Back in the beginning of August, I asked all of my readers to give me a helping hand by taking my York Rite Survey.
I received many responses (about twice as many as I had expected) and discovered some interesting things about the awareness level that Freemasons have about the York Rite. Below are a series of charts which display the results of this survey. In the results, the term ‘Members’ refers to those Masons belonging to the York Rite, ‘Prospective Members’ refers to those Masons that indicated a desire to join the York Rite, and ‘Non-Members’ refers to those Masons that did not wish to join the York Rite or indicated that they did not know what the York Rite is.
The results that were of great interest to me were the answers to the following questions:
- Which bodies compose the American York Rite of Freemasonry?
- Do you have to be a Christian to join the American York Rite of Freemasonry?
- Do you have to join all of the bodies in order to become a full fledged member?
The bodies that compose the American York Rite are the Chapter of Royal Arch Masons, Council of Royal and Select Masters, and the Commandery of Knights Templar. Judging from the high percentage of incorrect answers to this question (even 15% of York Rite members answered incorrectly), a large number of Freemasons don’t really know who or what the York Rite is. This is a serious issue that the York Rite must overcome.
The question of whether a man must be a Christian or not to join the York Rite was met with ambiguity. In all honesty, I can understand why. The only body of the York Rite which can be considered Christian is the Commandery of Knights Templar. Keep in mind that you can just join the Chapter and Council if you don’t wish to become a part of the Commandery. The Commandery does not explicitly state that you cannot join if you are not a Christian, but a man is required to answer the question “If called to fight in a religious cause, will you give preference to the Christian religion?” in the affirmative. I would not feel comfortable answering “yes” to that question if I was a Jew, a Muslim, or member of any other religion. To be truthful, I nearly answered that question with a “no” because I would never fight in a religious cause. Nevertheless, I think the confusion about this requirement among York Rite members and non-members alike shows that the Grand Encampment needs to settle this issue by taking action to either clearly state that a man must be, or does not have to be, a Christian to join the Commandery once and for all.
Finally, you do not have to join all of the York Rite bodies to be a full fledged member. If a man only joins the Chapter or joins both the Chapter and the Council, he can participate in that order in any capacity. He can hold any position, including that of the highest office in the jurisdiction. Therefore, if you are uninterested in becoming a member of the Commandery (as are many Masons that I have communicated with) you can still join the Chapter of Royal Arch and Council of Royal and Select Masters and be entitled to all the rights and benefits of those organizations.
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Great article!
There is often confusion about the York Rite primarily because the York Rite doesn’t get as much attention as say, the Scottish Rite, so there is often much misinformation. For me as a Christian, the York Rite seemed to be a logical path because of its Jewish and Christian focus. (Christians do, after all, have a deep Jewish heritage.) The Blue Lodge degrees are rooted in Old Testament stories, and the York Rite really extends that tradition through to its conclusion in the New Testament. This is one of the great things about Freemasonry: choice. If you do not want to pursue Jewish/Christian traditions, then the York Rite may not be for you. Another option may be the Scottish Rite. (I have not gone through it, so I don’t know.)
A couple comments:
“If called to fight in a religious cause, will you give preference to the Christian religion?”
The question is not intended to REQUIRE a person to be Christina, but to determine if the person will or will not defend the Christian faith. I have heard of Jews who are members of Commanderies because, though they are Jewish, they respect the Christian faith and have pledged to defend it. You made the statement “To be truthful, I nearly answered that question with a “no” because I would never fight in a religious cause.” If your conviction is that you would truly never fight in a religious cause, then you would have to honestly answer “No” and therefore you could not join a Commandery. You could however join a Chapter and Council.
“Finally, you do not have to join all of the York Rite bodies to be a full fledged member. If a man only joins the Chapter or joins both the Chapter and the Council, he can participate in that order in any capacity.”
One of the quirks of having local jurisdictions is in just how the requirements are actually played out. Our local York Rite bodies don’t require the members to join all bodies, however there are two factors in play: First, the region is predominately Christian, so being a Christian is pretty much a given or a non-issue. And second, the local York Rite business meetings open concurrently on all three bodies, so you therefore technically have to be a member of all three to participate. It’s more of an administrative thing, but real none-the-less. So initiates almost always join all three bodies.
