SHOULD THE SHRINE GO IT ALONE?
by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"
"Necessity is the mother of invention."
- George Farquhar
Recently I received a telephone call from a young Entered Apprentice regarding one
of my articles. Basically he was looking for guidance in terms of expediting
his learning of the Masonic catechism. He was pleasant on the phone and sounded
sincere about his problem, which was simply learning the catechism under his busy
work schedule. He also candidly confided that he was only joining the Masons so
he could get to the Shrine, that he had no intention of ever going back to the Craft
Lodge after his raising. Over the last few years I have met many other people who felt
this way, but this particular conversation struck a chord with me. Of course, I encouraged
him to complete his catechism and support the local Lodge, but he got me thinking about
the fraternity's relationship with the Shrine.
First, it says a lot about our identity; that Masons are painfully boring and participation
in the Craft Lodge offers little value to young men. I am not suggesting this is correct
or not, but it is the PERCEPTION a lot of people have. Instead, they view the Shrine as
the philanthropy of choice offering the type of social camaraderie they are looking for,
and unencumbered with a lot of ancient ritual. The Shrine is considered more contemporary
and in-step with today's young adults.
Second, this type of person contributes nothing to the Craft Lodge other than his
annual dues. But as membership and attendance at meetings continues to dwindle,
Craft Lodges need active participating members, not just card-carrying members. Hard-core
Craft Lodge Masons suggest we should free ourselves of these Shriner-Masons as they do
not take their Masonic responsibilities seriously, but I know a lot of Craft Lodges who
still needs their dues.
A few years ago, the Shrine changed its membership requirements. Instead of the prerequisite
of first being a Scottish/York Rite Mason, they changed it to allow 3rd degree Masons
into the Shrine. Whether this had a dramatic effect on Shrine membership is still
being debated. However, it did have an adverse effect on the Scottish & York Rites.
Since then, there has been considerable discussion on creating a new class of
Shriner, for non-Masons. This is still considered controversial in many circles.
In the meantime, as membership in the Craft Lodges dwindles, so does the Shrine's.
Frankly, I don't know what the hubbub is all about. It seems rather obvious that
Freemasonry and the Shrine have different agendas and serves different purposes. They
may be compatible, but they are substantially different nevertheless. With this in
mind, I question the validity of forcing a person to become a member of an institution
they really have no interest in (the Masons), and thereby creating a type of Mason
who will not represent the fraternity properly.
If the Shrine opened membership to non-Masons I think it would have the following effects:
- It would force Freemasonry to stand on its own two feet, thereby causing us to refocus
on what the fraternity is truly all about, and what we have to offer people.
- It would increase membership in the Shrine in that people are no longer required
to learn Masonic ritual.
I do not see this as a bad thing. Critics claim that over the years, the fraternity has
been "watered down" and losing its direction. Its becoming harder and harder to refute
this argument.
I also do not believe separating the Shrine from the Masons would result in a competitive
situation between the two, simply because they have totally different orientations. As
I said, they are more complementary than they are competitive. But because of the dues
income resulting from Shriner-Masons, Freemasonry would probably balk at severing direct
ties to the Shrine. But it is not their call, it is the Shrine's.
The Shrine will not willfully sever its connection to Freemasonry. Instead, the economic
reality of the situation will force their hand. For example, consider Florida where Masonic
membership continues to decline at a rate of over a thousand members annually. If this
rate continues, Florida Shriners will no longer be able to support their temples and
hospitals. As such, I predict the Shrine will be forced to sever its membership ties with
Freemasonry within the next five to ten years. Actually, I think it would occur sooner,
but I am factoring in the political aspects into my prediction, as well as the "reactive"
style of management as practiced by such organizations.
If Freemasonry is truly interested in maintaining its relationship with the Shrine, they
could easily nip all of this in the bud by seriously addressing the membership issue.
Unfortunately, they will continue to "Rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic." Instead
of addressing membership, the rulers of the fraternity are content pursuing trivialities,
such as changing the name of the "Grand Organist" to "Grand Musician."
Only when the Shrine finally severs its ties will Freemasonry in North America answer the
wake-up call which may be too late. Again, such organizations tend to practice "reactive"
management as opposed to "proactive."
As to the Shrine going it alone; what other choice do they have? It is inevitable.
Keep the Faith.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction
or any other Masonic related body. As with all of my Masonic articles herein,
please feel free to reuse them in Masonic publications or re-post them on Masonic
web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
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Copyright © 2007 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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