The Universal Language of Freemasonry - ArchiMeD - Johannes ...

Chapter 8 - Categorization of Rituals 673
In a way, he is right, however, Blanchard forgets that there were no or not
many competitive ordinary insurance companies yet, when the fraternal ones
opened their market. And when these arose, we can imagine that the secrecy then
made sense, because now the fraternal organizations had not only their service to
compete with the ordinary insurance companies, but were able to offer
something more, something special: mysteries. Or so-called mysteries, as we
have seen in our chapter on non-Masonic rituals. When we compare the Masonic
ritual to the other fraternal rituals, it becomes evident that the so-called
"ceremonies" of the benefit associations are less elaborate, less beautiful, and
contain lesser or imitated symbolism. This is quite obvious, because the "rituals"
were not the principal aim of these beneficial societies, and therefore, less work
was invested in inventing a special terminology and symbolism. Their
"ceremonies" really were a marketing strategy and advertisement to join their
order. That proud titles, glittering decorations, and costumes were a lure to join
such fraternal orders, is also expressed in Revised Oddfellowship Illustrated:
The secret orders have exhausted the vocabulary of kingcraft and
priestcraft, which have scourged our race for six thousand years and still
scourge it. And, during all that time, regalia, mock mysteries and
sounding titles have been their stock in trade and tools of
incantation. 1644
It cannot be said often enough that we have to distinguish between fraternal
societies that were founded for the one and only purpose to provide insurance,
their "rituals" being a merely ornamental side-effect and secondary aim, and
those fraternal orders which see their essence in moral and ethical lessons, and
simply provide some sort of optional insurance for their members. Freemasonry
is one of the latter. The Security Benefit Association and the Modern Woodmen
of America belong to the former. The International Order of Odd Fellows is not
so easy to classify, for in its beginning in England it was still a benefit
association, but acquired more and more spiritual contents after its introduction
into America. However, it offers an organized beneficial system, not just some
optional measures, has never lost its true character in spite of some
transcendental acquisitions, and therefore we are strongly inclined to list it
among the first group.
The next question is, were the fraternal benefit or insurance societies of the
last 115 years successful? Did they really give their members what they sought
when they became initiated? We find in a Christian book from 1903, intended to
be a "brief treatise for busy people and specially intended for ministers and
teachers," a discussion of the fraternal organizations prevalent in America at that
time, such as temperance lodges, insurance lodges, industrial orders, patriotic
lodges, and college fraternities. Although this book, Modern Secret Societies,
was written from a radical Christian point of view, it accurately describes the
economic and social conditions in the late 1800's. Therefore, we want to pick out
1644 Cook (publ.), Revised Oddfellowship Illustrated, p. 225.