In follow-up to an earlier discussion, it seems that there is interest in exploring Freemasonry’s social relevance in the United States. So, let’s discuss it…
Is Freemasonry relevant in our wider society today?
Was it ever, perhaps in the 1950’s, 1960’s when membership numbers were overwhelmingly large?
On balance, was that time of exponential growth good or bad for Freemasonry?
While we all know that a large percentage of America’s Founding Fathers were Freemasons, Freemasonry in our new nation was very small then, as it is now. Do we think that Freemasonry was relevant in wider society at that time?
If we seek a Freemasonry that is more relevant to society as a whole, how can we go about accomplishing that?
Should we seek such a thing however?
Are we better off remaining quieter in society, focusing instead on the internal life of Masonry?
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Those with a paid subscription to Emeth should be on the lookout for a second email this morning at 8:00 AM, announcing our live, open, discussion thread. Let’s discuss whatever you would like to discuss! It will be fun I think.
Freemasonry in the 1700s was a gentlemen's club for upper class society. It was not only a philosophical organization, but a place where men of similar means could help one another. The businessmen, doctors, lawyers, judges, politicians and wealthy landowners all belonged.
This was also the period of enlightenment, where the stranglehold of religion on society was being questioned, and serious debate on topics beyond good and evil were expressed. Scientific exploration of the world exploded, and mankind's greatest achievements in art, philosophy, biology, engineering, mathematics, and the exploration of the cosmos started. It was all tied together, and freemasons were all part of it.
Skip forward a couple hundred years, and freemasonry is nothing like it once was. Society has changed with the explosion of the industrial revolution, free markets, urbanization and finally technology, and the purpose of freemasonry devolved into a middle class charity.
In the 1900s we saw a massive expansion of freemasonry in america, so much so that anyone could join. I had seen news articles and records showing some lodges doing over 1500 degrees in a year. Not a jurisdiction, but a single lodge. If everyone received their MM degree (and I'm certain they all did) that would be a staggering amount of men being churned out like Ford's assembly lines. Lodges erected huge temples to house all of them.
But masonry wasn't meant to be this way. It's morphed into a non profit tax exempt charity (that doesn't sell you life insurance). The only things that survived are the modes of recognition and the rituals. Jurisdictions like ourselves here in washington struggle the same as everywhere else. They morphed and grew like any other bureaucracy. There is zero reason why GL needs an operating budget of three quarters of a million dollars, and it wants to consume more. It has a large building where most of the space sits unused, not only a salaried secretary, but an assistant secretary, office staff, and dozens of committees. All of this was built under the assumption that freemasonry would maintain such growth that didn't happen. Sorry, this is getting off topic (was I ever on topic here?). But I would add here that the size of GL needs to be reduced, as well as the size of the WMC. The lodges should be running things, not the other way around. GL is desperate for growth of the fraternity to feed it's expenses, and not recognizing the times and that it needs to scale way back to what it should be.
Our society today offers too many distractions for the average person. The population grew, as well as the cities and towns, with unlimited ways to keep us entertained, when we're not working 40+ hours a week. We think we've figured out life, and we're simply content to sit in front of a computer or TV screen and extract our worldviews there. Masons are just another distraction waving their arms trying to get society's attention in the sea of you tube cat videos, twitter, facebook, 400 cable channels and a 24/7 news cycle. Our colleges and universities are spewing out drones with worthless gender study degrees. People that no longer are taught how to think, but what to think.
And when we do manage to get someone to knock on our door, what do we offer them? Really? Does anyone really think a shitty meal and a boring business meeting is more interesting than what the rest of society has to offer? Just how is that fulfilling our stated goals of making good men into better ones?
If I may paraphrase, you mention that Freemasonry has lost its reason for being. It has, in many ways moved from being a great philosophical organization, to a charitable social club.
You also mention the insane levels of growth in the past.
I agree with your premises, and I think that the first is a direct result of the second.
Many years ago now, an extremely aged Mason with a great many years in the Craft gave a talk to our Lodge. He talked about those overwhelming waves of Degrees.
He explained that when the crush first began, men who understood Masonry conferred the Degrees, and taught the new Masons.
