Vatican Reaffirms Ban On Masonic Membership: Catholic Masons Shrug

by Christopher Hodapp

(This story has been slightly updated 11/16/23 12:56PM to include an excerpt from the Vatican News explaining the origin of the DDF's position on Masonry.)

The Roman Catholic Church has officially issued a doctrinal letter this week re-affirming its longstanding ban on Masonic membership among its global flock, but Catholic Masons pretty much remain unmoved by the restriction.

In the letter released by the Vatican's Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) dated November 13th and signed by Pope Francis and DDF Prefect Cardinal Victor Fernández, it is stated that "Active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is prohibited, because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry." 

The Rome headquarters of the Dicastery of the Doctrine of the Faith (Photo: Vatican News)

The DDF is responsible for interpreting the Church's Canon Law when questions and disagreements arise over the application of the rules.

According to official Vatican state media, the letter was a response to a bishop from the Philippines who was alarmed by what he sees as a growing number of Freemasons in that predominantly Catholic country, and wanted to know how to respond pastorally. The DDF statement cites a 1983 declaration, originally issued by the late Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith at the time, stating that Catholics "in Masonic associations are in a state of grave sin and may not receive Holy Communion." 

As the Vatican News website explains,

The November 1983 declaration was published shortly before the new Code of Canon Law entered into force. The 1983 CIC replaced the Code of Canon Law published in 1917; among the new features noted – by some with satisfaction, by others with concern – was the absence of an explicit condemnation of Freemasonry and excommunication for those affiliated with it. Both had been present in the earlier Code. The Declaration, signed by the then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and the Secretary of the Congregation, Archbishop Jérôme Hamer, and approved by John Paul II, reiterated that Catholics affiliated with Masonic lodges are “in a state of grave sin.”

Ratzinger would go on to become Pope Benedict XVI, who was widely regarded as extremely conservative in his views. But according to this new communication, it appears that sentiments haven't changed in the Curia.

Click to enlarge

The letter states that:

“Membership in Freemasonry is very significant in the Philippines; it involves not only those who are formally enrolled in Masonic Lodges but, more generally, a large number of sympathizers and associates who are personally convinced that there is no opposition between membership in the Catholic Church and in Masonic Lodges . . . On the doctrinal level, it should be remembered that active membership in Freemasonry by a member of the faithful is forbidden because of the irreconcilability between Catholic doctrine and Freemasonry.”

That the famously liberal Pope Francis would now reaffirm his predecessor's opinion on Masonic membership some 40 years after Ratzinger's weighing in on the matter is an exceptionally disappointing blow to the hundreds of thousands of Catholic men around the world who are Masons and who don't regard the fraternity as irreconcilable with their faith in any way. 

By contrast, the same office said last week that transgender people can be baptized, serve as godparents and act as witnesses at Catholic weddings. The two issues aren't at all related, but Vatican watchers have long conjectured that Pope Francis would make dramatic changes to Canon Law like permitting married priests and nuns, homosexual weddings and other radical alterations to the rules and traditions of the Church. For him to stick with the ban on Masonic membership, of all things, seems out of character for him.

Freemasonry was first condemned by Pope Clement XII back in 1734, just 17 years after the formation of the Premiere Grand Lodge of England. For another 200 years Popes continued to issue papal bulls and encyclicals against the fraternity, sometimes more from a political power viewpoint than a religious one. Language specifically forbidding Freemasonry to Catholics (along with Kiwanis, Rotary and other associative fraternal organizations with secular memberships) was enshrined as a part of Canon Law from 1917 until the enormous revisions of the Second Vatican Council were adopted by 1965. The Church wrongly asserts that Freemasonry is its own "naturalistic religion" that promotes "indifferentism," and that its rituals deliberately ape religious ceremonies and offers a path to eternal salvation through a doctrine of merely doing good works on Earth. It regards Masonic use of the term "Great Architect of the Universe" as a deistic concept and opposes any notion that a person can be pleasing to God regardless of his religion. It's not an unusual position for any large denomination to take to protect its spiritual turf rights by claiming its path is the only way to salvation, but  it's a woefully mistaken interpretation of what the rituals of regular, recognized "Ancient Craft Masonry" actually say.

The Vatican II revisions of the 1960s stripped out the specific names of groups that had been ruled off limits in 1917, and just generically banned groups that actively were anti-Catholic. While French-derived "continental Freemasonry" really has espoused anti-Catholic sentiments and actively promoted "free will" and lobbied for strict secularism in France's national laws, such Masonic groups are shunned as "irregular" by English/Scottish-derived grand lodges that make up the vast majority of what is called "regular, recognized" Freemasonry all over the world today. In addition, the Scottish Rite "higher degrees" that first came out of France in the 1700s and were revised in the U.S. by Albert Pike in the late 1800s did contain a Knights Kadosh ritual that condemned both monarchial and papal "tyranny" which were seen as interfering with free will in men. Such a point of view hardly convinced the Church's authorities to ever look kindly on the fraternity.

A March 28, 2023 article on the Union of Catholic Asian News website reported on the Masonic questions coming out of the Philippines: 

“We thought the Catholic Church’s teachings have changed. Since several participants in the synod were Freemasons, we thought the Church has relaxed the rules on its membership and its participation in activities of the Catholic Church,” Quezon City parishioner Gloria Buencamino, 43, told UCA News on March 26.

