Watching a recently posted Masonic YouTube video led me to write the following. Sorry if it is somewhat academic, but the subject matter is relevant if you are looking for answers to why you might find it difficult to attract men to join your lodge and Masonry.

Why people joined organizations in the 1800s

A French aristocrat and civil servant, Alexis de Tocqueville wrote “Democracy in America” after visiting the United States for nine months in 1831-32. In his influential work, Tocqueville extensively analyzed the American practice of forming associations of various types, including professional, social, civil, and political organizations.

Tocqueville observed that Americans had a unique tendency to unite for shared goals, forming groups for various purposes, from commercial and industrial to religious, moral, and even trivial matters.

He viewed this associational activity as a crucial element of American democracy, serving several vital functions:

• As an Aid to Problem-solving: Associations allow citizens to address collective issues voluntarily, overcoming individual weaknesses through cooperation.
• For Democratic education: These groups acted as “laboratories of democracy,” teaching citizens the art of self-governance and pursuing shared interests.
• To counterbalance government power: Associations serve as intermediaries between individuals and the state, helping to prevent the concentration of power and maintain individual liberty.
• Improving Civic engagement: By participating in associations, Americans developed a more profound interest in public affairs and a sense of shared responsibility.

Also, Tocqueville recognized the importance of personal relationships and their significant impact on civic accomplishment in American society. Tocqueville believed these personal relationships were essential for balancing the ideals of freedom and equality in American democracy.

Tocqueville said these relationships and associations helped create “habits of the heart,” distinguishing Americans from Europeans. These habits, formed through family life, church participation, and engagement in local politics, contributed to a thoughtful and reflective approach to civic life.

He saw them as a way to counteract the potential adverse effects of individualism, which he defined as a “calm and considered feeling which disposes each citizen to isolate himself from the mass of his fellows.”

Robert Putnam – Americans just aren’t doing things together anymore.

Fast-forward about 165 years, and it seems that the community qualities of America Tocqueville admired have diminished.

Robert Putnam’s book Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community, published in 2000, explores the decline of American civic engagement and social connectedness since the 1950s.

Putnam, the Stanfield Professor of International Peace at Harvard, asserted that engaging in activities individually rather than in groups risked America’s capacity to build social capital and undermine our national character.

Putnam documented diminishing civic engagement across various areas, including religious participation, labor union membership, parent-teacher organizations, and social clubs.

Putnam attributed about 25% of the decline in civic engagement to television, 10% to suburbanization and commuting, and 10% to time and money pressures.

Putnam uses the term “social capital” as “connections among individuals—social networks and the norms of reciprocity and trustworthiness that arise from them.” These connections can be formed in organizations and less-structured exchanges, such as dinner with friends or chit-chat around the office coffee machine.

The trends continue, change, and evolve.

A 2023 documentary film, “Join or Die,” revisits Putnam’s work and discusses its relevance today. Since the publication of “Bowling Alone” in 2000, American social capital has continued to evolve, with some trends persisting and new factors emerging:

• There is continued decline: Putnam’s core thesis remains relevant, as the overall trend of declining individual connections in the United States has persisted.
• Technological impact: The increased use of social media and the internet has significantly impacted social connections, introducing new forms of engagement with the increase of smartphones and social media platforms, further affecting social interactions that were not present when the original book was written.
• Generational shifts: Putnam’s emphasis on generational change as a factor in social capital decline has been further reinforced, with newer generations exhibiting different types of civic engagement.
• Evolving civic engagement: While traditional forms of civic participation have continued to decline, new forms of activism and mass-member organizations have grown, although these often lack the face-to-face interaction emphasized by Putnam.
• Pandemic effects: The COVID-19 pandemic, whose effects have been ongoing since 2020, has likely significantly impacted social capital and community engagement.

As Putnam’s original work and subsequent analyses emphasized, building and maintaining social connections remains crucial for healthy organizations and individual and community well-being. 

Masonry’s values build connections

As I considered the decline of individual connections and their effect on organizations and our society, I thought of the importance of Freemasonry’s first tenet. It is vital to Masons, Masonic lodges, and the betterment of society.

I copied this description about Brotherly Love from a Masonic education course I found years ago.

“It means that we place on another man the highest possible valuation as a friend, a companion, an associate, a neighbor, a fellow. Merely to be with him, spend hours in his company, and have the privilege of working at his side, is all we ask. 

We do not ask that from our relationship; we make money, further our business interests, or achieve some other form of selfish gain. Freemasonry takes brotherly love for granted, provides opportunities for us to have fellowship, encourages us to understand and practice it, and makes it one of the laws of our existence.”

Freemasonry is the social capital that will make a difference. Practice its values.