Why do some people consider the free masons, job's daughters, or demolay a cult?

Answer 1

I agree with NeoArt's or Labatt13's answers, but that will not stop me from answering. Maybe I can add a little more. I will write of the USA, other countries have different reasons.

Ignorance. And I don't mean that in a bad way, rather I mean it as a lack of knowledge, on the part of the members and the non-members. Masons and DeMolays promise never to reveal the secrets of Masonry, but many of them don't know what the secrets are. There are actually very few secrets in American Freemasonry and in DeMolay. The secrets are certain words and modes of recognition. The membership roster is secret to avoid harassment or mass-mailings for solicitations, however, a grand lodge body can choose to release this to certain groups under certain conditions(Usually jewelry, regalia and publishing companies).

Additionally, some people have had bad experiences with people who are Masons in name only.

I have promised not to have Masonic Communications with anyone outside the recognized bodies. However, I could talk to NeoArt about many things in American Freemasonry, Some people don't understand their obligations fully enough. A masonic communication is a closed meeting and a few other things. Naturally, I could not disclose the words or modes of recognition, but that is about it. I also cannot give detalis about a tiled meeting, but nothing evil occurs there. I could give him the entire text from the DeMolay ritual EXCEPT the passwords and modes of recognition. I generally will not tell a young man too much about the 2d DeMolay Degree, because I feel it is more impressive when one's first exposure to it is to see it presented well.

Because so many people overestimate the amount of Masonry which IS secret, they are reticent to communicate anything for fear of error. This misunderstanding causes a great deal of lack of public knowledge of the positive aspects of Freemasonry, and in my opinion, contributes to the declines in membership.

Labatt13 raised a good point about human tendency to point to "the others" as suspicious. That is a characteristic of the fear of the unknown. If Freemasonry would exercise more publicity of their activities, it would dispel a lot of suspicions and perhaps slow the membership decline. We actually have very few real secrets, but many don't understand the amount of liberty we have to engage in general conversation. There are other internal factors that prevent Freemasonry and DeMolay from growing. Usually it is lack of knowledge or commitment.

There are three religious denominations in the USA which are opposed to Freemasonry. The largest is the Catholic Church, but many parishes have no objection to members becoming Masons. A branch of Lutherans is also opposed to Freemasonry, and a friend of mine is a member of that church and is a Past Master of Iowa, as well as Past Grand Officer in Royal Arch Council and Chapter in Iowa. Jehovah's Witnesses view Masonry as a religion and do not approve of interfaith dialog(I welcome correction if I misstated the technical position). Other, smaller religious denominations, or their leaders are opposed to Masonry for their own reasons.

However, in regards to the Catholic Church, my father was made an honorary member of "The Equestrian Order" when he was Grand Commander of the Knights Templar of Louisiana, as was the then Grand Master of PHA. This is a very high honor within a Catholic organization, and very few people receive it. The honorary membership was conferred by the Catholic organizaiton as an outreach program.

There are several Masonic Orders. They do not recognize each other Louisiana Grand Lodge of Freemasonry does not recognize many other Grand Lodges, especially Prince Hall Affiliates and a few around the world. It does also not recognize Co-Masonry, but that doesn't prevent communication about open information about the organizations. We just can't meet in the same tiled meeting or exchange modes of recognition. Few Masons realize this.

A friend of mine, Ronnie Seal, is currently the Sovereign Grand Commander of AASR-SJ, the Southern Jurisdiction of Scottish Rite Freemasonry, and actively worked with his predecessor, Fred Kleinknecht, to build bridges in Europe as well as Russia and in some Foreign Soviet Republics.

In Europe, some of the Grand Lodges have opposed Catholicism. There are five Grand Lodges in France, and at least one of them is very opposed to Catholicism, and another embraces Catholicism. It seems to be the various European branches that continue to cause the greatest rift between Masonry and Catholicism, but The Vatican does not approve of Masonry in General. The reasons go back over 700 years.

