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Freemasons can't date?

Capricornguy

Registered User
Couldn't find a topic on this.

I'm a young guy, and I want to join because of family history having been masons however I think there is something against dating (correct me if I'm wrong).

I'm not trying to get married anytime soon I was offered but I have a lot I want to see and accomplish before I settle down.

This day and age with Instagram,snapchat, twitter its hard for a fellow guy to maintain a girlfriend.

Dumb question but I'm curious what the rules of this are.
 

David612

Registered User
Freemasonry has no views on dating explicitly however as in all things you should carry yourself with dignity and treat all you encounter with respect.
I’m not sure what you mean about social media making it hard to maintain a girlfriend however.
 

Bloke

Premium Member
Not surprising there is not a thread on this - but did you search for a "good pickup lines" thread ? Much more likely to find that topic here.

I am not even sure I am curious where this impression arose.

As I see it, and I am sure my Brothers here would agree, you can date and do anything around that which is legal and doesn't hurt anyone and still be regarded as a "good Freemason".
 

David612

Registered User
I wonder if he has heard of a certain portion of the MM obligation that may have him confused on this subject?
That’s true, I haven’t taken that obligation however I would be quite surprised if in following basic etiquette and behaving in a respectful and dignified way with a willing, unattached person is frowned apon by the fraternity, additionally it is outside of the scope of what Freemasonry has been presented to me as thus far and is really none of the fraternities business in an official capacity.
Perhaps this is different in your jurisdiction?
However I know many master masons who enjoy dating and while their endgame may be different (TBH I have no idea as the dating lives of others is quite low on my lists of interests) I know them to be good men in my experiences with them so I wouldn’t expect them to be breaking their obligations with regularity.


I can’t imagin freemasonry as a whole being so vague on what explicitly constitutes “Morality” within its ritual considering it’s intent to allow for the participation of all men from all religious and cultural backgrounds and then in the MM degree to then come forward and say that a mason may not date, I can only speculate but that sounds at odds with what I have experienced.
 
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CLewey44

Registered User
I wonder if he has heard of a certain portion of the MM obligation that may have him confused on this subject?

That was my initial thought but "dating" and violating the chastity of certain women is technically different. However, wives are off limits in either case lol.
 

CLewey44

Registered User
And to be honest with you, the title "Freemasons can't date?" really had me confused until I read the actual post. I had never come across a scenario where Freemasons were dating each other.
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
That was my initial thought but "dating" and violating the chastity of certain women is technically different.
Depends on the jurisdiction. Perhaps Warrior can clarify as my KY MM obligation is a bit rusty, but if I recall, the wording isn't quite as dramatic as violating the chastity. While it wouldn't preclude dating, in a strict observation of it, the relationship could not necessarily progress fully...if I'm not being too subtle.
 

David612

Registered User
Depends on the jurisdiction. Perhaps Warrior can clarify as my KY MM obligation is a bit rusty, but if I recall, the wording isn't quite as dramatic as violating the chastity. While it wouldn't preclude dating, in a strict observation of it, the relationship could not necessarily progress fully...if I'm not being too subtle.
I’m obviously not going to look up the exact wording but it seems as an odd point to take a stand on given all the expectations placed on a brother if he follows the obligations strictly.
 

CLewey44

Registered User
Depends on the jurisdiction. Perhaps Warrior can clarify as my KY MM obligation is a bit rusty, but if I recall, the wording isn't quite as dramatic as violating the chastity. While it wouldn't preclude dating, in a strict observation of it, the relationship could not necessarily progress fully...if I'm not being too subtle.
I'm picking up what you're putting down. ;)
 

hanzosbm

Premium Member
These are the words.
Interesting. That's not how I remembered it, so I dug through my old things and found my KY obligation and it is different. Looks like, at least at one point in time, different KY lodges were using different obligations. Without putting the words out there, a physical relationship which went 'all the way' with one of several kinds of female relations to a brother which is, according to an online dictionary, "forbidden by law, rules, or custom". Like I said, it's fairly ambiguous and the way it was explained to me was, as long as you're not breaking the law and nobody is upset about it, play ball!
 
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