# Membership statistics and trend



## Simon Christiansen (Oct 6, 2018)

http://www.msana.com/msastats.asp

The new membership stats from the Masonic Service Association of North America are out, so I couldn't resist the temptation to make a graph:







Masonic membership in North America has declined 46.8% over the last 20 years, from 2,021,909 in 1997 to 1,076,626 in 2017. The rate of decline seemed to be slowly levelling off during most of the 2000's, but around 2012 it settles into a linear trend.






If the current trend continues, North American freemasonry will cease to exist in 2040.

Sorry not to have better news. I was planning to fit the points to a curve, and predict when freemasonry would start growing again, but the data doesn't really support it.

Some individual Grand Lodges do seem to have stabilised, so the current trend probably won't continue forever, but it seems like it will be a while before things improve. The numbers also do not include Prince Hall lodges.


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## Warrior1256 (Oct 6, 2018)

Possibly this year Kentucky Freemasonry will show more members joining than demitting or dying for the first time in decades.


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## CLewey44 (Oct 6, 2018)

Warrior1256 said:


> Possibly this year Kentucky Freemasonry will show more members joining than demitting or dying for the first time in decades.


Where Masonry fails, medicine succeeds...


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## jermy Bell (Oct 6, 2018)

I really can't believe that with so many of us, that we can't figure out a way to re jump start masonry , school of instruction is ok, degree work is somewhat enjoyable, and business meetings, well you know. My lodge does one cool thing that we all get behind twice a year, we take $500.00 and buy school supplies for a couple of the not well off schools in the county. But besides the old pancake breakfast and spaghetti dinners, you really don't see nothing exciting happening. But there has to be something to keep things interesting to have people coming back.


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## Trufflehound (Oct 12, 2018)

Many Lodges have a couple of common issues.

The first is that we don’t always do a good job establishing Brotherly Love. If you can’t do that — if you can’t foster an environment where friendships can grow and civility reigns — your Lodge will suffer. It’s one of the few things that universally contributes to the health of all Lodges. It’s one of the sure-fire ways to get a Brother to come to Lodge. He may not leave the comfort of his home for education or ritual, but he will for his friends.

The other thing I’ve noticed is, younger Masons often feel unneeded. The older Brethren occupy a lot of the chairs or give lectures during the Degrees. The older Brethren don’t “box the younger Masons out” deliberately. This is our generational issue manifesting itself.

Consider this: many of those born in the 1950s and 1960s didn’t join the fraternity. We’re missing the bulk of an entire generation. Traditionally, responsibility would have passed hands already. Because of the generational gap, the older generation has had to hold the reins longer. Maybe they’re a bit hesitant to turn things over to the younger guys, because they’re so used to running things. 

Our job as younger Masons is to step up and show that they leave the work in capable hands. If we don’t do that, we’re going to damage the Craft when the older Brethren pass on.


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## LK600 (Oct 12, 2018)

Warrior1256 said:


> Possibly this year Kentucky Freemasonry will show more members joining than demitting or dying for the first time in decades.



I am heavily considering moving to northwestern Kentucky in the next two years, so I may be able to provide a point to the positive if and when that happens!


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## dfreybur (Oct 12, 2018)

Trufflehound said:


> Many Lodges have a couple of common issues.
> 
> The first is that we don’t always do a good job establishing Brotherly Love. If you can’t do that — if you can’t foster an environment where friendships can grow and civility reigns — your Lodge will suffer. It’s one of the few things that universally contributes to the health of all Lodges. It’s one of the sure-fire ways to get a Brother to come to Lodge. He may not leave the comfort of his home for education or ritual, but he will for his friends.



I expected to join for the service.  I ended up staying for the fellowship.  Plenty of guys have enough fellowship in their lives already but I work a desk job and that was a whole in my life that masonry filled.



