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Why Do They Quit?
William J. Mollere, 33°, Deputy in Louisiana
If you belong to something and you no longer want to be a member,
you should depart on the best of terms.
The other day, I received an envelope with several pages from my home Valley. There was a cover letter asking for assistance in locating, calling, and notifying the good Masons listed who had failed to pay their dues for the previous year—they were suspended Scottish Rite Masons. Looking over the list depressed me because many of the names brought faces to my mind, memories of each man, remembrances of good times shared in and around Masonry—some even outside of Masonry through personal and social contacts. Why had each good Mason on the list failed to renew his membership in Scottish Rite? What had we done to make him no longer want to belong to Scottish Rite?
When we joined Freemasonry we took Obligations, or in the case of Scottish Rite, many Obligations, all intent on making us better men. As the Eighteenth Degree says: not to be better than our fellow man, but to be better than ourselves. Did the Obligation to support and uphold the Scottish Rite not get mentioned when these men listed on the pages joined? Did the Degree Master skip that part? Did the idea that no man should go back on his word, once given, get left out?
If you belong to something and you no longer want to be a member, you should depart on the best of terms. Pay up to the present and request a demit—then you can leave in good standing and are clear to return, if you ever want to. That is the Masonic way to depart. But the list that was mailed to me was a list of men who just quit paying their dues—no reason, no excuse, no communication—they just stopped caring about that obligation to uphold and support.
There are many reasons why a man stops paying his dues—some die. (We hope and ask for two week’s notice, but that is not always possible, and few comply.) Our often repeated mistake within Freemasonry is that we never check on that dead member until his dues notice comes back via return mail with his widow’s handwritten notice that he died eight months ago—or longer! We never checked on him. We forgot him until dues time—but boy, did we want to hear from him then! “How are you doing? Pay your dues!”
Some members just lose interest and don’t want to come to boring old business meetings. They stay home with their families and watch something on television, and the next dues notice gets disregarded.
Some say that no one talked to them when they last attended a meeting. It was a bunch of guys who knew each other and stood around in their own little groups, and no one came over and said a word. They left with hurt feelings and stopped paying their dues.
Some good Masons joined the Scottish Rite years ago so that they could become Shriners. When the Shrine’s requirement of Scottish or York Rite membership was abandoned in 2000, some good Shrine-Masons decided that they would just quit the “in between group.” There was no need to belong to the Scottish Rite anymore, so they requested a demit, but some just stopped paying their dues.
Some good Masons have a limited income level and cannot afford to pay dues to many of the organizations they originally joined. Most are too proud to say, “I can no longer afford to belong to Scottish Rite.” So they quit. In the case of true financial hardship, the Valley Secretary is only a phone call away.
Some good Masons join thinking that they are finally going to learn “the” secret—after all, being a Thirty-Second Degree Mason makes one a Master of the Royal Secret. Of course, the secret is that there is no real secret. Equilibrium—balance in one’s life—and the lessons of the previous twenty-eight degrees founded on the principles of the first three Craft Degrees—that’s the secret. So, some go away disenchanted because they didn’t get the secret they wanted. They received it, but they didn’t get it, they missed it—it was a waste of their time. So they quit.
Some good Masons join who should never have joined; Scottish Rite wasn’t for them; they made a mistake. It is that plain. We let them in because we wanted numbers, we didn’t look beyond the numbers at the real man, and we made a mistake, too. Those men get in, they find out it was a mistake and they quit. They don’t demit—they just stopped paying their dues.
When I’ve called some of the good Masons on that list, most have said, “I just don’t want to belong anymore.” “Why?” I asked, and they had no real answer. The Scottish Rite was no longer for them; it was unimportant. When I asked if they would become current in their dues and request a demit, many refused. “Why?” I asked again, and they felt that a demit was no longer worth anything to them. “What can we do to get you to come back?” And the overall response was, “I just don’t want to belong anymore.” It was that simple.
Into which of the previously mentioned categories would each of those good Masons on my list fall? All were still alive. Did we fail to offer them interesting and educational programs? Did we act unfriendly or cliquish during the meeting or afterwards at refreshments? Did he only join to become a Shriner? Is the man no longer financially able to pay his dues? Did we fail to properly educate the Brother with the true meaning of fraternity, brotherhood, and the secrets of the Scottish Rite? Or was he just not the right man to belong after all? Have we been his friend and his brother during any of the time that he did pay his dues?
