# What is the value of a "Secret Society"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 8, 2015, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109 "2015-02-08T12:44:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/21 "2015-02-08T20:13:10Z")
:eek: Vehement Maledictions!!! I have looked at the OP repeatedly trying to figure out why the first “their” was incorrect and I repeatedly missed the second “their”. My humblest apologies. \ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/22 "2015-02-08T20:41:34Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > :eek: Vehement Maledictions!!! I have looked at the OP repeatedly trying to figure out why the first “their” was incorrect and I repeatedly missed the second “their”. My humblest apologies. \ :smack: You probably can’t see the fnord either. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/23 "2015-02-08T20:45:57Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > :eek: Vehement Maledictions!!! I have looked at the OP repeatedly trying to figure out why the first “their” was incorrect and\*\* I repeatedly missed the second “their”. \*\*My humblest apologies. \ :smack: Well, that’s why it’s a _secret_ society. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/24 "2015-02-08T20:46:22Z")
My daughter has a Fnord Fnocus. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/25 "2015-02-08T20:49:29Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Third: I’m a DeMolay as are all my brothers, I’m also a Sir Knight, my sister is a Job’s Daughter, my mother is a member of Eastern Star, and my father is a Mason (Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite, and a couple of other Masonic bodies). I’m also an Ordeal member of the Order of the Arrow of the BSA. Whoa…then you shouldn’t be posting here, eh? ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2015, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/26 "2015-02-08T22:16:50Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > My daughter has a Fnord Fnocus. Does she drive it to the Phoenix Phall Phunfest in Phennsylvania? We did a tiny Dopefest there once. Just once. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/27 "2015-02-09T00:15:51Z")
> [@Canadjun](#): > > Correct for the first, incorrect for the second. The OP should be using the word “rites”, but is correct in his use of the possessive “their”. Yes, but he also wrote: > [@](#): > > Their is the famous “Skull and Bones” society at Yale. 'Nuff said? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/28 "2015-02-09T05:39:15Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Does she drive it to the Phoenix Phall Phunfest in Phennsylvania? We did a tiny Dopefest there once. Just once. That would be Dopephest at the Phunphest, n’est-ce phas? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/29 "2015-02-09T06:24:58Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Third: I’m a DeMolay as are all my brothers, I’m also a Sir Knight, my sister is a Job’s Daughter, my mother is a member of Eastern Star, and my father is a Mason (Blue Lodge, Scottish Rite, and a couple of other Masonic bodies). I’m also an Ordeal member of the Order of the Arrow of the BSA. Wow, when do you have time for anything? To be honest I’d never even heard of Demolay or Sir Knight of those and had to look them up. My son is in Order of the Arrow. Demolay seems interesting. Back in the days almost all adult American males belonged to a lodge like Masons, Jaycees, Elks, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, Raccoon Lodge etc… but nowadays its getting pretty rare. It’s too bad because such groups seem to good for networking and community. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/30 "2015-02-09T06:38:25Z")
I can’t tell. I swore. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/31 "2015-02-09T07:31:11Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Wow, when do you have time for anything? Two hours a month for DeMolay, one hour a month for Order of Knighthood (properly, _The Chivalric Knights of the Holy Order of the Fellow Soldiers of Jacques DeMolay_) isn’t all that much an investment. I have no idea how much time Oder of the Arrow was supposed to take each month because shortly after my ordeal (initiation), my brothers and I stopped going to Scouting; DeMolay was a more active thing in our area and with our friends. > [@](#): > > To be honest I’d never even heard of Demolay or Sir Knight of those and had to look them up. My son is in Order of the Arrow. Demolay seems interesting. You can check out [DeMolay](http://demolay.org/)’s homepage for more information. The equivalent for DeMolay for Prince Hall lodges is Knights of Pythagoras, which was specifically modeled on DeMolay. I do not know what the Prince Hall lodges’ equivalents are for Job’s Daughters and Rainbow Girls. > [@](#): > > Back in the days almost all adult American males belonged to a lodge like Masons, Jaycees, Elks, Kiwanis, Rotary, Lions, Raccoon Lodge etc… but nowadays its getting pretty rare. It’s too bad because such groups seem to good for networking and community. I’m not sure I buy the networking bit for finding jobs, contracts, etc. as I’ve never seen that come up. In other words: I’ve never seen any favoritism granted towards another member of a masonic-affiliated group. Maybe it happened in the past, but today it’s probably not really possible to get away with it in the areas where Freemasonry is concentrated. Currently I reside in Beijing and there are no Masonic bodies meeting in the PRC if you don’t count Hong Kong and Macau. I may join in Hong Kong, though. Haven’t made up my mind yet. While I was living in South Korea, I did consider joining a Prince Hall lodge but didn’t get around to it because it’s just not that high up on my bucket list of things to do for me to rush the decision. I do know that I will not join a lodge in a jurisdiction where “White Masonic” lodges do not have mutual recognition of Prince Hall (“Black Masonic” although PH is open to all) lodges. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/32 "2015-02-09T10:58:48Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > You can check out [DeMolay](http://demolay.org/)’s homepage for more information. The equivalent for DeMolay for Prince Hall lodges is Knights of Pythagoras, which was specifically modeled on DeMolay. I do not know what the Prince Hall lodges’ equivalents are for Job’s Daughters and Rainbow Girls. I checked that link. This was interesting: “Although only one out of every 1,000 young men in the United States, age 13 to 21, will join DeMolay, it is interesting to note that many of this nation’s leaders in business, religion, and politics belonged to DeMolay in their teens. In fact, one out of every twelve State Governors is a Senior DeMolay and one out of every ten United States Senators is a Senior DeMolay.” Interesting about the governors and senators. More information - I never knew there were separate “Black” masonic groups. I knew though Catholics had Knights of Columbus. Ok, another question. Do members “test” out each other by giving the Masonic secret handshake? I kind of wonder because I’ve gotten some odd handshakes before. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/33 "2015-02-09T11:00:34Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > 1. Me. > > 2. It adds to the mystique and to some degree the fun. > > 3. It depends. Some business owners really do get a boost from membership in the various “clubs” But mostly its more personal – a connection to the past (several ancestors were members) and the present (friends I’ve made through the organization). It also has a strong feeling of community missing from most neighborhoods and small towns today. What organization is this? ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/34 "2015-02-09T11:05:53Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > My late father was a 32nd degree Mason. He never talked with his kids about it. Now this is more of why I get nervous about the Masons. Why wouldnt a group have family events like say picnics? Why wouldnt a person want to talk about it with their kids? Wouldnt they want them to later join or maybe be a part of the groups youth programs? Why not encourage the wives to join the womens version like Job’s daughters? BTW, Thank you Scottish Rite Masons. You partly paid for my sons first hearing aids. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/35 "2015-02-09T12:09:58Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Now this is more of why I get nervous about the Masons. Why wouldnt a group have family events like say picnics? Why wouldnt a person want to talk about it with their kids? Wouldnt they want them to later join or maybe be a part of the groups youth programs? Why not encourage the wives to join the womens version like Job’s daughters? > > BTW, Thank you Scottish Rite Masons. You partly paid for my sons first hearing aids. Our family attended the Shrine Circus regularly (which benefitted the Shriner’s Hospital for children). We enjoyed the show while dad worked support stuff (presumably food-related). The families got plenty of exposure to the non-secret, service aspect of the Masons. When we asked questions about secret stuff, the answer kids usually got from our fathers was, “When you’re ready to join, we can discuss that”. Regarding auxiliary groups, they do have the [Order of the Eastern Star](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Eastern_Star). When we were going through our mother’s things after she’d died, we found an Eastern Star handbook. She never said anything about it, so we don’t know whether it was hers or dad’s (Eastern Star is open to both Master Masons and women related to Masons). A few years ago, I actually looked into joining the Masons just for the heck of it. (AIUI, having a father who was a Mason can serve as an introduction, and I figured that 1947 state convention photograph would verify my claim). I decided against it when I learned that you have to swear to belief in a supreme being, and I’m an atheist. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/36 "2015-02-09T14:38:34Z")
> [@F.U.Shakespeare](#): > > I decided against it when I learned that you have to swear to belief in a supreme being, and I’m an atheist. You could always lie. It’ll be your secret. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/37 "2015-02-09T14:45:56Z")
> [@](#): > > What is the value of a “Secret Society”? it lets its members feel “special” without having to spend much effort. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/38 "2015-02-09T15:21:38Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > What organization is this? Pretty much any of them but in my case its FOE (Eagles). ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/39 "2015-02-09T20:33:32Z")
> [@](#): > > What is the value of a “Secret Society”? Cheaper health insurance than you would be able to purchase as an individual. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2015, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109/40 "2015-02-09T21:28:42Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > **"What is the value of a “Secret Society”?** Assets - Liabilities = Owners Equity [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-value-of-a-secret-society/712109.md?page=3)