> The other thing I’ve noticed is, younger Masons often feel unneeded. The older Brethren occupy a lot of the chairs or give lectures during the Degrees. The older Brethren don’t “box the younger Masons out” deliberately. This is our generational issue manifesting itself.
> 
> Consider this: many of those born in the 1950s and 1960s didn’t join the fraternity. We’re missing the bulk of an entire generation. Traditionally, responsibility would have passed hands already. Because of the generational gap, the older generation has had to hold the reins longer. Maybe they’re a bit hesitant to turn things over to the younger guys, because they’re so used to running things



I see the opposite.  You need to finish your proficiency by Installation because we need you in line right away.  The old guys cycling through are experiencing burn out.  There's pressure rather than resistance in my lodges.

Except in a few lodges.  A small number of lodges are doing a large number of degrees.  They thrive and sure enough they have neither pressure nor resistance to new guys joining the line because they have plenty of new guys.



> Our job as younger Masons is to step up and show that they leave the work in capable hands. If we don’t do that, we’re going to damage the Craft when the older Brethren pass on.



Something I have pondered recently.  We are THE source of positive masculinity in my world.  Part of positive masculinity is taking initiative.  We aren't a school where the teachers deliver lessons then the kids play.  We're a team where everyone works and the fellowship makes the work into play.


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## Warrior1256 (Oct 12, 2018)

Trufflehound said:


> The other thing I’ve noticed is, younger Masons often feel unneeded. The older Brethren occupy a lot of the chairs or give lectures during the Degrees. The older Brethren don’t “box the younger Masons out” deliberately. This is our generational issue manifesting itself.


True. Also true is the older Masons pooh poohing any new ideas of younger Masons with "We don't do it that way here" or "We didn't do it that way in my day".


LK600 said:


> I am heavily considering moving to northwestern Kentucky in the next two years, so I may be able to provide a point to the positive if and when that happens!


Would love to have you Brother!


dfreybur said:


> I expected to join for the service. I ended up staying for the fellowship.


Great!


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## LK600 (Oct 12, 2018)

dfreybur said:


> I see the opposite. You need to finish your proficiency by Installation because we need you in line right away.



Another Brother and myself have been told things similar to this multiple times.


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## Plustax (Oct 13, 2018)

Or ...."it's been our local tradition here".  Or...."we tried that before and it didn't work".  

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## Zack (Oct 14, 2018)

I wish I had a dollar for every "young Mason" who said he wanted to learn the lectures started, fell by the wayside after finding out how much time and commitment it takes.  If nothing else works blame the Old Mason.


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## Brother_Steve (Oct 20, 2018)

The second graph is misleading to me.

I'm a Professional Land Surveyor. The average age of my profession is 50. That's roughly ten years my senior. We have students in the pipe, but the numbers coming up will in no way compensate for the sheer mass of the old guys retiring.

Same goes for Freemasonry. We don't have the capability of initiating, passing and raising enough men to replace the exponential amount of members passing away today. It's like having a job that pays 2k a month, but your mortgage is 3k. It's not possible with our resources. Once the inflationary period passes, the graph will stabilize. Productivity in will match the unfortunate passing of those going out.

TLDR;

The loss of members right now is due to the inflation of numbers 60 years and those men now dieing vs our capability to keep up. We're getting young men to join, but it's not like it was 60 years ago.


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## Winter (Oct 20, 2018)

I've said it before, but I don't see the doom and gloom that others are seeing.  As a social club, of course Freemasonry needs as many new dues paying  members coming in as possible. Not only to replace the Brothers who pass away, but also to grow the organization.  And that is absolutely not happening. But, as a Fraternal order that focuses on the initiatic rites, the numbers needed to sustain a rich and fulfilling organization is much smaller.  If you don't know every Brother in your Lodge like your closest friend, are you really Brothers? The grand buildings and halls, large charitable donations, scholarships, and other obligations have, to many members, become our reason for being and the very real decline in membership is seen by them as the end of the organization.  But, if our purpose is to initiate worthy men into our Order and spend our time edifying each other as we delve into the mysteries while working to be better people in our lives and communities, then we can fulfill that purpose regardless if a local Lodge has only a dozen dedicated men.