Buencamino claimed some “extraordinary” ministers who helped the priest distribute communion during Mass in their parish were also Freemasons.

“In our parish alone, we have two of them and they were delegates to the Synod on Synodality. They are good and pious Catholics. Personally, I was surprised to see the CBCP has released the pastoral guidelines,” Buencamino added.

But the bishops’ commission clarified that “nothing has changed” and asserted that those joining Masonry will incur canonical penalties.

“Yet, given the sensitivity and delicateness of the issue in the Philippine setting, it has also shown ‘openness,’ in the exercise of pastoral circumspection, towards Catholics who may have unwittingly in good faith sought membership in Masonic associations with the best of intentions,” said the commission chairman, Bishop Jose R. Rojas of Libmanan.

It should be understood that Masonic grand lodges don't ban Catholics from joining - the restriction has always been a one-way street. Masonic membership only requires a man have a belief in God or a Supreme Being, and perhaps an associated belief in a spiritual afterlife (depending on the jurisdiction – each grand lodge jurisdiction can be slightly different). No one should be asking you your specific religious denomination as part of the petitioning process, apart from being able to accommodate your religious requirements when our ceremonies involve an obligation taken on a volume of sacred law that's specific to your beliefs. A lodge isn't a church, and your private beliefs regarding your personal relationship with the Almighty are seen as just that – private.

Because of that policy, lodges and grand lodges don't keep records and statistics tabulating the specific religious practices and denominations of their members, but recent voluntary polling shows that as many as 23% of U.S. Masons may be Catholic. If true, that works out to about 230,000 Catholic Masons in America alone. And if that holds true globally (just making a supposition), there may be a million or more Catholic Masons worldwide. In countries where the Catholic population is much higher than in the U.S. (as in Central and South American nations and the Philippines) the percentages are most probably even higher. Obviously, these men aren't letting their church get away with telling them their fraternity is irreconcilable with their faith when they know that to be demonstrably false. Quite the opposite — Freemasonry encourages each Mason to study and support his own religious institution and its traditions as part of a well-rounded individual, while respecting the personal beliefs of others. 

Oddly enough, Pope Francis issued an encyclical just last year called Fratelli Tutti ("All Brothers") which called on the world's political and religious leaders to create a new, ecumenical, "universal brotherhood" to help overcome Mankind's differences. 

Some excerpts included:

Paragraph #6. It is my desire that, in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity. Fraternity between all men and women. “Here we have a splendid secret that shows us how to dream and to turn our life into a wonderful adventure. No one can face life in isolation… We need a community that supports and helps us, in which we can help one another to keep looking ahead. How important it is to dream together… By ourselves, we risk seeing mirages, things that are not there. Dreams, on the other hand, are built together”. Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travelers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all.

Paragraph #8. “It is my desire that, in this our time, by acknowledging the dignity of each human person, we can contribute to the rebirth of a universal aspiration to fraternity.”

Paragraph #46. We should also recognize that destructive forms of fanaticism are at times found among religious believers, including Christians; they too “can be caught up in networks of verbal violence through the internet and the various forums of digital communication. Even in Catholic media, limits can be overstepped, defamation and slander can become commonplace, and all ethical standards and respect for the good name of others can be abandoned”. How can this contribute to the fraternity that our common Father asks of us?

Paragraph #95. “Love also impels us towards universal communion. No one can mature or find fulfillment by withdrawing from others. By its very nature, love calls for growth in openness and the ability to accept others as part of a continuing adventure that makes every periphery converge in a greater sense of mutual belonging. As Jesus told us: “You are all brothers” (Mt 23:8).

Paragraph #254. “I ask God to prepare our hearts to encounter our brothers and sisters, so that we may overcome our differences rooted in political thinking, language, culture and religion. Let us ask him to anoint our whole being with the balm of his mercy, which heals the injuries caused by mistakes, misunderstandings and disputes. And let us ask him for the grace to send us forth, in humility and meekness, seeking peace.” 

Paragraph #272. “As believers, we are convinced that, without an openness to the Father of all, there will be no solid and stable reasons for an appeal to fraternity. We are certain that “only with this awareness that we are not orphans, but children, can we live in peace with one another”. For “reason, by itself, is capable of grasping the equality between men and of giving stability to their civic coexistence, but it cannot establish fraternity”.

Paragraph #277. “The Church esteems the ways in which God works in other religions, and “rejects nothing of what is true and holy in these religions. She has a high regard for their manner of life and conduct, their precepts and doctrines which… often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men and women.”

Paragraph #281. “A journey of peace is possible between religions. Its point of departure must be God’s way of seeing things. God does not see with his eyes, God sees with his heart. And God’s love is the same for everyone, regardless of religion. Even if they are atheists, his love is the same. When the last day comes, and there is sufficient light to see things as they really are, we are going to find ourselves quite surprised.” 

Paragraph #287. “He [Christ] wanted to be, in the end, “the universal brother” … May God inspire that dream in each one of us. Amen.”

