Masonic Lodges

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Originally Posted by spacetoast

One thing that I'd like to know about Masons is if they are politically inclined in any direction or if, like the religious aspect, they are tolerant of differing political beliefs. My political beliefs aren't very mainstream...but they probably would have been considered more mainstream about 200 years ago.

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In the UK, Politics and religion are banned subjects for discussion, so that the harmony of the Lodge is not disturbed.
If you have a grievance with another member, you are both ordered to vacate the Lodge so that an amicable agreement is reached, and the peace of the Lodge is maintained.

If your Dad has signed upto to the ideals of Masonry, then he is a good guy in my books!

As regards being around Masons, just imagine surrounding yourself with like-minded fellows, generous in spirit, who will go out of their way to stand by you. Not many organisations like that around, these days!

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Originally Posted by Effigy

In the UK, Politics and religion are banned subjects for discussion, so that the harmony of the Lodge is not disturbed.
If you have a grievance with another member, you are both ordered to vacate the Lodge so that an amicable agreement is reached, and the peace of the Lodge is maintained.

If your Dad has signed upto to the ideals of Masonry, then he is a good guy in my books!

As regards being around Masons, just imagine surrounding yourself with like-minded fellows, generous in spirit, who will go out of their way to stand by you. Not many organisations like that around, these days!

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Politics and religion are not subjects for discussion in American Lodges either. This is a long standing tenent of Freemasonry.

I don't mean this to be provocative...but...how can you know or befriend a man, or group of men, in any meaningful way if you can't talk to him about his religion or politics?

Dave

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Originally Posted by Tobico4

I don't mean this to be provocative...but...how can you know or befriend a man, or group of men, in any meaningful way if you can't talk to him about his religion or politics?

Dave

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Religion/politics are only forbidden inside the meeting to preserve harmony. Many lively discussions are held at meals, social gatherings, etc. These range all over the place - sports, politics, religions, economics. etc.

As with any other group of people, there are a large range of political affiliations and views. While masonry is not political, it isn't unusual to find that many masons are politically minded since involvment in the community is part of the masonic principles.

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Originally Posted by Tobico4

I don't mean this to be provocative...but...how can you know or befriend a man, or group of men, in any meaningful way if you can't talk to him about his religion or politics?

Dave

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You are starting from the premise that they are like-minded individuals, who are going to share the majority of your core beliefs in fairness and integrity. With that as a starting point, you know you can discuss anything without the acrimony normally associated with inflammatory subjects like politics and religion (or sport!).

Sure, we may have differing viewpoints, but afterall, would you be unreasonable in your discussions? No. And neither will they be!

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Originally Posted by Effigy

As regards being around Masons, just imagine surrounding yourself with like-minded fellows, generous in spirit, who will go out of their way to stand by you. Not many organisations like that around, these days!

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How tolerant & accepting are Masons of different cultures & ethnicities?
It seems to primarily be situated in Western societies, specifically English speaking countries.

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Originally Posted by REFLUX

How tolerant & accepting are Masons of different cultures & ethnicities?
It seems to primarily be situated in Western societies, specifically English speaking countries.

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This is because is other countries, the government is not as receptive to the organization. This is particularly true in Muslim countries. However, there are Masons in almost every country in the world.

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Originally Posted by steve

This is because is other countries, the government is not as receptive to the organization. This is particularly true in Muslim countries. However, there are Masons in almost every country in the world.

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Sorry I'm not understanding your post.

Are you saying that Masons reflect the social conditions of the country & government it is situated in?
Or are you saying Masons aren't receptive to other cultures & ethnicities because other countries & governments are not receptive to the organization?

Or are you saying that Masons are situated in Western, English speaking countries because Non-Western, Non-English speaking countries are not receptive to the organization?

I'm assuming it is the latter, which is good to know and thank you for addressing that.


As for "How tolerant & accepting are Masons of different cultures & ethnicities?"
Going off Steve's reply, is that to say that since there are Masons in almost every country in the world, there are Masons in Non-Western, Non-English speaking countries too?
Because "Western" culture along with English is extremely widespread and just because there is a group of Masons in a specific culture, doesn't answer the question as to how tolerant and accepting they are of other cultures/ethnicities.

I'm curious to know how they are seen by Communist countries since even religion is so suppressed in those countries too, you'd think that an organization like the Free Masons would attract attention.

Well I suppose I've said enough, there seem to be a lot of Mason members on this forum and don't want to drag on a discussion that won't ever receive answers.
Along with the potential to draw out inaccurate conclusions leading to much disgruntledness.

It was interesting while it lasted :) Thanks.

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Originally Posted by REFLUX

How tolerant & accepting are Masons of different cultures & ethnicities?
It seems to primarily be situated in Western societies, specifically English speaking countries.

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Terry, can I ask what underlies your question?
You have quoted me:

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Originally Posted by Effigy
As regards being around Masons, just imagine surrounding yourself with like-minded fellows, generous in spirit, who will go out of their way to stand by you. Not many organisations like that around, these days!

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but I dont see the connection between the quote and your question.:)

Also, you end your last post:

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Well I suppose I've said enough, there seem to be a lot of Mason members on this forum and don't want to drag on a discussion that won't ever receive answers.
Along with the potential to draw out inaccurate conclusions leading to much disgruntledness.

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Again, I dont understand. Why wont you 'ever receive answers'?

I'm not 'disgruntled', just curious:)

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Originally Posted by Effigy

Terry, can I ask what underlies your question?
You have quoted me:
but I dont see the connection between the quote and your question.:)
Also, you end your last post:
Again, I dont understand. Why wont you 'ever receive answers'?
I'm not 'disgruntled', just curious:)

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My apologies Frank.
I suppose all the new information along with contrasting views I've come across over the years are making my head spin.

Just trying to digest all of it but at the same time, all these questions come up along the way.

Anyways, I poked around on Wikipedia (not a source I would rely solely on but it's something to read) and many of my questions were answered.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_masons

Didn't mean to sound hostile or be offensive.

But I will answer the questions you've posed to me:
1) Being of Oriental descent and having grown up in a somewhat culturally-homogenous city (it's better now than when I was youger), I've become someone who tries very hard not to judge others by their background (i.e. culture, skin color, religion, beliefs, political alignment, etc) because those standards of judgment were placed on me.
And so as I live my life, "Free Masons" inevitably comes up every now & then as a discussion topic and for some reason, "homogenous culture/ethnicity" pops out in my mind whenever "Free Masons" are mentioned.
I guess it just seemed "backwards" to me for a large historic organization to be culturally & ethnically selective. So I had to find out for myself if it were true or not.

It was something I wanted to clear up since there is this opportunity to chat with others who say they are Masons.

2) Of course whenever Free Masonry is brought up, secrecy is close behind and having witnessed what I see as a reluctance to discuss details on a pubic forum, I just assumed that no Mason would answer my questions.


Hopefully all of that made sense and is relatively coherent :)