Questions to Ask a Mason

The questions

Open any question to see why it works.

1. 1

   How did you end up joining? Did someone ask you, or did you ask them?

   Many jurisdictions expect the candidate to ask first rather than be recruited, so this is usually a story about who he already knew. It also tells you whether he came in through family, work, or curiosity, and those three produce different members.

2. 2

   What did your family say when you joined?

   Households react anywhere from indifference to real suspicion, and the evenings out are the practical issue rather than the ritual. Ask what the first year cost the people at home, since that is the part most members skip.

3. 3

   What actually happens at a lodge meeting?

   The honest answer usually involves minutes, correspondence, finances and a supper, which surprises people expecting something stranger. Ask how much of an evening is ceremony and how much is committee business.

4. 4

   What can you tell me, and where exactly is the line?

   Members generally distinguish between what is secret and what is merely private, and most will tell you the shape of things while withholding specific modes of recognition. Asking where the line sits is more productive than pushing at it.

5. 5

   What surprised you most in your first year?

   This is the question that gets past the recruitment answer. Common ones include how much memorisation there is, how old the membership is, and how much of the work is charity administration rather than ceremony.

6. 6

   How much do you have to learn by heart?

   Ritual is delivered from memory in most lodges, and the volume is a genuine obstacle for busy people. Ask who teaches him, how long a piece takes to learn, and what happens if someone stumbles in the middle.

7. 7

   What is a degree, and how long is it between them?

   Progression is staged and paced by the lodge rather than by the candidate. Ask how long his own took, what was expected between stages, and whether anyone stops partway.

8. 8

   What does it cost in a year, and what does the money go to?

   There are joining fees, annual dues, dining costs and charitable giving, and the total surprises people. Ask what a member on a tight budget does, because most lodges have a quiet answer to that.

9. 9

   How many evenings a month does this really take?

   Meetings are only part of it, once rehearsals, visits to other lodges and committee work are counted. Ask what the busiest month of his year looked like.

10. 10

    What does your lodge actually do in this town?

    Some lodges are mostly social, others run visible local giving. Ask what they funded last year and who decided, since it moves the conversation from symbols to what the organisation does on a Tuesday.

11. 11

    Do you have to believe in God, and what counts?

    Belief in a supreme being is a requirement in mainstream Freemasonry, though the interpretation varies between jurisdictions and members. Ask how it is asked about, and how his own lodge handles members of different faiths.

12. 12

    What do men of different religions do about the parts that touch on faith?

    Lodges commonly include members from several religions, and how that is handled in practice is more interesting than the rule. Ask what book sits on the table and what happens when members bring different ones.

13. 13

    What do you make of the conspiracy theories?

    Every member has heard them and most have a well-worn answer, so push past the joke. Ask which ones annoy him, which ones he finds funny, and whether any of them started from something real.

14. 14

    Has it ever helped you in business, and is that allowed?

    Most constitutions prohibit using membership for personal gain, but the accusation persists because friendship and work overlap everywhere. Ask what the rule says and what he has actually seen.

15. 15

    Can women join, and what are the related orders?

    There are women's and mixed obediences, and separate related organisations, though which of them a given lodge recognises varies. Ask what exists near him and how it works in practice for couples.

16. 16

    What is the oldest thing in your lodge room, and what is the story attached?

    This is the question that gets a member talking freely, because it is history rather than doctrine. Warrants, furniture, honour boards and photographs all come with anecdotes he is allowed to share.

17. 17

    Who was the member who made you want to stay?

    People join for curiosity and stay for a person. The answer is usually an older member who took the trouble, which tells you what the organisation is actually offering.

18. 18

    Is membership shrinking, and what is the lodge doing about it?

    Many lodges have an ageing membership and talk about it constantly among themselves. Ask what they have changed, since answers range from earlier meeting times to giving up on formal dinners.

19. 19

    What would get someone removed?

    There is a disciplinary process, and asking about it reveals what the organisation says it cares about. Ask whether he has ever seen it used and what for.

20. 20

    If I were thinking about joining, what would you tell me to think about first?

    A good answer covers the time, the cost, the memorisation and the people, in that order, and it usually includes advice to visit and meet the lodge socially first. A member who only sells the idea is not giving you the useful version.