To Catholic Freemasons around the world last year, such a proposed ecumenical assembly sounded mighty familiar, and many held out hope that this pontiff would finally drop restrictions on their already-existing "universal brotherhood." But obviously not. Of course, to the 'Militant Catholics' wing within the Church that has hated Francis from the day he was elected, last year's encyclical was clear proof to them that he's really a not-so-secret Jesuit Freemason anti-pope out to destroy the Vatican from within. Or something.

Of course, there's so much anti-Francis sentiment among traditional Catholics around the world, it's possible this anti-Masonic statement was nothing more than damage control on his part. In any case, Pope Francis' agreement with the anti-Masonic position is not a hopeful one for Catholic Masons who want the Church to loosen its stiff-necked rules on the subject. Telling Catholics the world over that they can't belong the largest, oldest, and best known fraternal organization that does exactly what the "universal brotherhood" Francis described last year just is not going to have the effect Rome is hoping for. But most Catholic Masons don't seem to be losing much sleep over it. 

Myself? I sleep like a baby.

Amen in aeternum.

Why Gen-Z Probably Isn't Interested in Freemasonry and Why We Need To Care

by Christopher Hodapp

Brother Darin Lahners over at the Midnight Freemason blog has written an important essay this week that was inspired by the meme above. I had been working on my own essay along similar lines all week, but Darin has done a far better job than I was doing. Entitled, Why can't we convince Gen-Z to join Freemasonry? You won't like the answer, I strongly urge all Masons — whether they are lodge officers, grand lodge leaders, or simply rank and file brethren — to read it all the way through, and ponder the points he makes.

And to head off any immediate political objection some readers might have upon reading his first couple of paragraphs, control your passions and read the whole piece. Darin isn't advocating a political viewpoint - just the opposite, which is the whole point of the essay.

My only minor rejoinder to his essay is that Gen-Z is not currently the most likely generation to have a strong interest in joining ANY voluntary, associative organization that encourages regular participation. Not at this moment, anyhow. About 20 years ago, the majority of grand lodges in the US required petitioners to be 21 years (and historically, many grand lodges worldwide required them to be 25 or 26 in the 1700 and 1800s). There was a wave of popularity in grand lodges in about 1999 or 2000 to drop the petitioning age to 18, and they really believed that would halt the decline in membership, that hordes of eager 18 year olds would line up to join the fraternity. 

Never happened. And it still doesn't happen. Grand lodge statistics pretty uniformly show that men who join below their 30s don't remain members very long, and certainly don't remain active if they keep paying dues. Life's too chaotic for people in the 20s - relationships change, jobs and career paths change, and more people move from city to city and state to ate than ever before. 

So, historically, the average age of petitioners to fraternal groups (college fraternities aside) has always been between about 35 to 48. Sure, there have been periods when this rose and fell, but 39-40 has always been the sweet spot for new members in Masonry. It's when men are most settled into a career and a spousal/partner arrangement, less likely to be having more (or any) children, and are at the peak of their earning power and disposable income.

So right at this snapshot in history, it's the Gen-X and Millennials who are knocking on lodge doors, which means we've got about a dozen years before the Gen-Zers get to the outer atmosphere of "middle age." But Darin's points are still well-taken.

(The meme above was circulated on Facebook last week and is a photo of Texas Past Grand Master Brad Billings, who has been under a non-stop barrage of attacks ever since January over his leadership style in 2022.)

Grand Lodge of Texas' Recent Transgender Ruling Makes the News

Photo: Shutterstock/Chris Hodapp

by Christopher Hodapp

On Sunday, the Daily Caller website featured an article about Freemasonry dealing with the issue of transgenderism. Written by contributor Kate Anderson, it has the clickbait headline, The World's Oldest Secret Society Is Being Torn Apart Over Transgenderism — the inevitable exclamation point is invisible but breathlessly implied. Since Sunday, the story has been picked up by numerous other websites and news organizations.

"Torn apart" is more than a bit hyperbolic, but the article itself does a fair job of laying out the issue, and contrasts the transgender policies of the United Grand Lodge of England versus the recent decision issued in March by the current Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas, MW G. Clay Smith. 

His decision stated, in part:

• A biological woman (meaning an individual who was assigned female at birth) cannot be a Mason.
• A transgender man (meaning an individual who was assigned female at birth whose gender identity or gender expression is now male) cannot be a Mason.
• A transgender woman (meaning an individual who was born male whose gender identity or gender expression is now female) cannot be made a Mason nor remain a Mason.

(For the full text of GM Smith's decision, see my story from March 25th.) 

The Daily Caller piece features several interviews with Texas Masons, one of whom alleges:

“The problem is lots and lots of lodges in Texas have been admitting transgender people, very visibly,” the Mason told the DCNF. “[One lodge] has several visibly transgender people, these are people who either already took the oath as a guy and then changed or took the oaths saying that they were nonbinary, gender fluid, or something … and this is considered a big provocation.”

(Personally, I would be interested to know what exactly constitutes "lots and lots of lodges in Texas" that he alleges have been "admitting visibly transgender people.")

As far as internal rule making goes within the fraternity, U.S. grand lodges don't much concern themselves with what the UGLE does or doesn't do. The situation in England — both before and after Brexit — is quite different. The UGLE has historically been protected under both English and European Union laws from legal accusations of gender discrimination because of Freemasonry's longstanding male-only admissions criteria. They are recognized in England and Wales under the law as a single-sex association, so they cannot be compelled to admit women. 

