Aren Masons racist/elitist?
There are Masons of all ethnic backgrounds, and have been for hundreds of years. Masonry explicitly states the equality of all men, regardless of race, creed, or color, and there is no place in Masonry for prejudice based upon any of these criteria. It may be true that not all Masons have historically lived up to this ideal, and that is unfortunate, saddening, and unmasonic. However, prejudice is not representative of Masonry as a whole, or representative of anything except a tiny (and shrinking) minority of Masons. “Elitism” is harder to define. If you mean that Masons are highly selective in their membership, then yes, Masons are elitists. But just criteria are used: men of good character, of good report, who believe a Supreme Being. Does the majority of the population fit those criteria? If you think not, then you could say that Masons are elitists. The idea that Masonry is only open to the patrician class, the landed gentry, and the wealthy is incorrect. There are Masons of all eco
Regarding racism: Freemasonry explicitly states the equality of men, regardless of race, creed, or color. But there are some Masons who are prejudiced, and this is unfortunate, saddening, and unMasonic. However, it is not representative of Freemasonry as a whole, or representative of anything except a tiny minority of Masons. There are Masons of all ethnic backgrounds. “Elitism” is harder to define. If you mean that Masons are highly selective in their membership, then yes, Masons are elitists. But just criteria is used: men of good character, of good report, who believe in God. Does the majority of the population fit that criteria? If you think not, then you could say that Masons are elitists. The idea that Freemasonry is only open to the patrician class, the landed gentry, and the wealthy is incorrect. There are Masons of all economic backgrounds. Indeed, there are Lodges which are mostly or wholly made up of blue-collar workers due to local demographics.
Regarding racism: Masonry explicitly states the equality of men, regardless of race, creed, or color. But there are some Masons who are prejudiced, and this is unfortunate, saddening, and unMasonic. However, it is not representative of Masonry as a whole, or representative of anything except a tiny minority of Masons. There are Masons of all ethnic backgrounds. “Elitism” is harder to define. If you mean that Masons are highly selective in their membership, then yes, Masons are elitists.
Regarding racism: Masonry explicitly states the equality of men, regardless of race, creed, or color. But there are some Masons who are prejudiced, and this is unfortunate, saddening, and unMasonic. It is not representative of Masonry as a whole, or representative of anything except a tiny minority of Masons. There are Masons of all ethnic backgrounds. “Elitism” is harder to define. If you mean that Masons are highly selective in their membership, then yes, Masons are elitists. But just criteria is used: men of good character, of good report, who believe in God. Does the majority of the population fit that criteria? If you think not, then you could say that Masons are elitists. The idea that Masonry is only open to the patrician class, the landed gentry, and the wealthy, is incorrect. There are Masons of all economic backgrounds. Indeed, there are Lodges which are mostly or wholly made up of blue-collar workers due to local demographics.
Regarding racism: Masonry explicitly states the equality of men, regardless of race, creed, or color. But there are some Masons who are prejudiced, and this is unfortunate, saddening, and unMasonic. However, it is not representative of Masonry as a whole, or representative of anything except a tiny minority of Masons. There are Masons of all ethnic backgrounds. “Elitism” is harder to define. If you mean that Masons are highly selective in their membership, then yes, Masons are elitists. But just criteria is used: men of good character, of good report, who believe in God. Does the majority of the population fit that criteria? If you think not, then you could say that Masons are elitists. The idea that Masonry is only open to the patrician class, the landed gentry, and the wealthy is incorrect. There are Masons of all economic backgrounds. Indeed, there are Lodges which are mostly or wholly made up of blue-collar workers due to local demographics.
