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

Chapter 10 - Conclusion 863
Thus, we see that the inter-action with society as a whole is crucial for
Freemasonry. We think that no better example could be chosen than that of
Prince Hall Masonry for colored people, dealt with in Section 3.3. More than in
any other race, Freemasonry among the blacks has been a fundamental
sociopolitical institution, helping a suppressed in-group to gain a proud selfdefinition
and adherence to the moral and behavioral codes of an aspiring middle
class:
It has helped create an integrated self-image for the individual black
Mason as an upstanding American citizen; it has helped psychologically
bind the black Mason to white society by enabling him to identify with
the Caucasian middle class; it has created a haven within the larger
black society where bourgeois Negroes have received protection from
the life style of the nonbourgeois blacks who surrounded them; and
while having helped to create a positive sense of community among its
middle-class adherents, it has served to estrange them from the mass of
black people. 2121
If the European trend of lacking social interaction manages to root in
Freemasonry, it may become merely another social club, and this would sooner
or later be the end of Freemasonry as such. We have witnessed the decline of
other fraternal organizations that had "nothing behind the façades" and offered
just some nice imagery and hollow words, or an overcome benefit system
provided nowadays by the state. It is also to be doubted that quasi-Masonic
youth organizations will be able to keep up in the future, such as the Order of the
Rainbow for Girls and the DeMolays. The youth of today seems to be more
interested in Techno, Rave, and "XTC" than in metaphors of beautiful rainbows,
or the martyrdom of a Knights Templar hero burning on the stake. It is hard to
imagine that an ethical, patriotic education of the young generation can be
achieved via fraternal orders in the future. Maybe the thrill of secrecy will be the
only tie that binds the young people to such organizations, for mysteries will
never lose their appeal to humankind.
It has often been said that Masonry is losing its members due to the members'
high average age and a lack of candidates. This general demise of fraternity
membership may have been caused by the fact that such organizations are losing
their old social functions. Two generations ago, for example, one went to church
or became a member of a fraternal association for many hidden social reasons,
such as learning of whose crop was doing well, what was the latest fertilizer to
use, who was trying a new type of chicken to lay eggs, etc. The old social
functions of such "gathering places" are no longer needed, for they have been
replaced by technology and by the instability of the local social group. We would
further like to argue that Freemasonry, just as other institutions like the church,
in the past has been useful to enhance social definitions (e.g., maleness),
reassuring its members of the legitimacy of being apart from others - hence, the
2121 Muraskin, p. 74.