To think joining the Freemasons could maybe be beneficial for some young men?

[Jane379]

I've been thinking recently about the decline in mental health and friendships among young men on average and it occurred to me that third spaces have decreased, especially in some areas, but one that does remain, and has a long and apparently successful history, is the Freemasons.
I don't know much about them but I read an article in a history magazine recently which argued they're often seen in terms of secret networks etc but are generally beneficial and promote male friendship, mentoring, charity work and decrease polarisation through taking politics and religion off the table. If this is true, it sounds positive and potentially beneficial.

AIBU?

You need to believe in god, many people don’t.

Really? So agnostics and atheists cannot join? That seems unfortunate, I'm sure they would broaden their appeal by having an option to be non religious, but I suppose with such an ancient organisation it's hard to change things that are deeply rooted.

“Friendships & mentoring” is code for the old boy’s club. There’s a reason it has the jokes about the funny handshakes. Who you knew, not what you knew. I am not sure encouraging more of that for men is what society needs.

I'm not sure they're short of members.

Why would they change anything?

Isn't it more about a supreme being, my cat is definitely a supreme being.

I meant that it seems unfortunate that an organisation that sounds quite beneficial to the men who belong (if it really promotes friendship, mentoring, charity work etc) is closed off to those who aren't theists (which is quite a lot of men, and higher among younger generations). It's clearly not unfortunate for the organisation itself if they still gave enough members, although when looking it up I found some articles saying numbers were falling & they were trying to recruit more.

What??

A friend at school suffered the loss of a father in her early teens.The mother remarried within a few years and it was an extremely unhappy household.
Her father had been a freemason and they funded boarding school for her up until she chose to come home at 16.Looking back she certainly would have gone into care if that option hadn't existed.

Belief in a higher being is a core principle; they aren't going to change that to attract more members.
It's not free to join either; it costs a fortune over a lifetime.

The Masonic Charitable Foundation gives around 6 million a year to charities.

Those Freemasons sound like kind people. If they're mostly like that, it sounds like a good organisation though it's hard to know given the secrecy.

You have to believe in god to be a mason, but equally the Catholic Church expressly forbids joining and some Imams also forbid it (it’s banned completely in Pakistan and some other countries). Even some Protestant quarters forbid it.

It’s not a simple organisation to join.

Hmm...why does it cost so much? Are members paying into a fund to help other members in need? What is this money used for?

Yes, I've read about scandals within the Vatican where members have been revealed to also be Freemasons. While as I've said, it sounds alright from what I've read so far, I can see why they are suspicious of it, especially given the secrecy/ritual aspect.

I'm not sure that's true. I have know a few members, they generally held Christian values, but didn't/don't believe in god.

"Friendship and mentoring "
😆😆😆

it’s not simply the secrecy that the Catholic Church have an issue with (they’d have a cheek!) - it’s the belief system. Freemasonry promotes that all regions and gods are equal, whereas obvious the Catholic Church absolutely does not.

How much reading have you done on it?

I don’t mean that in a snarky way but you didn’t seem to know members are expected to have a belief in a god and that it’s expensive, which are two very major parts.

Masons are required to believe in a supreme being. It’s one of their core parts.

A relative’s husband is a Mason, and she complains about the social cost - dinners, auctions, the clothes to go to these things - it ain’t cheap.

Not very much! I'd be interested to read a reliable book to find out more.

I think you better read up a lot more on the organisation op, before you post any more. Jeez

You don't join the Masons for what it does for you but for what you can do for them.
They have a lot of charitable causes to which you are expected to contribute.
That's why they like to have business and professional people as Members.

Maybe scouts could be a better shout?

Too many Tories making dodgy deals behind the closed doors of their Lodge for my liking. Preferential treatment given to those who know the right handshake.
The masons need eradicating, not encouraging.