Additionally, some groups calling themselves Masons have done some things that were quite offensive to the Catholic Church. It would take a great deal of effort to distance Masonry from those organizations, and discussing it would simply add fuel to the fire.

I hope this has been some help. If you wish some ideas on how to promote DeMolay, Jobies, Rainbow, Deltas, or Constellations, I have had quite a bit of success with promoting DeMolay and Rainbow. We don't have Jobies in my Jurisdiction any more.


Anyone with questions can email me from my start page. I may be slow to respond, because I have some serious health problems, that cause pain and exhaustion.

Answer 2

I am unaware what defines a cult in a whole but when ever god is mentioned a universal name must be applied so not to offend the various men in masnory (not sure about EA,JDs,etc). In a Masonic lodge you can't talk politics nor religion for the same reason, not to offend members of other faiths or political standings.

Secrets don't help exterior view of things but the above is pretty much the big basis. Since no talk of religion is allowed people say ah they hate God or they worship satan. Or they mention god by GAOTU and this is the name for satan. When it stands for Great Architect of the Universe. The degrees or ritual are tagged as satanic as it is called ritual. I have never seen an antimasonic site post the degrees and state how they are bad.

The other more educated arguement is that the degrees are similar to true occult teachings. It gets into alot of detail as far as what is occult teachings and which is bad and why. I have not seen an arguement showing the degrees as being occultic online but it was the only best thought I have seen that had logic applied. Please note there is nothing on this.

It comes down to zealots really. Zealots are zealots and masonry is an easy out with them when they need a place to point a finger. Masons will not entertain it nor say will here is our secrets because that is not what masonry is about. I hope that helps.

Answer 3

I have become a Mason in the last few years for a couple of reasons. One, I was a member of an Elks Lodge where they also have initiation and other rituals. The original founders of the Elks were Masons and some of the rituals are very similar. Both require that members believe in a supreme being, whom we refer to as God in both the Elks and the masons. The cardinal principles of Elks are Charity, Justice, Brotherly Love, and Fidelity. The basic tenets of Masonry are Brotherly Love, Relief (Charity), and Truth and the cardinal virtues are Temperance, Justice, Fortitude and Prudence. Put them all together and they add up to about the same thing. Both require adherence to an obligation to be a person of honor and to be charitable person and, especially, treat fellow members extra special. A friend who was both an Elk and a Mason explained the difference between the organizations was two-fold. One, an Elks must be an American citizen; Masons are international. Two, the Masons mean what they say. Frequently, Elks do not (many join because Elks have cheap bars). Masons do not allow alcoholic beverages to be sold at their Lodges.

All of the rituals, including the signs and modes of recognition are available on the internet. Almost nothing is a secret in the age of the internet. Just ask NSA and Edward Snowden. Masons voluntarily take care of one another and each others' families as long as they can do so without serious injury to themselves, without the threat of half-wit government thugs stealing your wealth to give it to undeserving parasites.

Charity is a virtue but welfare is theft.

Answer 4

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No, it's not true, can we get this settled now? This question is asked too many times. It's a fraterniity. Not a secret society. It has it's roots in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Masons are required to believe in a supreme being, God, to join, but as it is not a religion, the supreme being can be any one. The only people that are not able to join are Satanists, and Atheists. Sorry David, but you KNOW you are lying. As far as the secret society shtick, how secret can it be when there are symbols on road signs entering some towns, on buildings, license plates. If youo want to know the truth, ask a freemason.

Answer 5

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RE:
Why do some people consider the free masons, job's daughters, or demolay a cult?

Answer 6

The 3 answers below (from Lewis Y, Lebatt113, and NeoArt) do not answer the question, at least not directly. Instead, they each attempt to undermine any basis for the question.

Free masons (& Shriners), job's daughters, and demolay are organizations that each have oaths, rites, and rituals tantamount to religious practice. It is the substance of these oaths and practices that raise concern.

Christianity stands on the presuppositional faith that Jesus Christ is Holy Lord and Savior, God Incarnate, exclusive of all other gods. He is the "I Am" of the Old Testament, who etched in stone before Moses, "Thou shalt have no other gods before Me."