However...

The problem arose when existing UGLE Masons chose to undergo gender reassignment, which is when the law kicked in. The UGLE's male-only status does not protect them from accusations of discrimination against current members. Under the 2004 Gender Recognition Act and the 2010 Equality Act, a man who has already joined the Freemasons cannot be expelled or excluded after transitioning to a woman because gender reassignment is a protected right under the law.

UGLE's current policy reads, in part:

Should a person who has undergone gender reassignment and has become a man apply to become a Freemason then his application must be processed in the same way as for any other male candidate.

A Freemason who after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason. 

A Freemason who becomes a woman is not required to resign from the Craft.

[snip]  

A Lodge may vote to exclude any member for sufficient cause. [However,] the following grounds would constitute unlawful discrimination and so could never constitute sufficient cause:

• The fact that a member has legally become a woman;
• A mistaken belief that a member has legally become a woman;
• The fact that a member is in the process of transition from male to female; or
• A mistaken belief that a member is in the process of transitioning from male to female.
• Similarly a Lodge must not attempt to persuade a member to resign from the Lodge or discriminate against a member based on any of these grounds. A Lodge must not at any time require a member to prove that they are legally a man.

Female members should still be greeted with the prefix “brother”. Alternatives to the formal suit and tie have been allowed, including a “smart dark skirt and top.”

Edward Lord (photo: Telegraph)

At the time when this controversy started in 2018, UGLE Mason Edward Lord (photo) had been overseeing a "gender identity drive" as part of his role as chair of the City of London’s establishment committee. Lord has been a well-known and highly visible LGBTQ activist for many years, and identifies as "non-binary," preferring to be addressed by the pronoun "they.” His London committee was investigating ending sex segregation in women-only spaces like public bathrooms, dressing rooms, and locker rooms at well-known public landmarks. But in the midst of contentious online discussions over the matter, it was revealed that Edward Lord is a Freemason, and his participation in the world's oldest and best known male fraternal group suddenly turned into a noisy public row that played out in the press. (See The Telegraph - "Gender equality campaigner defends Freemason membership".) He was branded as a hypocrite. In response to the press noise, UGLE was compelled internally into crafting their transgender policy, which was clearly very carefully worded by a team of lawyers. They also worked with the two biggest female grand lodges in England, the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF) and the Order of Women Freemasons (OWF) since, as single-sex organizations themselves, they faced the very same legal dilemmas within their ranks.

Grand Master Renders Official Decision on Transgenders and Masonry in Texas

by Christopher Hodapp

The Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas AF&AM, MW G. Clay Smith, has just rendered an official decision (Grand Master's Decision No. 1) concerning transgenderism within his jurisdiction. 

He was asked if the Constitution and Laws of the Grand Lodge of Texas allow biological women whose gender identity or gender expression is now male to become Masons. The short answer is no. The Constitution of the Grand Lodge of Texas is silent on the subject, and so he falls back on the Ancient Charges to render a decision.

Grand Master G. Clay Smith

His complete ruling can be seen below, but to paraphrase the meat of his answer: 

1. A biological woman ("an individual who was assigned female at birth") cannot be a Texas Mason.
2. A transgender man ("an individual who was assigned female at birth whose gender identity or gender expression is now male") cannot be a Texas Mason.
3. A transgender woman ("an individual who was assigned male at birth whose gender identity or gender expression is now female") cannot be a Texas Mason.

Citing the male-only origins of the fraternity as found in Article III, Section 3 of the Ancient Charges as published by Dr. James Anderson in his 1723 Constitutions, he says:

"[T]he Old Charges must be understood in the context in which they were written and at the time they were incorporated into our Constitution adopted in 1920, not given new meaning based on current  attitudes and practices among some concerning gender and or other matters. Anyone who desires to become a Mason, and any Mason who wishes to remain in our fraternity, must be a man, as Dr. Anderson understood men to be in 1722, and as our Texas forbearers understood them to be at the time of adoption of our current Constitution."

The Decision goes on:

"It is important to understand that this decision does not constitute a judgement of this Grand Lodge, moral or otherwise, on the issues of gender identity, gender expression, or transgender issues. As in the case of spiritual and political matters, every Mason is free to form a private opinion on the subject. The Grand Lodge of Texas is forever committed to individual freedom of conscience and personal liberty in every lawful pursuit. However, not every such pursuit qualifies an individual to become a Mason."

The entire Decision can be seen below. Click image to enlarge.

Many suppose that dealing with transgenderism is a relatively new topic to be confronted by the fraternity, but it's not. Several decades ago, a midwestern grand lodge went through a lawsuit brought by an existing member who underwent gender reassignment surgery to become a woman, and then fought ferociously to remain a Mason in "her" lodge. The suit failed, as the judge fell back on a common practice in lawsuits involving voluntary membership associations: because the Grand Lodge's rules and by-laws stipulated that all members must be men, and that members agree in their initiation to abide by the rules of the fraternity, the plaintiff had no grounds to sue. But that was more than 30 years ago, and society has changed dramatically.

