Definition of a Masonic Lodge

[Lowcarbjc]

As masons we promise to treat each other on the level and not to do certain things in the lodge such as discussion of politics, having religious debates etc etc.

So what exactly is the official boundaries of this word "lodge" for masons? Is it the physical building including the area where we eat and drink, is it only the temple area that gets tiled at meetings or is it wherever more than one mason brother(s) are together including a sports event, a facebook page or even this app-forum?




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[Browncoat]

As a general rule, politics and religion are taboo topics for any setting, even outside of Freemasonry. There is rarely anything to be gained by having such discussions. The odds of proving a point or somehow turning them to your side are about one in a million. It's not worth ruining friendships over.

I've heard a few political jokes and comments cracked off at the Lodge during fellowship, and whether I tend to agree or not is irrelevant. I think if you're in a non-official setting, like maybe helping a Brother work on fixing his car or something, then such topics are more open. But if you are gathered in any official capacity, then some things are better left unsaid. That's not why you're there in the first place.

 

[crono782]

Without going into specifics, as for the physical lodge you need some requisite items to correctly be a "lodge"; the location matters not. Symbolically, the "lodge" has no terra firma bounds, but that's out of the scope of your question.


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[Mike Martin]

A difficult question because it depends what kind of Lodge you want to define. In the beginning it was the meeting place for operative Masons which was really a tool-shed, then it became a meeting of Masons, in the Grand Lodge era it remained a meeting of Freemasons but was defined by certain necessary accoutrements but not by the building where it took place.


However, in the context of the question A thinking Freemason will understand that it is safest when in the company of Freemasons, regardless of location, to avoid such quarrelsome subjects.

 

[Brother_Steve]

As masons we promise to treat each other on the level and not to do certain things in the lodge such as discussion of politics, having religious debates etc etc. So what exactly is the official boundaries of this word "lodge" for masons? Is it the physical building including the area where we eat and drink, is it only the temple area that gets tiled at meetings or is it wherever more than one mason brother(s) are together including a sports event, a facebook page or even this app-forum? Sent From My Freemasonry Mobile App

Look at it from another angle. You discuss politics with brothers after a lodge meeting while smoking cigars. Some of it gets heated and you change your opinion of a brother because of what they said. Those thoughts are not erased by an invisible filter as you walk into the lodge room. Now you have to put those feelings aside, feelings you should not have because you should have avoided the conversation to begin with. whisper wise council so tomorrow will start off like yesterday as far as harmony goes.

 

[dfreybur]

As masons we promise to treat each other on the level and not to do certain things in the lodge such as discussion of politics, having religious debates etc etc.

So what exactly is the official boundaries of this word "lodge" for masons? Is it the physical building including the area where we eat and drink, is it only the temple area that gets tiled at meetings or is it wherever more than one mason brother(s) are together including a sports event, a facebook page or even this app-forum?

The word "lodge" does have more than one meaning but the most important one is the room that is tiled during the time it is tiled. A lodge is a certain number of brothers and so on. A lodge is the people not the stuff. The building is often referred to as lodge but technically it is the temple building or lodge hall or Masonic center. Even the room in the building where we meet is technically the lodge room when we are not tiled, the lodge itself only when we are tiled.

There are landmarks, what we swore to do, the written rules, jurisdictional and local traditions and so on all in a relative scale of priority.

When combined with various notions of what counts as a lodge they lead to various size ranges. We swear to treat each other on the level everywhere in the world. Many of our jurisdictions have a tradition to not discuss religion or politics at any of our assemblies or in any of our buildings but the actual landmark is to not discuss those topics in a tiled lodge meeting.

In a recent thread it was mentioned that in Texas the tradition about discussing politics is loosened outside of tiled lodge meetings so it happens in our buildings after meetings (in my Texas lodge before the meeting instead of after). That's something I find strange being an import from other jurisdictions where we are expected to leave the building to discuss that topic.

 

[Zack]

I won't write it out here, but in my jurisdiction in the EA Lecture it tell you exactly what a "Lodge" is.
Perhaps yours does too if you read it.

 

[Brother JC]

I won't write it out here, but in my jurisdiction in the EA Lecture it tell you exactly what a "Lodge" is.
Perhaps yours does too if you read it.

*ding!* Took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[David N.]

In my experience it is expressly forbidden within a tiled lodge. Outside of that, it's advisable to tread lightly. If there are two brothers who agree politically or religiously, great. That's another thing they can share outside of a tiled lodge. However, when broaching the subject, one must be careful to preserve harmony and perhaps politely move on to something else. Regardless of the setting, you don't want to disagree with a brother concerning religion or politics. As noted above, that's something that can be hard to let go of.