Return of the Freemasons?
If you live in eastern Massachusetts, you might have heard the advertisement on the radio or seen it on television. I first encountered it on a local hard rock station as I parked by my neighborhood Dunkin Donuts. An older, distinguished, male voice—it’s supposed to be Benjamin Franklin—speaks vaguely, but solemnly, about his own success and about the potential in me, his presumably young male listener. A driving, Hollywood-style orchestral score plays in the background. The distinguished voice decries partisanship and appeals to “Men of Tolerance.” With a foot already out the door, I kept the car running and listened to the end. On this Sunday morning when I should have been going to church rather than the office, Old Ben encouraged me to “ask.” Ask who? Ask a Mason. The Freemasons were looking for new members. Two hundred Harvard men had already joined. Would I like to find out more?
I knew a little already. I had read a portion of the growing body of historical work on Freemasonry (my favorite is Steven Bullock’s Revolutionary Brotherhood) and studied a number of texts penned by eighteenth-century Masons. In many ways, the Masons embodied the eighteenth-century Enlightenment, which represented a budding Western commitment to rational argument, religious ecumenism, and tolerance for dissenting opinions. The Masons took seriously the enlightened ideas of liberty of conscience and the enlightened emphasis on locating points of common agreement. They also emphasized moral discipline, public benevolence, and male friendship. As it happens, two notable founders of our country, Ben Franklin and George Washington, were each sympathetic to Enlightenment thought, tireless advocates of personal virtue, and devoted Masons. And they weren’t alone.
Like so many other fraternal societies of the last few decades, the Masons have fallen on hard times. Their membership has aged and aspiring young Masons have proved hard to attract. Allegations of deism and conspiratorial behavior have hounded the brotherhood for almost two centuries. More recently, the organization has been confronted with yet another troubling accusation: racism. Since 1787, when Prince Hall organized a separate African Lodge in Boston, African-Americans have generally met separately from their white brethren. Though most non-African lodges welcome African-Americans these days, the pattern of segregation persists. An October 23rd Associated Press report revealed that the trend toward mutual recognition by predominantly white lodges of predominantly black lodges has ended somewhere around the Mason Dixon line. Reciprocal privileges don’t exist in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, or West Virginia. The recent decision of North Carolina’s Grand Lodge to deny recognition to the state’s Prince Hall lodges brought newfound attention to the issue of race. (In fairness, 681 votes were cast for the measure and only 404 votes against, but the necessary 2/3 majority was not reached.)
Despite the setback in North Carolina, the Freemasons have been making significant strides toward transforming themselves and their image. Since 1989, thirty-eight grand lodges have extended mutual recognition to their African-American brethren. To bolster their membership more generally, some lodges have accelerated the promotion process for all candidates. Others have opened their once mysterious halls to non-Masonic visitors (New York Times, October 4). The advertising campaign here in Massachusetts seems designed to dispel myths about the organization while, at the same time, capitalizing on the surge in interest generated by Dan’s Brown’s The Da Vinci Code, and the forgettable film, National Treasure. Then there is Brown’s forthcoming fictional work, The Solomon Key, which will purportedly illuminate the role of Masonry in the founding of the nation. For these reasons and more, the Freemasons seem to have chosen a propitious time for a revival.
Should we welcome them back? To be sure, the Freemasons won’t single-handedly restore the ideals of the Enlightenment. Nor do the organization’s ads propose to do so. In fact, the slick spots featured on www.askaFreemason.org focus on the potential “greatness in you,” which suggests that they might be more of a self-help, rather than a social improvement society—and we’ve got more than enough of the former. Yet if you click around the site, you will discover the same venerable commitment to charity and brotherly love between men of different backgrounds. Interestingly, the Massachusetts Grand Lodge gives subtle priority to racial brotherhood over religious and political brotherhood. Freemasonry is, according to the website, “a fraternity; comprised of men from every race, religion, opinion, and background who are brought together as Brothers to develop and strengthen the bonds of friendship.” Obviously that hasn’t always been the case. It was religious inclusion—not racial inclusion—that distinguished the eighteenth and early nineteenth-century Masons (think again of Washington, the slaveholding Mason). The exclusively white faces featured in the television ads, as well as the continued separation of black and white lodges throughout the country, should also give a young man pause.
Still, it may be time to give the Freemasons another look. Outside of fantasy football leagues, there are few durable forms of male community around. Chat room exchanges, golf outings, and water cooler conversations are a poor substitute for the collective benevolence and rational discussion that the Masons have long prided themselves on. Moreover, in an age of religious extremism and racial distrust, we might benefit from the resurgence of a group that at least aspires to balance faith, tolerance, and brotherhood. This surprised radio listener doesn’t have any immediate plans to become a Freemason himself (the Catholic Church currently forbids it) nor does he expect them to cure all that ails us, but he wouldn’t mind seeing a few more apron-clad Brothers around.