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## Warrior1256 (Oct 21, 2018)

Brother_Steve said:


> The loss of members right now is due to the inflation of numbers 60 years and those men now dieing vs our capability to keep up. We're getting young men to join, but it's not like it was 60 years ago.





Winter said:


> I don't see the doom and gloom that others are seeing.


Agreed!


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## Lightlife (Oct 21, 2018)

JamestheJust said:


> >Ultimately the problem is the product being sold is not what is being delivered.  I see so many EAs that do not make it to FC and so many new MMs that disappear permanently.  They do not find in the lodge whatever it was that attracted them to Freemasonry.



Yes.  In my personal journey I found that many of the lodge teachers were unable to deliver the product because they never received it themselves. I have never sat in the East, but I was a DEO for two years before I threw in the towel and quit the line at SW.  There is a big difference between being able to flawlessly repeat the ritual (which  I have never been able to do) and actually understanding the meaning of the lessons.


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## Bloke (Oct 22, 2018)

Lightlife said:


> Yes.  In my personal journey I found that many of the lodge teachers were unable to deliver the product because they never received it themselves. I have never sat in the East, but I was a DEO for two years before I threw in the towel and quit the line at SW.  There is a big difference between being able to flawlessly repeat the ritual (which  I have never been able to do) and actually understanding the meaning of the lessons.


I try for both.. and understanding the lessons is one thing, living them is another.. that's the hardest bit


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## Warrior1256 (Oct 22, 2018)

Bloke said:


> I try for both.. and understanding the lessons is one thing, living them is another.. that's the hardest bit


Very true!


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## Winter (Oct 22, 2018)

Lightlife said:


> There is a big difference between being able to flawlessly repeat the ritual (which I have never been able to do) and actually understanding the meaning of the lessons.



One leads to the other.  The countless hours of study to memorize the ritual so that the words may be recalled as a second nature are the foundation. Even if a Brother doesn't have the full understanding of them, the words must be there for him to recall. As he grows in experience, inside and out of the Lodge in his personal life, the words that are indelibly inscribed in his memory may gain more meaning for him as he learns.  And that meaning may change over time as he grows as a person and as a Freemason. But that all starts with the memorization of the words so that they are there for him.


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## dfreybur (Oct 22, 2018)

Plustax said:


> Or...."we tried that before and it didn't work".



By the way, that statement ends up important.  Institutional knowledge matters. Consider how Einstein defined insanity - Doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.

When trying "new" approaches it MATTERS that a suggestion is not new, that it was actually already done, and that it failed.

It also matters what is meant by "didn't work".  If some activity in 1965 resulted in one petition, that would have been viewed as not working back then. Today that's not how we would react.


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## CLewey44 (Oct 22, 2018)

dfreybur said:


> If some activity in 1965 resulted in one petition, that would have been viewed as not working back then. Today that's not how we would react.



Sadly true


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## Warrior1256 (Oct 22, 2018)

Winter said:


> One leads to the other. The countless hours of study to memorize the ritual so that the words may be recalled as a second nature are the foundation. Even if a Brother doesn't have the full understanding of them, the words must be there for him to recall. As he grows in experience, inside and out of the Lodge in his personal life, the words that are indelibly inscribed in his memory may gain more meaning for him as he learns. And that meaning may change over time as he grows as a person and as a Freemason. But that all starts with the memorization of the words so that they are there for him.


VERY well said Brother!


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## David612 (Oct 22, 2018)

This feels very Groundhog Day.
The constant obsession with trends and statistics are a pretty good example of our desire to analyse things on grand scale when they require action on a small scale-
Work on your lodge and don’t worry about grand trends, call the brother that hasn’t been in for a while, write something to present in lodge and learn your work well. 
If it all falls in a heap at least you did your part.


