Is Freemasonry Relevant in Today’s Technological Revolution?

Is Freemasonry Relevant in Today’s Technological Revolution?

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In U.S. Freemasonry’s current form, I believe it’s irrelevant and outdated in today’s Technological Revolution. The good news is, I also believe that can be changed…

U.S. Freemasonry needs to meet the millennial generation where they are at, not the other way around. In Freemasonry, there is a severe generational disconnect from the millennial generation. The truth is, most 60-70 year olds don’t understand the rapidly changing technological landscape. They are not the generation that’s going to be directly impacted by technology.

According to the Masonic Service Association, in 2015, Freemasonry had the lowest Masonic membership since 1924. Masonic membership was highest in 1959. (1)

I’ve had discussions in the past with other Master Masons about dwindling membership and lodge attendance and I heard things like, “yes, membership and lodge attendance is down but we are now getting good quality brothers that are contributing to the Craft and their lodge.”

In the immortal words of W. Edwards Deming, “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

How can Freemasonry pull a Bernie Sanders and get the millennial generation excited about the Craft?

See my article

The Importance of The Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences

Freemasonry needs to get back in touch with its roots and the Seven Liberal Arts and Sciences, are a great start and relevant, in today’s technological age.

When you have people like Steve Jobs, Mark Cuban and a lot of Silicon Valley Entrepreneurs, who are creating future technology, talking about the importance of the Seven Liberal Arts, you will be able to generate interest with younger people.

Freemasonry is about Science

Freemasonry needs to show the links between Masonic “philosophy” and scientific thinking.

A book called, Freemasonry & the Birth of Modern Science by Robert Lomas is a good start and would make a great subject for Masonic Education and a Lodge Study Group.


The conversation can then be switched to modern science and technology and how Freemasonry fits into it. For Freemasonry to survive, it needs to get involved in future technology and emerging sciences.

Check Out this website, there is a lot of good material for discussion

Mr Futurist

Make Everything About the Three Masonic Degrees

A Master Mason only gets to experience the degrees as a candidate once, so go all out. Make it an impacting experience. I’ve seen high school plays that had more impact and life, than some of the degrees I’ve attended.

Start doing Masonic education on what the degrees mean? How about symbology and meditation on the degree trestle boards? I’ll be creating a post on that subject.

Freemasonry needs to realize that the millennial generation feels lost and really uncertain about their future. They want to get back to the basics and are interested in history. Masonry needs to meet them where they are at.

Freemasonry needs to embrace its Occult, Esoteric and Ancient Mystery School Roots

A lot of younger people that come into Freemasonry are drawn to it by its mystical and mysterious roots. Lodges need to embrace the occult, esoteric, ancient mystery school side of Freemasonry. Subjects like Hermetic Qabalah, Rosicrucianism, and Alchemy etc.

This website will give you a LOT of material to use for Masonic Education and Lodge Study Groups.

Make sure the lodge has a lot of Masonic Education and Study Groups. Lodges need to quit the assembly line degree process and become study, research and knowledge centers.

There is nothing worse than getting your third degree and becoming a Master Mason, then suddenly realizing you have just joined an elderly men’s social club. I was extremely lucky and found a mentor, who was one of the most extraordinary men I’ve ever met. Unfortunately, this is not everyone’s experience.

(1) Masonic Membership Statistics 2013-2014


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3 Comments

  1. Very intriguing articles. Masonic Enlightenment is something we all could use ‘but more especially brother Masons.’

  2. Followed the link to the book Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science (Thank you) and found this review by S. Plowright to be well worthy of reposting here:

    “Not long after Sir Francis Bacon wrote, around the year 1600, that knowledge (of Nature) is power (to help humanity), natural philosophers started taking up the quest for this knowledge. Mason-Scientists like Moray, Hooke, Desaguliers, and Franklin, led the way toward the collaborative and systematic form of research we take for granted as science and technology.

    The investigation of Nature was a dangerous business in the early days. It was only natural that it developed in the bosom of the already secretive Freemasonry of the day. The “Invisible College” were not exclusively masons, but they certainly formed the backbone of the push toward the Enlightenment ideal. The aim was a society of greater freedom, tolerance, and equality, based on rationality, and supported by an understanding of natural forces. This endeavor has been more successful than any of them could have imagined.

    We tend to think that the World was destined to develop the way it has, but things could have been much different. Civilization can be fragile, and knowledge can be lost. Tyranny can prevail. We owe our modern comforts, security, and freedoms, such as they are, to the Freemasons and those they influenced around the World. The process continues. Where it goes from here is up to all of us.”

    S. Plowright

    1. Author

      Thanks David for sharing that. Bro. you are awesome, I wish I had more brothers that had your interest and desire for real Masonic knowledge.

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