England's Answer

In 2018, the United Grand Lodge of England issued an official "Gender Reassignment Policy". It reads, in part:

3. APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION

A candidate for admission to Freemasonry under UGLE must be a man. Should a person who has undergone gender reassignment and has become a man apply to become a Freemason then his application must be processed in the same way as for any other male candidate.

Any qualified candidate for admission may be proposed for membership of a private lodge in accordance with the provisions in the Rules contained in the Book of Constitutions. No candidate should be subjected to questions about their gender which could make them feel uncomfortable.

 4. CONTINUED MEMBERSHIP

A Freemason who after initiation ceases to be a man does not cease to be a Freemason. We expect that Freemasons will act with compassion and sensitivity towards their fellow Freemasons.

We hope that no Freemason would engage in unwanted conduct relating to another Freemason’s actual or perceived gender reassignment or gender transition. Such conduct would not only be unmasonic but is also unlawful if it has the purpose or effect of violating the dignity of, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for, the victim. 

5. RESIGNATION FROM THE CRAFT

A Freemason who becomes a woman is not required to resign from the Craft.

If a person resigns from the Craft then they and their dependants might no longer be eligible for some of the benefits provided by the Masonic charities now or in the future.

6. EXCLUSION FROM A LODGE

A Lodge may vote to exclude any member for sufficient cause. The following grounds would constitute unlawful discrimination and so could never constitute sufficient cause:

a. The fact that a member has legally become a woman;

b. A mistaken belief that a member has legally become a woman;

c. The fact that a member is in the process of transition from male to female; or

d. A mistaken belief that a member is in the process of transitioning from male to female. 

Similarly, a Lodge must not attempt to persuade a member to resign from the Lodge or discriminate against a member based on any of these grounds. A Lodge must not at any time require a member to prove that they are legally a man.

The situation in England is more complex because English discrimination laws are different from the U.S. Back in 2018, the Brexit vote hadn't taken place yet, and the U.K. was subject to European Union rulings by their Court of Human Rights, as well. Freemasonry is protected under English laws, along with European Union laws from legal accusations of gender discrimination because of the fraternity's long-established, male-only admissions criteria. UGLE is officially recognized in England and Wales under the law as a single-sex association.

The problem arose, however, when existing UGLE Masons chose to undergo gender reassignment, which is when English law kicked in. The UGLE's male-only status does not protect them from accusations of discrimination against their existing members. According to a Huffington Post article published at the time, under the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010 a biological man who has joined the Freemasons cannot be excluded after transitioning because gender reassignment is a protected right under the law.

One interesting side observation is that the UGLE has an extraordinarily pragmatic view concerning female Freemasons. Bring up "wimmin in the lodge" as a Redditt/Twitbook/Facetwit discussion topic, and stand back: the incoming barrage of anger from just mentioning the subject is like being condemned by the Portuguese Inquisition for heresy. 

Not so in England. When a woman asks about joining at the Great Queen Street headquarters of the Grand Lodge, they cheerfully direct her to the two different female Masonic grand lodges in London that represent a combined membership of more than 50,000 lady Masons (the Order of Women Freemasons with about 4,000 members; and the Honourable Fraternity of Ancient Freemasons (HFAF for Women) with In fact, when UGLE celebrated its 300th anniversary in 2017, the two female grand masters were invited to the ceremonies. It's common to find English Masonic halls with female Masonic lodges, and all three of these grand lodges cooperate on the Universities Scheme to promote the fraternity colleges and universities around the country.

Welcome Brothers: GL of Ohio Raises 780 in Statewide One Day Class

by Christopher Hodapp

On March 26th, the Grand Lodge of Ohio F&AM conferred the Entered Apprentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason degrees on a total of 780 candidates as part of a statewide One Day Class at several locations. Naturally, the Masonic Intertube discussion boards, Twitbook, and Facetwit sites went mildly berserk over the news. As many as 780 may sound, it's only about 10% of the record 7,700 Masons raised by the Grand Lodge of Ohio at a similar statewide one day event back in 2002.

Even though these types of mass membership events originated thirty years ago, they continue to remain controversial within the fraternity. Indeed, many online discussions that took up the subject over the last couple of weeks sounded every bit as vitriolic as they did twenty years ago.

Origin

The first 'Grand Master's Class' was held in 1992 as a two-day festival by the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia . In that single event, their small jurisdiction raised 113 candidates — an astonishing 55% of all of DC's candidates for the entire year of 1992. 

Despite having no internet in those days, it didn’t take long for the word to spread. By the next February, DC's event—the first mass raising of Master Masons of its kind—was the heated talk of the Conference of Grand Masters. The practice picked up steam nationwide in a startlingly short time, especially for an institution as resistant to change as Freemasonry. By 1998, the Grand Lodge of New Jersey trumpeted that 96 lodges participated in their first one-day degree event, and raised 434 new Master Masons.