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## Brother JC (Oct 23, 2018)

And it’s been being discussed for over a century. Literally.


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## hfmm97 (Oct 24, 2018)

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## David612 (Oct 24, 2018)

Handsome Africans that are good on bed aside, this week has been a bit sad here- we have had two brothers pass one who was 107 and another who tragically took his own life- guys, this man was an active mason and lodge was not more than 10-15 minutes from my house and I didn’t know this Brother.
There aren’t that many of us around and to be in such close proximity but to have never crossed paths seems really strange to me-


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## JohnXRV (Oct 24, 2018)

Well I am just about to clock up 2 years in masonry. 1 year from initiation to FC then eight months to MM done in June

After my initiation we have had 4 others and we have our fifth next month. One did his FC this month when we returned after summer recess.

Things are healthily the same for the other 3 lodges that share our masonic hall as every month I get emails checking prospective candidates out.

I have no idea what American freemasonry is like. Here in the UK I get a printed magazine from UGLE and one from my province so I feel very connected to freemasonry nationally and in my region


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## Warrior1256 (Oct 24, 2018)

David612 said:


> we have had two brothers pass one who was 107 and another who tragically took his own life- guys, this man was an active mason and lodge was not more than 10-15 minutes from my house and I didn’t know this Brother.
> There aren’t that many of us around and to be in such close proximity but to have never crossed paths seems really strange to me-


Sad.


JohnXRV said:


> Well I am just about to clock up 2 years in masonry. 1 year from initiation to FC then eight months to MM done in June


Congratulations Brother!


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## Bloke (Dec 15, 2018)

David612 said:


> This feels very Groundhog Day.
> The constant obsession with trends and statistics are a pretty good example of our desire to analyse things on grand scale when they require action on a small scale...View attachment 6358


Agreed. I know  my name is in the list of authors to threads, but I am in a unique position to influence membership in my Const. In that capacity, I am looking for a single example of a Const of over 5K membership which is growing in a sustained fashion - I cannot find one in the English Speaking world.. I did recently hear GL India was going some good work with "Lewis Lodges" but have not yet researched what they are.  As I said, I agree, I am having the problem 'leadership" wants to drill down into the weeds on membership rather than looking at the bigger picture - I think because of the (small) size of the professional organisations they have been in and because they have an operational rather than strategic approach. Ironically its me trying to be strategic where my function is operational (one month this year I dealt with 61 petitions) and people are obsessed by counting the numbers on the stationary bus rather than moving it to bus stops to pick up passengers, and while counting and keeping the bus stationary, ignore the bus is smelly and rusty but the best way to change it is by reinvigorating the vehicle but increasing passengers and creating optimism through successful recruitment is a good way to go .... and the bigger picture that the bus is only a tool to travel (learn in the masonic sense).  Defining a problem is always important, but it has been defined for 20 or more years, but it is much easier to head count and track trends than actually do something to change it, statistics are only a tool to measure efforts - but they are often only used to track and "manage our decline". Drives me nuts; especially when  we have something so important and worthwhile to share.... and the clock is ticking; the generation who says "I am joining because my grandfather was a member" is getting older and the next generation that social capital will not be what it is today.. Our "doing" should not be counting - but figuring out how to attract good men who will enjoy Freemasonry and being flexible so if they want to change aspects of lodges to make it more attractive, they should be empowered to do so.  That means getting new blood, empowering them and as I said in another thread, making lodges men want to be and bring their friends to.


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## David612 (Dec 15, 2018)

Yesterday I took part in the new mentoring program put out by the GL of NSW and ACT-
I really appreciate them putting all this effort into it and while I think they have identified an issue and are working at it as best they can, however it did come across as though there is still a large gap between their desire to attract millennials and their understanding of millennials.

The impression I got was that they genuinely want to attract millennials but didn’t consider changing to be more attractive to millennials.


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