But that as it continued to swell, and as Lodges were doing Degrees every night, those men had to be relieved. That the men they had been teaching for awhile, but certainly not for long enough then began doing this work. As they in turn tired, the ones that they brought up, now barely educated as to Masonry began doing the work. Thus within perhaps 3 or 4 years in that time of explosive expansion, knowledge about Freemasonry was truly lost.
We can regain that former glory, but it will take work and dedication. I think though that there are men willing to do that work. I think that we see those men actually doing it right here, every time someone adds their voice to one of our discussions.
Is Freemasonry socially relevant? We are and we are not. I feel strongly that Freemasonry has a lot to offer in the areas of civility and critical thinking. I think if we all stepped back and remembered that “We are them and they are us” we could all move forward. When I was VM, my first meeting consisted of presentations explaining what it is Scottish Rite does. I was aware of the speech programs but I was also aware I had never been a part of any kind of organized fund raising. I was shocked to learn that Scottish Rite had a hospital. Maybe there should be a National Grand Lodge to help coordinate with Shrine International, the two Scottish Rite jurisdictions, York Rite and the other Masonic bodies to reduce duplications and to develop a unified program of saying who we are. Most everyone I know is aware of who the Shriners are but they, like me had no idea Shriners were Masons. 50 GLs trying to coordinate with X-number of Orients and Temples is an impossible proposition. So how do we get back to being relevant. We need to start with feeling relevant among ourselves and then working ever outward. Making our Temples relevant by cleaning them up. A good pressure washing, new paint if needed, clean landscaping. Projects like these create bonds among the brothers and instills pride in accomplishment. Lodges need to have honest conversations on what they believe their mission should be. I don’t necessarily believe Blue Lodge needs to be a part of any charitable work and if they are, it can’t be their primary focus. Bikes for Books is an excellent program but a Blue Lodge shouldn’t make it the only thing they do. To remain or become relevant we must have a love for the Craft. Without that, who will share what the Craft is when the questions are asked.
I too was surprised when I discovered our Scottish Rite hospital. I was in Dallas, headed to the Scottish Rite Temple. The phone got confused (couldn't have been the operator of the phone) and directed me to the hospital.
You are 100% correct about the work projects at the Temples. There is little that builds bonds between men better than a project tackled and accomplished. If there are hiccups along the way, that seems to make it even better. Not to mention all the other benefits that accrue from having our buildings look sharp.
I don't think that we will ever see a national Grand Lodge, but I think that your idea about the Grand Lodges needing to work more closely together with the Scottish Rites and the Shrine has been slowly coming about over the past three years or so. Led by the SR NMJ from what I can see. Certainly NMJ and SJ, and the Shrine national leaderships now seem very keen on developing close partnerships with the various Grand Lodges. We do have a mechanism for doing that, through the Conference of Grand Masters of North America.
The 50 & 60's era lodge members really believed in Freemasonry and supported each other and most inportant they knew the ritual. ( my father was a Mason in that time frame) Society changed all of that, new members joined for self improvement they thought being a Mason would bring them. Therefore quickly loosing interest in Freemasonry. One of the item that has impressed me is the hand out Grand Lodge had or has is Six Steps before becoming a Freemason. I carry several and strongly believe Freemasonry should be built with QUALITY men not Quantity of men. Russell E. Hughes
I agree very strongly with you that we must look for quality men, and ignore quantity.
We have not done a good job in the past couple of decades when it comes to guarding the West Gate, and I think that is proven by the number of suspension/expulsion letters our Lodges receive.
I am not a believer in focusing on growth, and in fact, I think that focusing on growth actually has the opposite effect, for one unsuitable man will easily drive ten good men away from a Lodge.
Taking the time to truly get to know a candidate, before we sign his petition is the best thing we can do for the long term health of our Fraternity, even if it results in fewer members. I too like the six steps program, but any method of getting to know a man well will work.
I feel like I don't know enough to contribute much wisdom to this discussion. I have garnered some excellent nuggets from the comments, though. I am one of those new members who is disappointed with what I found at my local lodge. I attended lodge for three years then stopped Going to meeting two years before Covid and the GL's horrible decision to take the decision of freedom of assembly away from local masters. I stopped going because Masonry wasn't offering the experience I was looking for. Fellowship with peers, Economically and intellectually. Education into the esoteric mysteries that makes the fraternity dangerous to those in power. Education into the history of freemasons that influenced the world, not just the fraternity.
