Is Freemasonry Prestigious?

[JJones]

There is no longer, in my view, prestige in belonging to the fraternity. It is no longer a mark of someone finding you of worth. It is no more selective than Walmart inviting me to shop there. It doesn't reflect my economic status (for some that is a mark of prestige) as again, it is likely no more expensive than Walmart.

Thankfully, I haven't seen any Brothers come to lodge dressed like some of the folks I've seen at Walmart.

Something that's cheap and easy to get really can't be very prestigious can it? If it's cheap then it's easy to forget about or walk away from and if it's too easy to get into then that must mean that the standards aren't very high at all either. It'd be hard to make any organization sound prestigious with a 'cheap and easy' philosophy.

 

[chrmc]

In some jurisdictions (especially in Europe) there is still prestige in belonging to the fraternity. But I would say that in the areas where an invite and vote is as easy to get a Costco membership card, there is little prestige left.
Now whether we can (or even want to) change this that is the interesting question...

 

[cacarter]

Not a bit. If someone hears that I am a mason they do not look at me with a sense of awe. It's been mentioned by others here that it is too cheap to be in freemasonry, we charge Walmart prices and get Walmart level prestige. I can see an argument that every man should be able to access the secrets of freemasonry, and why should a price tag keep a man from something which he is searching for? But modern masonry is not about striving to perfect the inner, we've become about community service over anything else. Like others have said we are more like the Lions. The craft has "strayed" from its "original" purpose, and thus cheapened our own worth.


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[Companion Joe]

I don't relate dues to prestige. What does the general public know about your Lodge's dues prices anyway? On the line of thinking, the local country club should be prestigious. It's not. Most of the members are well off financially (or at least they want you to think they are), but they are the sorriest people around. People equate driving a Mercedes with being prestigious. It may be a sign of affluence, but that doesn't always make the owner prestigious.

The actions of the members should be what makes Masonry prestigious, not a dollar amount.

 

[BryanMaloney]

I can get prestige. It's not hard to find. All it amounts to is to be attached to something that happens to be fashionable at the moment.

 

[Warrior1256]

Up until the last 30-35 years or so, Masonry was elite in this country. Masons were the elite in their communities. Elite is different from "elitist." Elitist has a negative and snobbish connotation. Elite means (paraphrasing) superior in quality. We need to get back to that. Instead of worrying about numbers and wondering how we can get them in the Lodge, we need to get back to the point of the best of the best wanting to seek admittance and taking only the best of them.

If I knew a sure fired way to do that, I'd share, but I don't. Today's sense of entitlement and desire for instant gratification are a major roadblock.

We don't need to be making accommodations to bring in young members. What we need to do is identify the best of the best of young men who would be interested in Masonry and in becoming good Masons. Get them on board, then the others will start to ask why some men are Masons and they are not. That will put the prestige back in Masonry and ultimately, I think, lead to better times for our fraternity and our communities.

This sounds like a great idea to me. Obviously if the Fraternity is to survive we need more quality young people to join.