A wise Mason once told me that men join Masonry simply to be with their friends. When they join, they are not interested in degrees, memory work, or charities—they want fellowship with their friends. Once they belong, it was our job to educate them on the finer points of Masonry. It became clear to me as I talked with some of these good Masons on my list that the men they joined with were no longer around. The reason they originally joined—friendship—no longer existed. They hadn’t made new friends in the Scottish Rite, and we had failed to educate them about the finer points of our Gentle Craft. We were after numbers when they joined, and they were only a number, not a friend!
It is well documented that American Masonic membership growth was an unparalleled success story following World War II. Many of our Greatest Generation joined Freemasonry when they returned from the war. Many joined to be with their buddies; some joined because their family had always joined; some joined to be a part of something special; some joined because they were told that only the finest and best belonged, and they wanted to be a part of that. Whatever the reason, the numbers swelled, and membership peaked in 1959.
Conferring degrees and reciting memory work was what a lodge meeting consisted of then. There was no education on those finer points—just run them through and get them to that Third Degree. Then, of course, there was further Masonic work—join the Scottish Rite—become a 32° Mason—WOW! Run them through, get the members, get in those numbers. Don’t worry about the level of fees and dues because there were so many men coming in. Future money would never be a problem—or so they thought.
Then came the 1960s and 1970s and Viet Nam and a generation that was not necessarily our greatest. A full generation was lost, not just to Masonry but to anything that seemed organized and traditional. Masonry did not respond well and sat on those old numbers. Why educate and teach those finer points? Why show the next generation what friendship and brotherhood and fraternity were really all about? So Masonry started dropping in numbers, good Masons questioned why they had joined, and many quit.
When I read that Freemasonry in other parts of the world is growing and flourishing, that joining fees in US dollars are anywhere between $1,000 and $2,500, that there are waiting lists, and that dues are between $250 and $500 per year, I wonder where we failed all of our good Masons who want to quit? Those other places in the world have been educating members on the finer points, those members are living the lessons and principles. Other good men see that and ask to belong.
As Our Greatest Generation slowly leaves us, do we need to step back and evaluate who we want to be, and where we are going to be in 5, 10, 20, or even 50 years? Do we need to reevaluate of degree system and structure? Do we need to reconsider our fees and dues structure? Do we need to look at our business meetings and programs? Have we made it too easy to enter and even easier to depart—just quit? We know that we will be a smaller organization in the future, but will we be a greater organization? Will good men want to enter and learn the Royal Secret? Will each want to learn the finer points of fellowship, brotherhood, and fraternity? Will men sacrifice to continue being a member?
When prorated, our monthly dues are less than a meal and drink at a fast food restaurant, and many men say that they cannot afford to belong. Our joining fee is less than an average suit of clothes, and men say that they cannot afford to join. How will we handle the future finances of our Rite? Will we step back and accept those excuses and even lower fees and dues, or perhaps we’ll hold “blue-light specials”?
These questions are not easy to ask and are even harder to answer. But as thinking and educated Scottish Rite Masons, we must stop, reflect, and attempt to answer. If you know of a good Mason who has decided to quit the Scottish Rite, please ask him why a good Mason would quit. Ask him why he joined in the first place. Ask him what would bring him back. Please understand that Scottish Rite Masonry teaches a way of living, giving, expanding, and exploring. It is a wonderful journey that requires work and sacrifice and wanting to be better than ourselves.
If you belong to something and you no longer want to belong, you should depart on the best of terms. Every member needs to remain involved, interested, educated, and as active as possible. Don’t ever be a name on the list of non-paying Members. Please don’t quit without a reason that goes beyond financial hardship, hurt feelings, lost friendships, and non-involvement. All of those reasons can be overcome—we need you to question, ask, and help supply answers—we need you to be involved in Scottish Rite.
To each of you who are involved—thank you for being a Scottish Rite Mason.
Reprinted with permission from the Louisiana Scottish Rite Trestleboard.
