Masons on the Rise

TBL Staff · 05-14-2006, 12:09 AM

The Freemasons were once a cornerstone of U.S. society, counting among their members nine signers of the Declaration of Independence, 14 presidents and 42 U.S. Supreme Court justices.

The organization is a fraternity, social club and "brotherhood" that, using the ancient craft of stonecutting as a metaphor, seeks to instill morality and upright behavior in members. At monthly lodge meetings, Masons perform rituals to induct new members, attend classes on what they call "the craft," and organize charitable activities in their communities.

"This is no different than any other fraternal organization," said John Baker, secretary of Morning Star Lodge No. 68, one of Stockton's two Masonic lodges. "We're a bunch of men who enjoy the companionship of men who think like us. It's not a real strange or secret thing."

While the organization is in serious decline in some communities, any close look at the centuries-old Masonic fraternity reveals more than a dying group with a mysterious past.

Popular with the World War II generation, the Masons hit their peak in 1959, with more than 4 million U.S. members. Now, membership is around 1.5 million.

Stockton's lodges have a total of about 500 members, and the number of applicants is on the rise, Baker said. He noted that many more Masons live in Stockton and belong to lodges in surrounding cities.

But Masons do seem to be making a cultural splash. Friday's release of the film version of "The Da Vinci Code" has piqued interest in secret societies and ancient rituals. "Da Vinci" author Dan Brown's next book, "The Solomon Key," is rumored to be about Freemasonry and the Founding Fathers. Freemasonry also figured prominently in the 2004 Nicolas Cage adventure film "National Treasure."

Some Masonic leaders see the spike in interest as an opportunity to re-energize Freemasonry and its various subgroups - which include the Scottish Rite, the York Rite, the Order of the Eastern Star and the Shriners.

Baker doesn't attribute the increase in interest to books or movies.

Instead, he said Generation X is turning to the Masons and other fraternal organizations for recreation.

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D. W. Brown · 05-14-2006, 01:00 AM

I tend to disagree with quite a few things in this article. It is the traditional babble put out by so called Page Ranking representatives of the masonic community, who don't really understand what Ancient Freemasonry was all about.

Quote:

"Instead, he said Generation X is turning to the Masons and other fraternal organizations for recreation."

I believe that the reason Generation X is turning to Freemasonry has nothing to do with "recreation" but instead intellectual curiosity. The quest for knowledge in this generation is tremendous and even though schools are experiencing declining scores in education overall, there is actually a greater number of very intellectual youths today. They are curious about the ancient rituals and teachings of freemasonry and of course there are the believers in a great treasure hidden by the Freemasons. Those who believe in the treasure and hope to gain access to the inner circle, who are the keepers of "the secret", will fade away fast. However those who want to expand their intellectual knowledge will find the true treasure of Freemasons.

osullivanp · 05-15-2006, 06:43 PM

DW...I agree with your assessment...as a Gen X'r I didn't join masonry for some recreational reason, but for a deeper understanding, in search of the Big Why....as most folks my age are in the same pursuit.......so how do we get the right message out to the masses? I think starting in your own lodge and local community is the best place to begin....to many masons want to sign a blank check and call it "charity", but the most valuable thing we have to give is our time....