Just out of sheer curiousity, would any of the Brothers happen to know a roundabout statistic of people who petition and are rejected? What are some of the reasons that people might get rejected?

I do not know an exact statistic. Mark Twain said that there are three kinds of lies: Lies, Damned Lies, and statistics.

Becoming a Mason is a fairly simple procedure, but there is a procedure, nevertheless.  The basic requirements are:

Male
Mature of Age (18 some states, 21 most states)
Belief in God
Good moral character.

Some states impose a residency requirement, Georgia three years, California one year. Some states exempt active duty military from the residency requirement.

Some states require the petitioner to have two masons sign his application(petition) form. Some states require that the petitioner list three individuals who can vouch for his character (they need not be masons).

Most states require that the petitioner have no felony record. Some states evaluate the candidate on a case-by-case basis.

Because the requirements are broadcast out in the open, and no effort is made to keep them secret, a man can easily know, if he meets the requirements for Freemasonry.  If he is clearly not qualified, then the lodge will dismiss his application immediately, and no record is kept.

I wish I could be of more help, but a question like this really has no definite answer.

Thank you for your answer. The only reason I started thinking about that is because I am in college and rushed the Greek fraternity Tau Epsilon Phi. I had to interview with them and based on the interview they vote whether or not you can pledge the fraternity. I guess they base their potential brothers on character and how friendly you are with the members. I did not get in with the reason being the brothers felt they did not know my personality well enough. I wasn’t sure if Freemasonry was the same way or if anyone who met the qualifications was able to join.

I have only been a Mason since 2000 but have never seen a petitioner NOT get elected.

Thank you for your question.

Statistics are not kept on members who are denied admission into lodges.  In general, if a lodge anticipates a problem with a potential candidate’s petition, they will typically try to keep the process from advancing to the point where the applicant may be black-balled. If the potential candidate demonstrates that he is otherwise a good person, but may not fit in with the personality of a particular lodge, he will generally be directed to another lodge.

Further, Freemasonry is not for everyone. Some who express an interest in the Fraternity will often not pursue membership of their own choice, once they gain a better understanding of what it is all about.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that Freemasonry is not looking to exclude men from joining. We welcome all good men who will contribute to the strength and harmony of the lodge.  Our primary concern is the quality of a person’s character. As a fraternity that promotes friendship and brotherly love among its members, we also want to ensure a potential candidate will enhance, and not detract, from the camaraderie of the lodge. Having also been a member of a college fraternity and understanding the process for selecting pledges, I think and hope that Masonic Lodges take a much broader view on what constitutes a good potential candidate for membership.
-Robert

I want to thank everyone for their responses. I’m glad to see that most men meet the qualifications and that not many people are rejected. It really hurt to be rejected by the fraternity because of them feeling like they didn’t know enough of my personality. Everyone who knows me knows I am a good person and I thought it would show in their interview but apparently not. It actually turned me off from any kind of fraternity until I really started looking into Freemasonry. I was just scared that the hurt of being rejected from them could happen again.