# Rotary Clubs **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2024, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotary-clubs/1002212 "2024-05-29T04:32:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotary-clubs/1002212/21 "2024-05-30T16:59:53Z")
I’ve been to a couple of Rotary Club meetings in my area, as a city council candidate. They seem to be trying hard to recruit younger people, which is good. They wanted me to join but I could just tell I was too poor and too quiet and not Business Professional to fit in. Not that they wouldn’t be nice to me, I would just feel awkward. They seem like a good, worthwhile club here. My dad was a Moose for a hot minute. It was the bar closest to the Ford plant where he worked. I don’t really remember them doing any good works but I’m sure they did and my dad wasn’t interested. They sponsored my bowling team the few years I pretended to be a bowler. A friend of mine is president of the local Lion’s Club. They seem to do a LOT of good work. Always collecting and donating money. They for real collect and distribute used eyeglasses and hearing aids, as well. I get the feeling they are mostly old folks (my friend is 72) but I’ve never been to a meeting. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotary-clubs/1002212/22 "2024-05-30T17:04:16Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Note that a lot of Rotary Clubs are solid Trump supporters. Trump was even president of the NY 6 Rotary Club back when. The national org. also has been on the far right side lobbying on many bills in Congress. In my 10 years in Rotary, I can say that about 20% of the people I met were vocal republicans, about 10% of the people I met were vocal democrats and the remaining 70% of the people I met I had little or no idea what their political affiliation was. To be fair, this was in New England. Rotary in different parts of the country may be different. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotary-clubs/1002212/23 "2024-05-30T17:07:37Z")
I think the Moose is the only thriving club I’ve been inside of, but that was like 40 years ago. Other clubs I’ve been inside were rented out for company functions and I rarely if ever see anyone inside them. But the husband of one of my babysitters was a Moose and occasionally we’d meet him at its bar. Then again, maybe the clubs are so secretive that some of them are actually thriving when they looked empty outside. The Moose was the only time that something like that’s happened to me. In the movies it seems unrealistic when someone enters a building on a dead street with no noise coming from inside and then all of a sudden the inside is bouncing, but that is what the Moose was like. ---
**Author:** ![mjmartin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3d9bf3/32.png) [@mjmartin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mjmartin)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotary-clubs/1002212/24 "2024-05-30T17:15:10Z")
> [@Grestarian](#): > > You must be monotheist to join and we’ll be doing charitable stuff and, of course, networking within the chapter. Sorry to nitpick, but this is just not true. Rotary does not have a religion requirement. Many clubs do begin with a Christian prayer, but this is neither required nor endorsed by Rotary International. There are clubs throughout the world, including in many countries where monotheism is rare. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2024, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotary-clubs/1002212/25 "2024-05-30T18:31:03Z")
Not Rotary but a lot of them, maybe most, require you to be a theist which could even be a vague belief in a higher power. A friend of mine wanted me to join (I think) the Elks and I balked at that requirement. He said that I just lied. I wasn’t willing to do that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/rotary-clubs/1002212.md?page=1)