I am getting more of what I was looking for in the two months of this discussion group than i got in 3 years of active involvement with my local lodge. But the discussions we're having here are only 1/3rd of what I was hoping for. I still don't have any friends and am pretty sure I'll be that lonely 90yo referenced in an earlier discussion, and while I've learned a little history and a little philosophy here, I think we're barely scratching the surface of the wisdom hidden in the ritual.
I want to start by saying Thank You for your words. The fact that you have gotten more out of Emeth in the five weeks it has existed than in three years of active Lodge involvement tells me that we are on the right track here. It means a lot, to me.
Conversely of course, it also says something about the Lodge.
You are right, we are barely scratching the surface of the deeper meanings contained within our rituals, alegorries, and symbolism. I am pleased to take these discussions as broadly and as deeply as those who participate want to go. I hope that everyone feels free to suggest topics for Emeth. So far I think about 2/3's have been mine, the rest have been suggested by Emeth's readership.
For a Freemason who influenced the world, might I suggest Benito Juarez? Now that is a fascinating guy, basically the George Washington of Mexico. I've never written about him, but I have written quite a lot about Mexican Freemasonry through the years, so perhaps he is a subject that I need to tackle soon.
I don't think that you are without friends. You have one guy who wants to be your friend that I certainly know of. I have admired you since the first time I met you. Masonically, I see a lot of myself in you. In fact, the only real difference between us, as far as I can tell, when it comes to our desires for Masonry is the accident that I joined a great Lodge with Brothers who prized active involvement and learning, and you unfortunately joined a Lodge that did not. Had our Lodges been reversed, I think our Masonic experiences would have been reversed as well.
Your comment has inspired me to throw this out into the world. I'm making it a separate comment in the hopes that others may see it, and offer their thoughts about it.
I know about this awesome place.
It would not be inexpensive, but it would be, I think, the greatest place in the world to spend some time with a small group of Brothers, talking about Freemasonry.
It is in Jalisco, about half way between the Pacific Coast and Guadalajara. We would need to fly in, then hop a chicken bus for about a three hour ride, then do a wee bit of hitch hiking to get there.
It is a very old hacienda. An old Spanish fortress at which troops were stationed to guard a nearby mine. It has no electricity, rather it is lit at night, as it was when it was built, with torches. It's been beautifully restored, is comfortable, and sits on large grounds. I can't remember exactly, but I think it has somewhere between six and ten rooms for guests. It comes with a chef, I definitely remember that he does dinner, and I think breakfast too.
The walls are perhaps two feet thick, the better to secure the metals that were stored inside, doors and all other openings equally massive.
There is a very tiny town (pop. 150 or so) within a mile or two that contains two excellent restaurants.
Melinda and I made the trek and stayed there a few years back. We both thought it was awesome, but from the moment I saw it lit with torches, I knew that it would be the greatest place anywhere to do a Masonic Degree.
So, I throw it out there:
Want to go? Can we round up six or ten guys to fly down and spend maybe three days doing nothing but discussing Freemasonry?
There would certainly be no distractions, I don't recall anything resembling telephones, televisions, or anything else beyond the time of torches.
I would love to do something like that. Getting permission from my wife would be the hard part. My biggest challenge in any activity is that I have a jealous wife. And she isn't just jealous of other women but of my time in general. I need strong friends to not let her run them off.
Thank you for the kind words. I think of you more as a mentor than a friend. The age difference is a big part of that. Another part is the fact that I don't really have any friends and have become a bit cynical about friendship. My Dad grew up together with a boy that lived a couple miles away at the next big farm. They worked together. Rode horses together. went hunting and fishing together, etc. Shared their struggles and goals. 68 years later and they still hang out together. I never made any friends like that. I have close associates that would hang out with me socially during our shared experience. School, college, army, work, etc, but none that lasted beyond that experience. None that ever invited me to a birthday party or a BBQ that wasn't a work/school event. I still don't have any friends. I have a few mutual hobby participants that include me in activities because they are too poor to buy the pizza, and they know I can be counted on to foot the bill, but our conversations don't go beyond the hobby. I have my employees too, but lets not pretend there isn't a distinct power dynamic there. So far, that is what I am getting from Masonry too. Another hobby. One I don't mind paying for, but I'm not confident I'll find any real human connection here. I'm finally at least getting some of the thought provoking discussion I was hoping for.
