Joined:
Dec 2022
Posts:
6576
EE: 0% (0)
KY, USA
Posted: 1/19/2026 8:05:58 PM EDT
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Let me start by saying I'm not interested in joining a lodge, but I am curious what drives a man to join. My grandpa was a Mason so I would like to understand the appeal. Anybody willing to explain why they joined? |
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I'll give you one reason, it's not the only though.. Back in the day when you're grandfather joined there wasn't much To Do. There was 3 channels on television. There wasn't any internet and the certainly wasn't a lot of kids sports...these days parents are always busy running their little kids all over the place... It was a place for guys to go without children or women around and do their thing.. ================= I joined for another reason. |
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Costco Club' gives Utah men a safe place to open up, find emotional support Not exactly that, but those guys have the right idea. It's a place for men with similar interests to get together with other men. In our increasingly busy and disconnected world, those opportunities just don't exist. It's a place to build a social network. Freemasonry is probably the oldest still functioning fraternity. We just don't haze like a college fraternity and we don't have drunken parties. |
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In most cases, the man wants to connect with other men who share similar interests. Freemasonry is not a singular topic, but has many facets, including fraternity, education, ritual, spirituality, history, socializing, etc. The extent of your involvement is completely up to you. The common cliche, "The more you put into it, the more you get out of it", is so true. One can join, pay his dues, carry a dues card, and never set foot in a lodge again. He can join, make friends, spend some time with like-minded men, learn about the fraternity, get involved in social and charitable events, "move through the chairs" to progress through the officer line, etc. He can delve into esoteric studies and learn about how the teachings and philosophies of Freemasonry, literally and figuratively, stretch back into antiquity. Historically, many Masons are "joiners" who enjoy connecting and bonding with like-minded friends through these types of organizations. I've read that in recent history (since the Revolutionary War), the military played a role in increasing Masonic membership. Generally, when men served in the military, they were assigned to units that typically moved together, building bonds among their fellow soldiers. After leaving service, they often wanted to carry that camaraderie beyond their military service, and Freemasonry filled that need. That strategy changed during the Vietnam War, so men did not always spend their service time with the same men. Upon leaving service, they lacked that social draw. Masonic membership, post-Vietnam, has steadily declined. And with today's focus on the Internet, phones, games, entertainment, etc., the kind of socializing found in Freemasonry, in a non-technical environment, is not helping membership. |
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Originally Posted By OverScoped: I'll give you one reason, it's not the only though.. Back in the day when you're grandfather joined there wasn't much To Do. There was 3 channels on television. There wasn't any internet and the certainly wasn't a lot of kids sports...these days parents are always busy running their little kids all over the place... It was a place for guys to go without children or women around and do their thing.. ================= I joined for another reason. That's why I got out. Too busy to attend regularly. |
"A mass production economy can neither be created nor sustained
without a leveled population, one conditioned to mass habits, mass tastes, mass enthusiasms,
predictable mass behaviors." John Gatto
without a leveled population, one conditioned to mass habits, mass tastes, mass enthusiasms,
predictable mass behaviors." John Gatto
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Besides my family connections, My grand father was a Shriner I grew up going to parades with him and my uncle who drove the small cars, he was very active in transporting children to the hospitalizes. My father and father in law were both Masons. I joined because I was interested in the history, and the charities that we help with especially having children with autism myself. I don't get to attend regularly, too may work and family things going on, I did not go at all last year, even though I was supposed to be the junior deacon, I had to let them know I was unable to preform this duty that I wanted to do, because of health issues and an issue that I had to get one of my daughters in to treatment for. I just went thought the next parts of the York Rite over the weekend, a lot of information to take in. I'm so glad that when I attend my Lodge that I am among friends, I often feel uncomfortable after not being there much and sometimes feel like a pretender, but the guys are very much welcoming and always willing to provide education and support. |