At the time, the bulk of Freemasons worldwide were aghast, and more than a few foreign grand bodies grumbled about perhaps withdrawing recognition of their U.S. counterparts that had held such mass raisings. While similarly massive events were overwhelmingly typical of degrees conferred on large classes of Scottish Rite members, the vast majority of Masons agreed that they were wholly inappropriate for new initiates into the fraternity. The three Symbolic Lodge degrees—especially for the Entered Apprentice and the Master Mason—were particularly considered to be individual and deeply personal experiences. At best, critics alleged, men made Masons in a day or two would undoubtedly be the fastest ones to leave. They would fail to become proficient in the required memory work. If they remained members at all, they certainly would cease to participate, much less take on the requirements to become officers. Lodges that relied on such classes to do all of their degree work for them would quickly lose any ability to confer their own degrees forever. In short, the naysayers claimed, the entire fraternity would be both cheapened and robbed—from the candidates themselves, right down to the lodges and their own members.

Ohio's Record-Setting Class of 2002

By 2001 at least thirty-one U.S. grand lodges had conducted one or more of these events in varying permutations. Then in April 2002, Ohio left everyone else in the statistical dust, setting the astonishing record of initiating, passing, and raising 7,700 Master Masons in multiple locations throughout the state in a single day. Throughout the seven years prior to their first enormous Grand Master’s Class, the state of Ohio had raised a combined total of 10,341 Master Masons in the traditional, individual manner. Their 2002 Grand Master’s one-day event nearly doubled their entire prior seven-year membership increase in just a matter of hours. The rest of the Masonic world’s nose-counters bolted straight up in their collective seats and took notice.

Ohio’s colossal one-day increase was never again equaled anywhere. They staged two more such events in 2003 and 2005, and studied the after-effects at the end of 2006. In a little more than five years, one-day Masons raised at their three events alone represented more than 10% of Ohio’s total Masonic membership. While their two subsequent classes never came close to equaling their enormous premiere event, other jurisdictions still looked enviously at Ohio and judged them a triumph. Numerically speaking, anyway.

Results

One of the major criticisms from the start was an assumption that one-day Masons would not go on to become active lodge participants, proficient ritualists, or officers. “Easy in, easy out,” was the oft-repeated, doleful warning. But several jurisdictions that amassed enough data over time were able to disprove that assertion.

A study was conducted in 2001 by Paul M. Bessel for the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia, which was the first of its kind to analyze the long-term results of such conferrals. Their grand lodge was unique, since they had conducted two-day degree events annually for eight years and had the data to analyze. Bessel found that the retention and participation rate of members initiated, passed, and raised in the slower, traditional manner, versus the Grand Master’s Class candidates, were statistically identical. Subsequent years demonstrated the same results, clearly disproving objections based only upon fears that dejected Master Masons who were disappointed or unimpressed by their one day experience would vanish faster than their traditionally raised brethren.

Other jurisdictions that bothered to investigate their own circumstances and results came to the same conclusions. Ohio did its own study in 2007, five years after their record setting class. In the three Grand Master’s Classes held between 2002 and 2005, they found that 8% of one-day class members were serving or had already served as lodge officers. That worked out to more than 1,000 officers in their 534 lodges, or almost two officers per lodge. The actual numbers among lodges varied—several reported as many as five of their current officers were one-day members. 

In addition, lodges reported an average of 15% of one-day members attended meetings regularly, which was virtually identical to (and often greater than) the participation rate of traditionally made Masons. Numerous lodge secretaries expressed the belief that one-day classes had actually “saved” their lodges. 

More recently, a 2015 study of current lodge officers in Washington State revealed that one out of six officers are one-day class members.

As of 2017, my own Grand Lodge of Indiana has raised a total of 6,976 Master Masons via one-day events since its first in 1997. Of those, 3,958 still remain Masons across those twenty years. Many have been officers and Worshipful Masters, and all have simply been as active or inactive as their traditionally-made brethren. To date, there have been several grand masters all across the U.S. who received their degrees at one-day events. 

Tens of thousands of U.S. Masons have been initiated, passed, and raised in one-day classes, and the loss of them due to inactivity and demits is no better or worse than traditionally made members. In Indiana’s case, figures clearly show that one-day Masons have actually remained members in a substantially greater percentage than those traditionally made.

That which was lost

The philosophical question as to the loss to the candidate of a more individual, transformative, initiatic experience is what cannot be measured. What has been commonly echoed by men who received the accelerated degrees is that they returned to their own lodges and discouraged their officers and fellow members from sending future candidates to them. So in their own way, one-day classes actually encourage lodges to increase their proficiency at conducting degree work, and not abandon it, as was initially feared by some. 

Retention and participation comes down solely to the way the members are treated and mentored once they start attending their lodges, and rests on the interest and dedication of each individual Mason. A one day class conferral of the three lodge degrees doesn't let the lodge and its members duck their responsibility to provide a trusted, knowledgable mentor to those brethren who need more coaching and education, not less. 

Maybe more to the point is that we don't have two classifications of Master Mason in this fraternity. If at their next meeting after their raising they are referred to by ostensible brethren as ‘McMasons,’ ‘Blue Lightenings,’ or ‘One Day Wonders,’ receive no mentoring follow up, and suffer through dull stated meetings with no Masonic education and un-Masonic infighting, they will be unlikely to send in their dues renewal in December.

