Freemasons in midst of popularity, membership boom

LA Times ^ | 18 May 2008 | Adam Tschorn

[BGHater]

IN LOS FELIZ, across from a 7-Eleven on North Vermont Avenue, a few dozen men in their early 20s to late 80s share a dinner behind closed doors. Some wear full tuxedos with bow ties and jeweled cuff links, some have shoulder-length hair, and others wear open-collared shirts that reveal the slightest filigree of tattoo arching across their chests.

Over Italian food, retired lawyers and judges sit elbow-to-elbow with owners of scrap metal yards and vintage clothing boutiques. They hold forth on philosophy, the weather; they rib each other and joke about saving room for cannoli. As they reach for seconds, they reveal skull-cracking rings emblazoned with a compass and a square.

Meet the millennial Masons. As secret societies go, it is one of the oldest and most famous. Its enrollment roster includes Louis Armstrong and Gerald Ford, and it has been depicted in movies such as “The Da Vinci Code” and “National Treasure.” Once more than 4 million strong (back in the 1950s), it has been in something of a popularity free-fall ever since. Viewed with suspicion as a bastion of antiquated values and forced camaraderie, the Masons have seen membership rolls plummet more than 60% to just 1.5 million in 2006.

Only now the trend seems to be reversing itself, and nowhere more noticeably than in Southern California. The reasons seem clear. In another Masonic Hall, this one on La Cienega, a Sri Lankan-born banker, a sunglasses-wearing Russian immigrant and a continent-hopping Frenchman break bread, poke at their salads and chat about their health.

"For a time it looked as if Masonry was going into a sharp decline, if not the death throes," said UCLA history professor Margaret C. Jacob, who has written extensively about the fraternal order. "But it looks like it may be making a comeback."

[Concho]

I do not see us as a club. I see us as a Fraternity, no different than any other fraternity. Those of you who have traveled, if you belonged to any other fraternities, know of what I speak.

[my right]

IIRC, Freemasons Sam Houston, Col. William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett weren’t wearing clown suits when they fought for Texas independence from Mexico. In addition, the second largest group (after Jews) killed by Hitler in WWII were Freemasons. They even got their very own special red triangles to wear in concentration camps as political prisoners. No photos show them wearing clown suits. Providing severely injured children with comprehensive medical care free of charge at Scottish Rite and Shriners Hospitals doesn’t involve clown suits either.

Very well said; you can also add George Washington, Harry Truman, and many other great people to that list. And by the way, my grand daughter was treated for a malformed foot at the Greenville, SC shriners hospital, absolutely free.

[5Madman2]

Bump for later

[Tex Pete]

“I do not see us as a club. I see us as a Fraternity”

Agreed. I was just picking a word to differentiate us from a cult. Guess I just proved that I haven’t been attending much lately.

[Concho]

Yes, I havent been up the stairs lately myself, there are no lodges in this area. Fortunately, I am hoping to move back to civilization where I can attend again.

[Wallace T.]

From the Los Angeles Times article: The lodge's senior deacon, Jim Warren, calls it " 'Star Trek' without the chicks." "We have every possible national origin, ethnicity and religious denomination you could imagine," he said.

What is interesting is that the Masons appear to be reinventing themselves from being essentially a white Protestant fraternity into one that is more diverse. While there have been some Jewish Masons (though few, if any, Catholic or Mormon Masons), as well as a separate Masonic fraternity for African Americans, the public perception of the fraternity has been one of white, culturally conservative, Protestant men, usually middle aged or older. For better or worse, such a perception is disastrous in 21st Century America.

[peyton randolph]

Please re-read my post.

As a Freemason, I am certainly not calling freemasonry a cult or a religion.

However, I am stating that snarky anti-masonic comments are typically made by cult members who incorrectly believe that freemasonry is a religion.

[Tex Pete]

My lodge building is “modern,” built in 1971. We don’t have any stairs. There are a lot of old two stories around here, though.

Our original building was built in 1877, or so, and was the town’s only school building for around 75 more years, and remained an elementary school for another 40 more. It is still in use as an alternative school. Imagine how much bang for their buck those original Masons have gotten out of building that original school/lodge building.

[Tex Pete]

Gotcha. My mistake.

[N. Theknow]

The raccoon is feasting on elderberries. Shower at 8.

Best news I've heard all day. Thanks Hiram.

BTW - The zebra stripes are horizontal in the morning.

[chuckles]

I've recently been arguing with my pastor about Masons. He asked me if they don't require a belief in Jesus as Christ, then might I be required to display a Quran in the Lodge? He seems to have a big conflict with them thinking they are based in Gnosticism. I explain it's not a religion, but he disagrees. I tell him it's just about making good men better, and he says “So you admit it then”. He asks “What secrets can you know that aren't revealed by God to make men better? It just devolves into a circular argument from there. Several Masons have left the church and he says see, they chose Masonic religion over God. I told him you may be showing your ignorance on a subject is running them off. The man is one of the most educated pastors I've ever sat under, but his obsession with Masons is getting rediculous. The more push back he gets from Masons, the more sure he's on to something.

[Concho]

Which shows you are not a mason, and/or know very little about it. I have attended lodge with Jewish, Catholic and Mormon Masons over the years. The separate “Hiram” Lodge exists because the blacks want it separate, not because the Lodge wants them separate. Where I come from, all men of good character are welcome in the Lodge.

“white, culturally conservative, Protestant men, usually middle aged or older. For better or worse, such a perception is disastrous in 21st Century America” ??

That may be, but that is where the decisions will be made and that is where the money is held, so I dont know how you see it as disastrous. These same men are the ones who will teach the younger ones how to be leaders. I dont see that as disasterous.

[dr.zaeus]

2B1ASK1

[Wallace T.]

What had been happening to the Masons is not unlike other fraternal groups, such as the Odd Fellows, Elks, etc., that is, declining and aging membership and weak recruitment. I live in the northern suburbs of Dallas, and membership in the various fraternal groups is quite low. The lodges that exist are mostly in the oldest areas of the suburban towns and are dominated by second or greater generation native Texans, mostly middle aged and older, and mostly white and Protestant. The list of officers is filled with surnames you find on street signs in the older parts of town and historical plaques. I am aware that the Masons do not exclude nonwhites, or Jews, Catholics, Mormons, etc., but you must admit that the membership is overwhelmingly white and Protestant.

It appears that, at least in Los Angeles, the Masons have reversed this trend. The decline of the Masons and similar groups is a reflection of the overall feminization of American society. The lodges, like the old style country clubs, are a bastion of male fellowship that is generally lacking in modern America.

[ANGGAPO]

And to add a few other facts. Most of the men that put our country together were Masons, including George Washington.

[Leg Olam]

Help for the widows son has got me out of a few jams in my life.

[ontap]

Freemasons do not profess to be a religion and do not offer freemasonry up as a substitute for religion.

[pogo101]

My (maternal) grandpa was a Mason. He always said “It’s not a secret society. It’s a society with some secrets.”

I’d consider joining, but the fact is I know almost no one who is a member under retirement age.

Part of the plummeting membership may be the “fault” of the would-be recruited generation, which, starting in the 1960s, became radically different than the preceding generations and less willing to accept a God’s existence, perhaps.

But part of the falling membership is for lack of current members’ recruiting efforts. I don’t recall ever hearing from anyone, personally or otherwise, along the lines of “Hey, consider Masonry.”

[ontap]

I know of nothing in my twenty plus years as a Mason that ever made me regret joining the brotherhood of Masons. They are as an honorable group of men I have ever known. While others stand around an criticize we are helping widows and small children.

[PeteB570]

TB1ASK1

The Masons do not recuite.