets, and articles have been published, with over nine-tenths of early anti-Masonic literature historically centered on the 1826 Morgan Affair.
Computer experts use the term “garbage in, garbage out.”
It’s this material that gets picked up by the Internet and gets regurgitated to goodness knows how many more platforms and it becomes a losing battle.
Bro. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) once noted that a lie will fly around the world faster than you can get your boots on. In our modern computer age, lies can spread faster than the speed of light.
Masonic Education
All this has also seeped into the quality of education in our Lodges.
Most of us who are fastidious about research, have learned to spot bogus information.
But unless you do this on a regular basis and read/understand accordingly, information for a Lodge program may or may not be the truth.
If one does not know the difference, one might be promulgating bad information.
This happened to me once while sitting in on a program. A well-intentioned brother was giving a lecture on a subject that I’m knowledgeable about.
The information was distorted and, in some places, downright wrong.
I was so angry, I almost walked out.
It seems this is happening more.
I can only guess the presentation was gathered by searching the Internet. (This was a while ago and artificial intelligence (AI) had not yet become prevalent.
And now, with bad information out there, AI only picks it up and amplifies it.
Not only does it amplify it, but it generates bogus citations to defend the thesis of the subject).
Last year, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) says 45 percent of all AI generated content is erroneous.
Sources of Good Masonic Literacy & Education
The best place to read Masonic material is your local Lodge library. My experience is that our Lodge libraries are rarely used. There's good material there and older members would be more than happy to give you their take on things.
We are also fortunate that we have a few well-respected research lodges here on the west coast. We have two lodges here in Washington, one in North Seattle and one in Spokane. Both do good work on Masonic research. The other side of the coin is that none of that good work is published.
The good news is that several local researchers are available to come do Lodge programs, if one asks.
In addition, Grand Lodge has a speaker’s bureau where some of these folks (including MW Cameron and a cast of dubious fellows like me) will show up by invitation.
The Fourth Point I Wish to Make
It has nothing to do about literacy or education.
It has to do with this coming Sunday.
Go Hawks!
OK. I'm done.