One-day classes were developed largely in response to the screams of lodges over membership losses and their own inability to confer their own degree work. So, those early massive classes did exactly what the lodges begged for—they brought in new members, by the bucketful. One day classes will only end if lodges stop demanding them. As I've said repeatedly, if you have a visceral reaction against the practice, fault the lodge who sent him to the class, not the candidate who is now your Brother. 

The lodges that failed to keep them coming back managed to accomplish that part all by themselves.

                                                                                          

This isn't the first time I've tried to tackle this topic, and probably won't be the last. Have a look at:

• McMasons
• My 20th Anniversary as a Freemason
• The Decline of Men and What Freemasons Need To Do About It

A Prince Hall Brother Responds

by Christopher Hodapp

My post on July 4th, Why Freemasonry Still Matters, generated an unprecedented amount of discussion, pro and con, in numerous Facebook groups and elsewhere over the last several days. (If you didn't see it, go read it before you continue below.) I also received an astonishing number of private messages about it. But one response especially stood out.

Brother James R. Morgan III is a Prince Hall Mason in Washington, D.C. and a Curatorial Consultant at that city's African-American Civil War Museum. He is an author and historian, and recently published the outstanding book, The Lost Empire: Black Freemasonry in the Old West (1867-1906). 

On Sunday, James was motivated to pen his own thoughtful response to my essay, entitled 'What to the Prince Hall Freemason is the Fourth of July? - Why Black Masonic Memory Matters' (his title is a deliberate play upon a famed abolitionist speech by Frederick Douglass in 1852, commonly known as 'What to the slave is the Fourth of July?'). In it, he rhetorically points out incidents and issues I did not discuss in my original post, and seems to be less critical of what I actually said than of what I did not say. Please read it and decide for yourself. 

CLICK HERE: 
https://medium.com/@jamesmorganiii/what-to-the-prince-hall-freemason-is-the-fourth-of-july-ca088aa0882c

Freemasonry is needed more today than at any time in the last century and a half in this country, because we as Masons hold the key to building and protecting and advancing enlightened civilization just as we have done at critical moments in the past. What's important is that I don't regard James and myself as being on opposite sides of the issues I originally wrote about — we are merely looking at it from both sides of a picket fence that sometimes blocks as much as it admits. If the Masonic fraternity is to remain relevant to today's society and tomorrow's, it will be because we meet upon the level and discuss controversies in a reasoned, tolerant, calm and rational manner that is passionate without 'growl and batter,' and always departing as friends and brothers. 

Tractor Supply Co. Banning Gun Raffles Affects Masonic Fundraising

NOTE: THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED AT 2AM 9/20/2019 with a response from Tractor Supply Company.

Most states regard charity raffles as forms of gambling, and the U.S. has a patchwork quilt of various rules and regulations regarding their use for fund raising by churches, schools, fraternal groups and other non-profit groups. Because of Freemasonry's strong identification with the moral rectitude of is members, some grand lodges (but not all) over the years regarded raffles and gambling on par with drinking, and prohibited their lodges to engage in any of it. Such strictures were partially why the Shrine was born in the 1870s, to give Freemasons a less prudish outlet for their social activities than the lodges had become. 

Raffles have been a staple of Shriners' fundraising over the years, even though many grand lodges forbid their blue lodges to use them. My own state of Indiana is one such state, and our grand lodge only this year began permitting lodges to use raffles. In fact, we're still hammering out the final paperwork requirements and regulations to inform lodges on the nuts and bolts of running them. Raffles require all sorts of government licenses, permissions, paperwork, and tax forms, and it's not just as simple as printing up tickets, collecting piles of unreported cash, and pulling a lucky name out of a goldfish bowl.

Some of the most common items to raffled all across America by countless charities are firearms - frequently rare, historical, or otherwise collectable rifles and pistols. This is perfectly legal to do, and almost always done in conjunction with a licensed gun shop so that proper background checks are properly performed and state and federal gun laws adhered to. 

So just in time for the Grand Lodge of Indiana to approve raffles, firearms have become a politically toxic hot potato across the country. This story comes out of Texas this week, and it touches on this very topic. It seems that Tractor Supply Company, a major rural retailer of farm and sporting equipment, has made a corporate decision to ban organizations holding raffles of firearms from setting up their charity booths and selling tickets in front of their stores. The decision came from its national office, not a local manager. (See the update at the end of this story - CH)

TSC does sell guns and ammo at its stores, and is a licensed gun retailer. This makes the new policy somewhat inexplicable.

While not specifically involved in this story,
this type of rifle is not an unusual fundraising item

One of the first organizations to get the boot was the Masonic lodge in Palestine, Texas, after a single customer complained to the manager. As a result, booths raising thousands of dollars for providing scholarships to kids by multiple groups (not just the Masons) at that one single store were ordered off the property. 

From the Palestine Herald on Thursday:

Charities selling raffle tickets for a chance to win a firearm are no longer welcome in front of Tractor Supply. 

In answer to a customer complaint earlier this month, the store's corporate office banned all raffles awarding firearms as prizes. 

In the wake of several mass shootings in the past several months – two in Texas – that left dozens dead and dozens more wounded, many private businesses have restructured their firearms policies.

Most recently, Walmart, the world's largest retailer, announced they would stop carrying pistol ammunition, and certain long-barrel ammunition commonly associated with assault rifles like AK-47's and AR-15's. 