Also note that the Royal Arch degree is required for some other “side degree” organizations such as the Allied Masonic Degrees.
“If called to fight in a religious cause, will you give preference to the Christian religion?”
What happens if the war is the Baptists against the Catholics?
:-\
I am going to raise two questions for a civil debate that I’d like to see take place in these comments.
1) Should a man have to profess a belief in Christianity in order to join the Commandery or is such a requirement un-Masonic?
2) Should a Freemason be willing to fight in a religious cause considering that we believe in religious tolerance and equality?
I hope to see some interesting comments.
What was the sample of the survey? Was it just online Masons, because I would submit that they are more educated on Freemasonry than the general membership. I’m wondering if you took a survey of Masons in general, you’d find that your results may be different.
Years ago at one of our festive boards, I asked a series of questions on concordant bodies, to see who were members of what and if some have even heard of them. As you went up the York Rite tree, most had no idea that most of the bodies even existed.
@The Euphrates: “1) Should a man have to profess a belief in Christianity in order to join the Commandery or is such a requirement un-Masonic?”
It’s really about rules and respecting them. Joining the Commandery is completely optional and is not required of any Mason. For example, Freemasonry’s core is the Blue Lodge, and has the rule that an Atheist cannot join. All other Masonic organizations (like the York Rite, Scottish Rite, etc.) fall under their own jurisdictions, so it is perfectly within their right to impose restrictions as they see fit. The Commandery’s requirement is meant to provide preference to Christianity because its core teachings are rooted in the New Testament. If that does not appeal to a Freemason, then they have the option not to join. There are many mMsonic organization that might fill his desire for more light.
@The Euphrates: “2) Should a Freemason be willing to fight in a religious cause considering that we believe in religious tolerance and equality?”
Where do we draw the line? Just what is a religious cause for which a Freemason would fight. Are we talking about waging a “holy war”? Are we talking about defending against terrorists invading our land? Or government oppression of a religion? Or corporate religious discrimination? If a religious person is being oppressed, should we as Freemasons stand up for them or should we allow them to be oppressed, granting tolerance to the oppressor?
There are non-Christians who allow themselves to take the vow to defend the Christian faith, but I am not sure I’m comfortable doing so. I think most Western Christians don’t really understand the resentment with which non-Christians and Eastern Christians regard the Crusaders. The Crusaders did not always treat innocent bystanders, let alone their actual enemies, with the compassion expected of those who profess to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, to put it mildly.
When I search history for examples of wars where at least one side professed to defend the Christian faith, I am not comfortable with the outcome. To be honest, religious war of any kind is rarely not an atrocity. I think an oath to defend the First Amendment is more to my liking.
Every Knight Templar I know is an exemplary mason, and a proud Templar. I’ve had masons tell me that masonic Templarism is incompatible with the landmarks of Freemasonry, and I strongly disagree. The masonic Templars are a force for good, even though I am ineligible to join them.
There are Muslim masons who feel that the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine have ritual that is disrespectful of Islam. I disagree, but I’m not a Muslim. However there are Muslim Shriners who see no conflict between Islam and the Shrine. A lot of our Appendant Bodies were formed in the 19th century, when cultural sensitivities were somewhat more lax (minstrel show, anyone?), and historiography was a far cruder science, employed more often to create an edifying mythology for the present than to examine the past in any depth. In twenty years, the Hillbillies might seem culturally insensitive, as the Mystic Knights of the Sea seem today.
@47th: Great comment. You do bring up a point that I have addressed in other places, and it is that so much of Freemasonry was created at a time in history that is very different from today. Some would argue that Freemasonry is not Politically Correct and that it can be insensitive, yet others (myself included) believe that it is simply upholding truths, teachings, and concepts that were once held in high regard. It was at a time when people DID respect each other, a time when people DID hold virtues like honor, truth, charity, etc very highly. Contrast this to the self-serving motives most hold today. Was there corruption? Of course! Was it a perfect time? Far from it! But when people did things, there was accountability and consequences–something just not embraced today.