Freemasonry in the 1700s was a gentlemen's club for upper class society. It was not only a philosophical organization, but a place where men of similar means could help one another. The businessmen, doctors, lawyers, judges, politicians and wealthy landowners all belonged.
This was also the period of enlightenment, where the stranglehold of religion on society was being questioned, and serious debate on topics beyond good and evil were expressed. Scientific exploration of the world exploded, and mankind's greatest achievements in art, philosophy, biology, engineering, mathematics, and the exploration of the cosmos started. It was all tied together, and freemasons were all part of it.
Skip forward a couple hundred years, and freemasonry is nothing like it once was. Society has changed with the explosion of the industrial revolution, free markets, urbanization and finally technology, and the purpose of freemasonry devolved into a middle class charity.
In the 1900s we saw a massive expansion of freemasonry in america, so much so that anyone could join. I had seen news articles and records showing some lodges doing over 1500 degrees in a year. Not a jurisdiction, but a single lodge. If everyone received their MM degree (and I'm certain they all did) that would be a staggering amount of men being churned out like Ford's assembly lines. Lodges erected huge temples to house all of them.
But masonry wasn't meant to be this way. It's morphed into a non profit tax exempt charity (that doesn't sell you life insurance). The only things that survived are the modes of recognition and the rituals. Jurisdictions like ourselves here in washington struggle the same as everywhere else. They morphed and grew like any other bureaucracy. There is zero reason why GL needs an operating budget of three quarters of a million dollars, and it wants to consume more. It has a large building where most of the space sits unused, not only a salaried secretary, but an assistant secretary, office staff, and dozens of committees. All of this was built under the assumption that freemasonry would maintain such growth that didn't happen. Sorry, this is getting off topic (was I ever on topic here?). But I would add here that the size of GL needs to be reduced, as well as the size of the WMC. The lodges should be running things, not the other way around. GL is desperate for growth of the fraternity to feed it's expenses, and not recognizing the times and that it needs to scale way back to what it should be.
Our society today offers too many distractions for the average person. The population grew, as well as the cities and towns, with unlimited ways to keep us entertained, when we're not working 40+ hours a week. We think we've figured out life, and we're simply content to sit in front of a computer or TV screen and extract our worldviews there. Masons are just another distraction waving their arms trying to get society's attention in the sea of you tube cat videos, twitter, facebook, 400 cable channels and a 24/7 news cycle. Our colleges and universities are spewing out drones with worthless gender study degrees. People that no longer are taught how to think, but what to think.
And when we do manage to get someone to knock on our door, what do we offer them? Really? Does anyone really think a shitty meal and a boring business meeting is more interesting than what the rest of society has to offer? Just how is that fulfilling our stated goals of making good men into better ones?
I think I've rambled on more than enough here.
All good points.
I think the solution is in the problem.
Society is full of distractions to help people feel entertained while keeping them isolated.
Masonry is - or can be - the opposite of that. It can help us be engaged and connected, with each other and with ideas that have more depth.
But we must roll up our sleeves and do the work of restoring education to a central role.
Tradition is the preservation of fire, not the worship of ashes.
— Gustav Mahler
By the way, thank you Cameron for doing so much along this line.
Brother,
Thank you very much, I really appreciate your kind words!
And I agree that quality Masonic education is a tremendous key.
If I may paraphrase, you mention that Freemasonry has lost its reason for being. It has, in many ways moved from being a great philosophical organization, to a charitable social club.
You also mention the insane levels of growth in the past.
I agree with your premises, and I think that the first is a direct result of the second.
Many years ago now, an extremely aged Mason with a great many years in the Craft gave a talk to our Lodge. He talked about those overwhelming waves of Degrees.
He explained that when the crush first began, men who understood Masonry conferred the Degrees, and taught the new Masons.
But that as it continued to swell, and as Lodges were doing Degrees every night, those men had to be relieved. That the men they had been teaching for awhile, but certainly not for long enough then began doing this work. As they in turn tired, the ones that they brought up, now barely educated as to Masonry began doing the work. Thus within perhaps 3 or 4 years in that time of explosive expansion, knowledge about Freemasonry was truly lost.