For Christians examining free masonry and other such groups, concerns are raised when the oaths, rites, rituals, and pledges, etc., practiced by the members of such groups espouse a diety or dieties other than the triune God of the Bible.

Note the entry below by Labatt113 where the following admissions are made: ". . . when ever god is mentioned a universal name must be applied so not to offend . . . members of other faiths . . ." and reference is made to the "Great Architect of the Universe."

Labatt113 clearly admits that reference to a supreme being is part of the organization's doctrine, i.e., the "Great Architect of the Universe," that members are prohibited from identifying the Great Architect of the Universe with any particular god or religious belief, and that this is because the members may have different religious beliefs.

It is in this context that Christians, for example, raise concerns that free masonry and other similar type organizations are cults. They espouse religious tenets and beliefs, and specifically distinguish them from Christianity either directly by espousing another as god or indirectly by touting the universality of all religions under the rubric of their supreme being (which in the case of the free masons is the Great Architect of the Universe).

Now, this explanation is not zealotry. Nor is it numerology or sensationalized anecdote or mental gymnastic scrabble rearranging acronyms. It is a straight forward explanation why Christians, at least, are concerned about the beliefs espoused by these organizations in their oaths and rituals, since they contradict the Holy Word of God as revealed in Scripture.

To be sure, many people who partake in these organizations do not appreciate fully the religious aspects of the free masons, Shriners, and the like. They simply treat them as social clubs and philanthropic organizations. But those social and philanthropic activities do not dismiss the doctrines these organizations officially ascribe or the oaths each of their members take, pledging allegiance to notions of god (e.g., the Great Architect of the Universe) that are antithetical to Biblical teaching.

That at least is why "some people" raise concerns about the beliefs and philosophies espoused by such organizations. For an interesting article (and quick read) on a Christian perspective on free masons, see http://www.equip.org/category/freemasonry/.

Keep asking questions!

Answer 7

Freemasons fail the touchstones of being cults in several aspects:
1. They do not require recruitment. In fact, Freemasons are mostly told not to recruit. The candidate for initiation must ask to join.
2. They do not give over huge sums of their personal fortunes to Freemasonry. Although there are dues, the dues are minimal. Other contributions are quite voluntary and done in secret.
3. Freemasons are not cut off from other family members. Duties to family, friends, country and God are stressed and accepted as valid reasons for not attending to Masonic functions and duties.
4. Freemasons do not have one sovereign personal cultic head who decides doctrine. Most states are independent. Leaders are elected by the Lodges and usually only for a year.

It is true that belonging to Freemasons makes people better. Better people tend to become more successful. Not because they have sold themselves to some cult, but because people trust them and that they do better work. It is not magic, it is the story of America played out to its fullest. It is about people doing their level best, about treating people squarely, about standing for something, being fair and square. All Masonic terms.

Freemasons say that Liberty and Equality of all Mankind and the Freedom of Religion and even the Freedom from Religion are important.

I am proud to be an American Co-Mason. We are a bit more esoteric maybe since we admit women as well as men, but we practice the rites and rituals the same as was done back in the 1700s. We work hard to make ourselves fitting stones for Solomon's Temple. I tell my daughter should she be in trouble in a strange city to look for a Masonic Lodge building and seek aid there. Guess that sums it up.

A Master Mason
American Co-Masonry
Hiram Lodge (Santa Cruz, CA)
Amon Ra Lodge (Los Angeles, CA)
Adamant Mark Lodge (Santa Cruz, CA)
Sapientia Lodge of Research (Larkspur, CO)

Answer 8

Nope, not a cult. In order to have a cult, you have to have (a) devoted followers, (b) a religion, (c) a specific belief system and (d) a leader. Freemasonry doesn't have any of those things. It's a fraternity. F R A T E R N I T Y. Say it with me: "Fraternity." Freemasonry is the world's oldest fraternity and largest philanthropy.

Answer 9

Demolay Secrets

Answer 10

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