I watched ‘National Treasure’ today (great movie if you ask me.) One of the plot points of this movie is that the Freemasons have put clues into the currency and government documents of America, all leading to a fabulous treasure. There are Masonic references throughout the movie and the hero (Cage) comes from a family of Masons. All in all, the message of the movie is “Freemasonry = cool and mysterious.”
In fact, the whole thing had me wondering if the Masons weren’t bankrolling the movie as an ad campaign to the younger generation.
I know nothing about Freemasonry. My great grandfather was one, according to my mother, but my grandfather on her side wasn’t. This leads me to believe that men don’t join the Masons just because their father was one. Or do they? Why exactly do men join the Freemasons; are they invited to join by friends? Where did their friends get the idea to join?
With jobs being stressful and time-consuming, leisure time scarce and family matters important, I don’t see why many men would take the initiative to also be involved in a fraternal society with its own commitments. This leads me to believe that most Masons are retired. Is this the case?
The final and most pressing question I have is this: Is Freemasonry dying out? I really can’t picture the current crop of yuppie-ish thirty and forty-somethings going out and joining fraternal orders. Do they think of it as dated, pointless and stupid? My impression is that 40 years ago being a Mason was seen as a terrifically important and serious thing, something to really be proud of, and now it’s just a mysterious group of “weirdos” in the eyes of most people.
Could anyone with any knowledge of the CURRENT state of the Freemasons enlighten me?
I’ve seen a lot of fairly large and expensive looking buildings in New England which are either current or past mason builidings(I can tell because the stonework has the mason symbol, a big G, or the word “masons” inscribed in it). Given that I’ve never seen a new mason lodge go up, I’d say there either less wealthy then they used to be, or at least less likely to sink their wealth into architectural projects.
As for the reasons for thier decline, I’d guess that it was a mix between men having less free time and the fact that joining the “good 'ol boy” network is far less of an advantage then it used to be. From what I hear, joining the Mason’s used to be partly for economic advantage, as it would let you network with the various other town leaders, business men and the like. I’d imagine the preferences given to members by other members in politics and business is what gave rise to the “masons rule the world” rumors.
Right here in my town, we have a HUGE building downtown that is the Mason’s Lodge. (Well, huge in comparison to all the other buildings downtown). Nobody outside the lodge knows what they do, nor anyone that belongs to it.
I suspect the movie is playing off the commonly accepted views of Masons.
You’re just as likley to get the full story of the Mormon Church as you are the Freemasons without actually joining them.
I can’t speak to the Masons’ demographics, but I am an active member of the Knights of Columbus, another fraternal society. While our members do tend to skew older, it’s not so much retirement-older as kids-grown-up-enough older. And even that’s just a skew, not an overwhelming slide. I’m 41, and there are many active Knights younger than I.
The Masons are about as sinister as the Rotarians or the Kiwanis, and are about as secretive. They focus on public works and having a good time with their buddies, not on secretly running the world or corruping the purity of our precious bodily fluids. Probably the biggest beef the Masons have with the rest of the world is that `good’ Catholics cannot join, but they have the Knights of Columbus.
The Shriners are a subgroup of the Masons, and they are well-known for providing free orthopedic and burn care to children under the age of 18. You need to have a good deal of finances to run your own free hospital, especially if you specialize in those fields, which may be why they don’t build like they used to.
The best (only) way to become a Mason is to ask someone who already is if his lodge will accept a new member. As Masons are a gregarious bunch, I can’t imagine a good person who’s seeking membership in good faith being turned down.
Of course, yahoos still have conspiracy websites about the evils of Shriners and Masons and, well, every other damnfool thing under the sun. I see no reason to link to them: The google search ‘Masons Shriners’ turned up a bunch.
I’m not myself a Mason, but a lot of my friends are. They’re average guys, all of them, and none of them secretly run the world behind my back. I would have moved to a place warmer than Havre, Montana if they did.