We can regain that former glory, but it will take work and dedication. I think though that there are men willing to do that work. I think that we see those men actually doing it right here, every time someone adds their voice to one of our discussions.
Is Freemasonry socially relevant? We are and we are not. I feel strongly that Freemasonry has a lot to offer in the areas of civility and critical thinking. I think if we all stepped back and remembered that “We are them and they are us” we could all move forward. When I was VM, my first meeting consisted of presentations explaining what it is Scottish Rite does. I was aware of the speech programs but I was also aware I had never been a part of any kind of organized fund raising. I was shocked to learn that Scottish Rite had a hospital. Maybe there should be a National Grand Lodge to help coordinate with Shrine International, the two Scottish Rite jurisdictions, York Rite and the other Masonic bodies to reduce duplications and to develop a unified program of saying who we are. Most everyone I know is aware of who the Shriners are but they, like me had no idea Shriners were Masons. 50 GLs trying to coordinate with X-number of Orients and Temples is an impossible proposition. So how do we get back to being relevant. We need to start with feeling relevant among ourselves and then working ever outward. Making our Temples relevant by cleaning them up. A good pressure washing, new paint if needed, clean landscaping. Projects like these create bonds among the brothers and instills pride in accomplishment. Lodges need to have honest conversations on what they believe their mission should be. I don’t necessarily believe Blue Lodge needs to be a part of any charitable work and if they are, it can’t be their primary focus. Bikes for Books is an excellent program but a Blue Lodge shouldn’t make it the only thing they do. To remain or become relevant we must have a love for the Craft. Without that, who will share what the Craft is when the questions are asked.
I too was surprised when I discovered our Scottish Rite hospital. I was in Dallas, headed to the Scottish Rite Temple. The phone got confused (couldn't have been the operator of the phone) and directed me to the hospital.
You are 100% correct about the work projects at the Temples. There is little that builds bonds between men better than a project tackled and accomplished. If there are hiccups along the way, that seems to make it even better. Not to mention all the other benefits that accrue from having our buildings look sharp.
I don't think that we will ever see a national Grand Lodge, but I think that your idea about the Grand Lodges needing to work more closely together with the Scottish Rites and the Shrine has been slowly coming about over the past three years or so. Led by the SR NMJ from what I can see. Certainly NMJ and SJ, and the Shrine national leaderships now seem very keen on developing close partnerships with the various Grand Lodges. We do have a mechanism for doing that, through the Conference of Grand Masters of North America.
The 50 & 60's era lodge members really believed in Freemasonry and supported each other and most inportant they knew the ritual. ( my father was a Mason in that time frame) Society changed all of that, new members joined for self improvement they thought being a Mason would bring them. Therefore quickly loosing interest in Freemasonry. One of the item that has impressed me is the hand out Grand Lodge had or has is Six Steps before becoming a Freemason. I carry several and strongly believe Freemasonry should be built with QUALITY men not Quantity of men. Russell E. Hughes
I agree very strongly with you that we must look for quality men, and ignore quantity.
We have not done a good job in the past couple of decades when it comes to guarding the West Gate, and I think that is proven by the number of suspension/expulsion letters our Lodges receive.
I am not a believer in focusing on growth, and in fact, I think that focusing on growth actually has the opposite effect, for one unsuitable man will easily drive ten good men away from a Lodge.
Taking the time to truly get to know a candidate, before we sign his petition is the best thing we can do for the long term health of our Fraternity, even if it results in fewer members. I too like the six steps program, but any method of getting to know a man well will work.
I feel like I don't know enough to contribute much wisdom to this discussion. I have garnered some excellent nuggets from the comments, though. I am one of those new members who is disappointed with what I found at my local lodge. I attended lodge for three years then stopped Going to meeting two years before Covid and the GL's horrible decision to take the decision of freedom of assembly away from local masters. I stopped going because Masonry wasn't offering the experience I was looking for. Fellowship with peers, Economically and intellectually. Education into the esoteric mysteries that makes the fraternity dangerous to those in power. Education into the history of freemasons that influenced the world, not just the fraternity.
