One thing I havent found much information about is the political affiliation of Masons.

I would assume (based on a great lack of knowledge about the subject) that most Masons are conservative and support politicians like George Bush and his family.

Can anyone comment on this?  How strong are the political affiliations?  How important are they to masons?  And so on.

Thanks!

Thanks for you interest.

Freemasonry has no political affiliations. None.

That’s probably why you haven’t read about any.

In fact, discussion of politics is forbidden during Masonic meetings, and has been for many centuries.

From my own personal observations, I would say there are definitely Mason who who are very political outside Masonry. Some on the left. Some on the right.

Since there are Lodges in most cities and towns in America, I would say the members’ affiliations probably mirror those of the country in general.

Masons do pledge to support the the laws of their country—so I suppose we would have less anarchists.

Bob Heruska
Boston, MA

Thank you for the extremely prompt reply Mr. Heruska.

I supposed I should have been able to deduce that, based on the list of Masonic Presidents of the US alone.  They come from both political parties, and therefore it should have been clear to me that Masonry transcends politics.

On the other hand, it’s hard to do anything in this world without crossing some political line that has been drawn.

What if some Masons developed a charity which provided free condoms to impoverished areas?  That would be a big taboo in many right-wind circles.  How would elder Masons in a lodge who had strong right-wing philosophies interpret something that is both a violation of right-wing political platforms as well as right-wing religious dogma?

I would think that Masonry and it’s open-minded claims about religion and so on, would not be very appealing to Christian Evangelicals, for example.  Yet I do know that Masonic lodges can be very active in areas of extremely conservative religious community.

I’ve been considering approaching my local lodge, and perhaps some of these more subtle questions are best asked there.  I just dont want to waste anyone’s time.

The idea of having help from a number of successful men who can mentor me and help me become a better person is more appealing to me than almost anything else I can imagine.  Masonry is something I’m very interested in, and the tenants I’ve read about strike a chord.  Honesty, honor, compassion;  These are great virtues.  But that creates an apparent paradox for me.  Obviously many Masons are very wealthy.  And while wealth itself does not determine the quality of someone’s character, I must say most of the really wealthy people I have encountered got that way through means that were less than honest, honorable, and compassionate.

Trying hard to understand.

cmurray - 03 June 2010 01:18 PM

Thank you for the extremely prompt reply Mr. Heruska.

I supposed I should have been able to deduce that, based on the list of Masonic Presidents of the US alone.  They come from both political parties, and therefore it should have been clear to me that Masonry transcends politics.

On the other hand, it’s hard to do anything in this world without crossing some political line that has been drawn.

What if some Masons developed a charity which provided free condoms to impoverished areas?  That would be a big taboo in many right-wind circles.  How would elder Masons in a lodge who had strong right-wing philosophies interpret something that is both a violation of right-wing political platforms as well as right-wing religious dogma?

I would think that Masonry and it’s open-minded claims about religion and so on, would not be very appealing to Christian Evangelicals, for example.  Yet I do know that Masonic lodges can be very active in areas of extremely conservative religious community.

I’ve been considering approaching my local lodge, and perhaps some of these more subtle questions are best asked there.  I just dont want to waste anyone’s time.

The idea of having help from a number of successful men who can mentor me and help me become a better person is more appealing to me than almost anything else I can imagine.  Masonry is something I’m very interested in, and the tenants I’ve read about strike a chord.  Honesty, honor, compassion;  These are great virtues.  But that creates an apparent paradox for me.  Obviously many Masons are very wealthy.  And while wealth itself does not determine the quality of someone’s character, I must say most of the really wealthy people I have encountered got that way through means that were less than honest, honorable, and compassionate.

Trying hard to understand.

Because Freemasonry prohibits politics or the discussion of it while at Lodge, it is of no concern what political activities a mason does outside of Lodge so long as it is not something illegal.

A thoughtful note, CMurray

Again, I would say you have been ill informed. In my experience most Masons are men of average means—again, reflecting the communities where they live and work.

You are right that anything that is going to be a Masonic Charity will generally have to be politically neutral. The world renowned Shriners Hospitals for Children (All Shriners have to be Masons first) provide free care for children with burns and crippling diseases. Not a lot of political argument there.

It will help if you stay on the Forum to let us know approximately where you live so we can be more pointed with our answers. Grand Lodges of different states are independent, and though we all follow some basic tenets, the makeup and activities of any one Lodge may be very different than another.

Let us know and we can help you find a Lodge near you that may be a good fit.

There’s no pressure to join ever. You have to ask.

Hope that helps.

Bob

Yes that does help, and thank you.

I’m living in Las Vegas currently, working as an engineer (software).  I will probably move back to a more rural area like Bozeman Montana, but not for another 4-5 years.

Also please understand that I am certainly not left-wing.  From my experience both political parties in the US are controlled mainly by very strong banking and corporate interests, and neither party is serving the will of the people.

Let me put it this way, if I was standing in a room where Thomas Jefferson and John Adams were having a debate, I would be standing behind Jefferson saying “Yeah! Yeah! You tell him Tommy!”

I have a problem with things like the Federal Reserve Bank and think Kennedy and Lincoln had it right to try to abolish borrowing by the US government and instead that the US should print it’s own currency.

So what do you think?  Am I too “out there”? :)

Masonry is not concerned with your individual political philosophy. You will not be asked if you are a Republican or a Democrat, or if you support one candidate, or another. You are free to support any candidate or political party.  You should be aware, that discussion of politics are strictly “taboo” in lodge meetings.

You are quite correct, that some (not all) Christian evangelicals, have serious issues with Masonry. Men of many different religion and faith backgrounds, participate in Masonry. Only an avowed atheist cannot be made a Mason. Masonry has men who practice the Christian religion, and the Islamic religion, and the Jewish Religion, and other religions, including Sikhs and Hindus. If associating with a organization that accepts men from many different religions, is a problem for anyone, then he should not seek to be a Freemason.

Masonry is also unconcerned with the candidate’s personal wealth. You will see, that Masonry is made up of men from all different economic strata. I joined when I was in college, and I was hardly a man of wealth of influence.

I certainly encourage you to pursue your study of Masonry. You will find men on this board, more than glad to answer any inquiries.

Masonry isn’t a polticial organization.  It has no “group stance” on abortion, immigration, election reform, etc.  Political candidates are never invited to speak to lodges and attempt to gain their endorsement.

Masonry isn’t concerned with your own politics either—although I would imagine anyone who consistently makes a bad name for themselves when speaking out on political issues is going to struggle with gaining admission. Masons aren’t going to want to admit someone who is frequently arrested for vandalizing an abortion clinic for fear of that individual’s actions might be construed as actions of “Masons” instead of an individual.

Masonry promotes tolerance, and if you are an intolerant person you will not enjoy lodge too much.  I have sat in lodges with gay men, minorities, and men who practice less mainstream religions.  I have also met many Masons who identify themselves as conservative as well.

Half the fun in Masonry is traveling and meeting guys of different backgrounds you never would have met unless you were a Mason.  Before I was a Mason, I only talked with fellow educators in my teaching field.  Now I’m friends with police officers, pilots, roofers, transportation workers, lawyers, doctors, retail managers, business owners, and many others.  This has been one of the most immediately rewarding benefits of Masonry for me.

These are all great answers!  Thanks guys.

If you want a answer that might fit more to your 1st post, i’d say google up a list of famous Freemasons. See what they believed and what party. Some were left, others right. Some were South. Some North in the civil war. Others were brittish or french durring the revolution. More currently i’m sure over seas in iran/iraq some on boths sides might have a mason or two. Me personally i just think were all human and should all be treated as equals.