There are fairly new masonic buildings around here, although they tend to be smaller more normal looking buildings than the older ones. Also, you have to ask a mason to join, they will not ask you. That’s all I know…I swear…
Lots o’ Masons in Chicagoland. Many young and black, which sorta blew the “rich old white guys” stereotype out of my head! I have several personal friends (3, I think) that are Masons, and two that are Co-Masons . (Masons do not allow women, so an offshoot was formed in 1893 in Paris to provide a Masonic lodge that accepts both men and women - these are the Co-Masons.)
Yes, you have to know a Mason to join, but you must ask them about joining. They are not allowed to recruit.
The easiest way to spot a Mason is the Masonic symbol, which is available on everything from rings to coffee mugs to license plate frames. It’s the G with a compass (the circle-drawing kind, not the map kind) and the carpenter’s square. Now that you know about it, I’m sure you’ll see it everywhere.
The Masons had a big growth spurt right after WW II, and now that group is dying off. Nearly every lodge has shrinkage problems. The last time I went to a meeting of the local Shrine Club (a sub-group of Murat Temple in Indianapolis,) I looked around the room. Out of about 120 men, only a dozen were not much older than me. I may have been the youngest man in the room. I’m 55.
This will be my last month as a Mason. I’m quitting. I’ve no quarrel with them, but I’m gone.
Esentially it’s what many of the other posts have said. They have their rituals, but essentially going to a lodge meeting is about getting tanked and telling jokes. They are not some global conspiracy, rather an older, more colourful version of a service club. They try to uphold certain ethical values, and they do charitable works. Aside from that, it’s a social club. It used to be useful as an old boys’ network, but that has nearly gone. Nearly, mind. That it was used as such was never kept secret though.
I’d join up, but like most, I don’t have enough hours in the day as it is.
Masonry was at one time Big Time across the US. It has shrunk or retreated from the big population centers to small town america. With all the other activities to absorb time today men don’t have a spare evening to spend on repetitive rituals.
Not many young men appear to enter the ranks via the DeMolay and girls via Rainbow Girls toward the Order of the Eastern Star (Womens’ auxillary to Masons).
If ever you find a lodge with pickups and cars around, wait till 9:00 or later and see for yourself. Mostly older men and few young if any.
It will likely fade away as have the “Odd Fellows,” Woodsmem," “Elks”, and others as the members pass on.
Co-Masons is news to me even if it dates back to 1893.
Black, Afro-Americans, as I understood it were a separate and self-initiated group and had no ‘truck’ with other lodeges or was is vice versa.
Shriner’s are going big time with fund raising for the Shriners’ burn centers and hospitals for children.
All services at no charge. Local “Shrines” furnish transportation to and from treatment centers.
What about the oath you take (accepting death if you reveal the ancient secrets)? And what about the “clestial room”-with the 4 thrones?
Seems like a sinsiter group that’s hell-bent on world domination!
One point I would make: Masons aren’t the only ones facing the decline of civic participation. many, many scholarly articles have been written on it. Basically people in the U.S. don’t join anything like they used to. Further, it is not dealt with in this cite, but the ages on those who do is skewed way old. Red Cross, Church Ladies, volunteer museum/history docents – look at them and generally that is the same thing you will see going on with the Masons
"Membership records of such diverse organizations as the PTA, the Elks club, the League of Women Voters, the Red Cross, labor unions, and even bowling leagues show that participation in many conventional voluntary associations has declined by roughly 25 percent to 50 percent over the last two to three decades. Surveys show sharp declines in many measures of collective political participation, including attending a rally or speech (off 36 percent between 1973 and 1993), attending a meeting on town or school affairs (off 39 percent), or working for a political party (off 56 percent). http://www.prospect.org/print/V7/24/putnam-r.html
How popular is Masonry? All the guys at the Lodge are members.
My Lodge in Frederick, Maryland built a new lodge hall a couple of years ago. The old one was a fire trap.
Wherever I travel around the world it is good to know I have friends and brothers. Studies have shown that we are getting older in the West, but this is not the case elsewhere (the Middle East, the Philippines, Thailand, Russia). Many think the cause is television which eats up our free time.
In all too many cases all civic life is dying out. Darn shame.