I am getting more of what I was looking for in the two months of this discussion group than i got in 3 years of active involvement with my local lodge. But the discussions we're having here are only 1/3rd of what I was hoping for. I still don't have any friends and am pretty sure I'll be that lonely 90yo referenced in an earlier discussion, and while I've learned a little history and a little philosophy here, I think we're barely scratching the surface of the wisdom hidden in the ritual.
I want to start by saying Thank You for your words. The fact that you have gotten more out of Emeth in the five weeks it has existed than in three years of active Lodge involvement tells me that we are on the right track here. It means a lot, to me.
Conversely of course, it also says something about the Lodge.
You are right, we are barely scratching the surface of the deeper meanings contained within our rituals, alegorries, and symbolism. I am pleased to take these discussions as broadly and as deeply as those who participate want to go. I hope that everyone feels free to suggest topics for Emeth. So far I think about 2/3's have been mine, the rest have been suggested by Emeth's readership.
For a Freemason who influenced the world, might I suggest Benito Juarez? Now that is a fascinating guy, basically the George Washington of Mexico. I've never written about him, but I have written quite a lot about Mexican Freemasonry through the years, so perhaps he is a subject that I need to tackle soon.
I don't think that you are without friends. You have one guy who wants to be your friend that I certainly know of. I have admired you since the first time I met you. Masonically, I see a lot of myself in you. In fact, the only real difference between us, as far as I can tell, when it comes to our desires for Masonry is the accident that I joined a great Lodge with Brothers who prized active involvement and learning, and you unfortunately joined a Lodge that did not. Had our Lodges been reversed, I think our Masonic experiences would have been reversed as well.
Your comment has inspired me to throw this out into the world. I'm making it a separate comment in the hopes that others may see it, and offer their thoughts about it.
I know about this awesome place.
It would not be inexpensive, but it would be, I think, the greatest place in the world to spend some time with a small group of Brothers, talking about Freemasonry.
It is in Jalisco, about half way between the Pacific Coast and Guadalajara. We would need to fly in, then hop a chicken bus for about a three hour ride, then do a wee bit of hitch hiking to get there.
It is a very old hacienda. An old Spanish fortress at which troops were stationed to guard a nearby mine. It has no electricity, rather it is lit at night, as it was when it was built, with torches. It's been beautifully restored, is comfortable, and sits on large grounds. I can't remember exactly, but I think it has somewhere between six and ten rooms for guests. It comes with a chef, I definitely remember that he does dinner, and I think breakfast too.
The walls are perhaps two feet thick, the better to secure the metals that were stored inside, doors and all other openings equally massive.
There is a very tiny town (pop. 150 or so) within a mile or two that contains two excellent restaurants.
Melinda and I made the trek and stayed there a few years back. We both thought it was awesome, but from the moment I saw it lit with torches, I knew that it would be the greatest place anywhere to do a Masonic Degree.
So, I throw it out there:
Want to go? Can we round up six or ten guys to fly down and spend maybe three days doing nothing but discussing Freemasonry?
There would certainly be no distractions, I don't recall anything resembling telephones, televisions, or anything else beyond the time of torches.
I would love to do something like that. Getting permission from my wife would be the hard part. My biggest challenge in any activity is that I have a jealous wife. And she isn't just jealous of other women but of my time in general. I need strong friends to not let her run them off.
Yep. I think many would have the same problem when contemplating a few days away in a foreign land.
Thank you for the kind words. I think of you more as a mentor than a friend. The age difference is a big part of that. Another part is the fact that I don't really have any friends and have become a bit cynical about friendship. My Dad grew up together with a boy that lived a couple miles away at the next big farm. They worked together. Rode horses together. went hunting and fishing together, etc. Shared their struggles and goals. 68 years later and they still hang out together. I never made any friends like that. I have close associates that would hang out with me socially during our shared experience. School, college, army, work, etc, but none that lasted beyond that experience. None that ever invited me to a birthday party or a BBQ that wasn't a work/school event. I still don't have any friends. I have a few mutual hobby participants that include me in activities because they are too poor to buy the pizza, and they know I can be counted on to foot the bill, but our conversations don't go beyond the hobby. I have my employees too, but lets not pretend there isn't a distinct power dynamic there. So far, that is what I am getting from Masonry too. Another hobby. One I don't mind paying for, but I'm not confident I'll find any real human connection here. I'm finally at least getting some of the thought provoking discussion I was hoping for.