Many Americans, fed up with seemingly constant reports of mass shootings across the country, are making themselves heard by speaking to, and perhaps pressuring, retail establishments. 

Boycotts, for instance, have been an effective tool of the public for centuries.
“The Tractor Supply manager has always been super nice,” Master Mason James Ashley told the Herald-Press Friday. “I'm sure he was caught between a rock and a hard place when corporate made their ruling.” 

Jennifer Key, a 44-year-old customer service agent said the choice, ultimately, is up to Tractor Supply, not its customers. She said the free-market – whether customers choose to shop at the store – should speak for the public. 

“Frankly, I'm surprised Tractor Supply made that call [to ban firearm raffles],” she said. “But, they're a private company, and it's their call to make.”
Last year, three high school students – one each from Palestine, Westwood, and Neches High Schools – won $1,000 scholarships from Palestine's Masonic Temple, Lodge 31. 

The scholarship money came from raffle tickets sold outside storefronts like Tractor Supply. This year's prize: a Henry Golden Boy .22 caliber rifle.
“It's a trophy rifle, not a so-called assault weapon,” Ashley's father, Tom Ashley, also a Master Mason told the Herald-Press. “Still, someone called in a complaint to their headquarters, and corporate disallowed it.” 

Ashley said the lodge was hoping to increase the award to $1,500 this year. Having lost one of their ticket-selling outlets, however, might put that plan in jeopardy. 

Also on the sidewalk when the Masons were told to leave was Henry Kitchens of the Vietnam Veterans of America, Post 991. The VVA was also raffling off firearms; a .308 rifle, and a 9mm handgun. 

Kitchens, whose organization provided six $1,000 scholarships to local students last year through raffle proceeds, was also told to leave.
“I don't hold anything against Tractor Supply,” Kitchens told the Herald-Press. “They've always been good to us. It's a shame that one person's complaint can disenfranchise everyone else, however.” 

Kitchens and Ashley, who have held similar raffles for years, said they'd feel better if Tractor Supply, like Walmart, had a policy restricting all fund-raising, rather than singling out a few. 

“When Walmart said we could no longer use their storefront, they told us it was for everybody,” Ashley said. “Even the Girl Scouts can't sell cookies there anymore. I can understand that; what's fair for one should be fair for all.”

[snip]

“I personally think that if you don't like the prize for a raffle, then don't buy the ticket,” Temple, 44, told the Herald-Press. “As far as tractor supply saying you can't sell due to the prize being a gun, then I think the rule should apply to all.”

Temple, a field-service technician, said corporations should represent, and stand up for, the wants of the majority of their customers. 

“That is why our country is in the shape it's in now,” he said. “We try to please the few that are screaming loudly, but we don't listen to those who quietly like the way things are, even if they're in the majority." 

Kenneth Rollins, 62, who retired from Walmart earlier this year said, for him, the answer is simple. 

“Tractor Supply just lost a customer,” he said. 

[snip] 

Winners of either contest must pass federal background checks before prizes are awarded. In the event a winner fails the background check, another winner is chosen at random.

These types of raffles and other fundraising booths have been a staple of community life for decades. But national corporations are increasingly dictating to local stores draconian policies that frequently conflict with the values of the majority of their customer base. The globalization of instantaneous "outrages" via cell phone and overnight boycotts have all run roughshod over what used to be small town decisions by individual businesses that historically supported their local charities. The WalMart situation of banning ALL fundraising from their properties instead of dealing with the headaches stoked by the perennially indignant has robbed communities of important connections with their customers and neighbors. These corporate policies only serve to further isolate them from the very people they expect to actually spend money in their stores. That means local charitable groups like Masonic lodges are being driven farther off of the radar screens of their own neighborhoods as they fall victim to "activists" on the other side of the country.

And that can't be good.

 Read the full story HERE.

---

UPDATE:

I spent Friday unsuccessfully attempting to negotiate Tractor Supply Company's website and various telephone trees at their customer service center in an attempt to get official clarification from them, or an official response other than what the local newspaper in Texas reported. Fortunately, Mackenzie Goldman, a Public Relations Specialist at TSC in Brentwood, Tennessee saw this post late Friday and reached out to me with the following message: 

"I came across your blog post regarding Tractor Supply on the Freemasons for Dummies website and wanted to reach out.

"Tractor Supply strives to be active members of the communities in which we call home, and we seek to support causes that are central to the mission and purpose of our business as a rural lifestyle retailer. We respect America’s fundamental freedoms and take individual rights very seriously. Our primary focus for fundraising is for FFA and 4-H youth programs. Other fundraising decisions are made on a local store-by-store basis taking into consideration factors unique to each situation. Tractor Supply is making donations to the local Palestine, TX chapters of the referenced organizations to support their college scholarship programs.

"Thank you for the opportunity to respond."

So it sounds as though there is wiggle room for local managers at TSC stores. 


(Please don't turn the comments to this story into inflammatory pro-gun/anti-gun diatribes. This is a hot-button issue for many people on both sides - but gun sales are still quite legal in the U.S. and will be for the foreseeable future. Please keep the discussion about how these types of bans could affect Masonic lodges who have historically held these raffle charity events.)