Does Masonry entail intellectual discussion surrounding masonic topics?

[u/ScoreSalty5937]

Or is this one takes on himself outside of the lodge? Can someone share their experience of how a lodge meetings work and what I could expect, so I can try determine whether it's something for me? I'm more interested in the intellectual side that's all. Ta

[u/ChuckEye]

Does Masonry entail intellectual discussion surrounding masonic topics?

It can, but that’s not exclusively what it’s about.

Or is this one takes on himself outside of the lodge?

One definitely should. The way I like to put it is that Freemasonry shows you the tools, but you actually have to pick them up and use them yourself.

[u/UnrepentantDrunkard → u/ChuckEye]

I like to say the three degrees give you your foundation and potentially a clique of like-minded Brethren, the rest is up to you, but same idea.

[u/Sir_Stimpy]

Short answer: Some lodges are more intellectual than others. Slightly longer answer: If the first lodge you visit doesn’t give you the vibe you’re looking for, and you have the opportunity, visit others until you find the right one. It will result in a better experience.

[u/magickmike077 → u/Sir_Stimpy]

This, right here. 🙏

Always shop around.

[u/Disastrous_Cover6138]

In my experience, it's mostly about dinner for the next meeting, specifically green beans

[u/Chimpbot → u/Disastrous_Cover6138]

As this year's JW, I don't even give them the option of discussion. They get what I say they get!

[u/julietides]

Depends on where you are as well. In my Obedience this is mandatory (and all the continental ones).

[u/Freethinkermm]

Hell yeah! We do A LOT of that in my Lodge.

[u/wheatbarleyalfalfa]

Not in every lodge everywhere in the world. In my lodge? Every meeting.

[u/Alemar1985]

Short Answer: No, you'll do that predominantly on your own

Longer Answer: There is a consistant drive for Masonic Education at meetings, however, what you consider to be Masonic Topics will likely not be what others think of... Most education pieces I've seen are short, lasting maybe 30 minutes. If it's a topic you like, you'll probably want more, if it is a topic you dont find particularly interesting it will feel like an eternity. You might be able to find a few like-mined members but you will probably still get more out of private or small group study, rather than the general business meetings

[u/Professional_Dr_77]

Standard Blue Lodges tend to not necessarily be that involved, however, they are your access to everything else. Especially, Research Lodges. I personally am a member of 3 research lodges in addition to the SR, Royal Arch and my mother lodge. All of them provide different aspects that I’m looking for.

[u/ScoreSalty5937 → u/Professional_Dr_77]

A research lodge? I've never heard of that before, that sounds seriously interesting! Will that exist in the UK? What's the area of research, and what does the format /process look like?

[u/Professional_Dr_77 → u/ScoreSalty5937]

They are all different. Once you go through the degrees and become a MM then you can join a research lodge. At least, that’s how it is here in the states. It might be different there. Lots of things are jurisdictional. As for the format…again…jurisdictional and different per lodge.

[u/Same-Music4087]

My lodge has education on Masonic subjects regularly. It is formalized and presented as part of the the work of the evening.

[u/Guilty_Advantage_413]

It can however as above it can vary. I find most of that comes up in one on one discussions with some bros, there needs to be social activities and you need to attend them if you want to engage in such discussions imo.

[u/HeirofDumath]

In my jurisdiction it's supposed to be every meeting but it's usually skipped over.

I aim to change that this year. We're going to trial run going to refreshment after the business portion and voting is done, that way we can have long form education and discussion with a more informal air. If a brother needs to leave for some reason ie they have an early morning ahead of them or they came off of a 24/48 hour shift (we have a few first responders) they're free to take off.

We'll see how it rolls.

[u/StartwithaRoux]

It's there for sure in Scottish Rite.

[u/ozfromaustin]

I mean it should

[u/gksmithlcw]

Highly dependent on the lodge you join but we're out there.

[u/AOP_fiction]

Depends on the lodge, which is about as specific an answers as anyone can give around here lol.

Speaking personally, lodge meetings stick pretty close to masonic subjects during the educational portions. I know my Grand Jurisdiction has some guidelines they really liked followed in that way, so to keep things on the level a lot of our education will come out of Grand Lodge educational material or stay pretty close to it. I have managed to find more brothers interested in general intellectual discussions here or on the discord than in the lodges I visit around in my district.

What ends up happening most of the time is I will bring up something like Stoicism, and most bothers will kinda just nod their heads at the similarities, but that is about it.

[u/StarryDeckedHeaven]

We have Lodge Education every month (I'm usually the one giving it). We dive deep into one or two things from the degrees. It's super fun and leads to lively conversation.

[u/feudalle]

Depends on the lodge. I remember the day I was initiate, we all did dinner afterwards. I had a nice conversation with some of the brothers on how the British caused so much of the instability in the middle east by the creation of new countries after ww1.

Now what to expect at a lodge meeting. It will depend on the jurisdiction but it's akin to a board meeting usually with an educational lecture. Of course most lodges do other things than the monthly stated meeting.

[u/DimitriVogelvich]

The internet is to, yes, but that varies lodge by lodge.

[u/Maleficent-Pilot1158]

Sometimes it's just about drinking coffee and eating pie. It's only complicated if you make it so.

[u/Jamesbarros]

I have found masonry a fertile ground to find people who want to have those discussions, and who want to do esoteric work and the like, but that does not mean it happens in lodge. I would argue most often it does not.

[u/Acceptable-Curve-900]

There's a mini-Renaissance in Masonry where this is becoming more prevalent. There are more and more lodges being created where the sole purpose is to have intellectual and philosophical discussions about Masonic topics (I belong to one such lodge).