Interesting in this context is completely divorced from morally good/bad. Could be any group from any area at any time in history. I’ll start with a few, followers of the cult of pythagoras, contemporary black Hebrew Israelites, antiracist skinheads and the Amish (neo-luddites in general). Don’t be racist or a prick to other people discussing.
My dad was part of a masonic lodge later on in life and, what I got from meeting a couple of his colleagues and talking to him about it, it really wasn’t that interesting. It’s basically a social space for older men with some connections/money and a lot of rituals (which my dad described very giddily, lol, the superficial fool). Most likely influential in some way (as any group of uhh “funny” old men with reach can be) but kinda meh… it didn’t seem like he learned anything transcendental or important from his time there.
yeah it’s also my impression. i’ve never been with the freemasons but from my impression as an outsider, it’s a very outdated structure. not sure whether they still don’t allow women in. yeah, it’s basically a socializing circle for rich folks. lots of rituals, but no deeper spirituality as far as i can tell. you can probably learn more from 6 months at a 3-person philosophy circle than from a decade at the freemasons.
The free masons originally grew as a support and trust network.
It used to be that traveling was FAR less common. Consequently, travellers were seen as suspect. One of the major exceptions was masons. They would have to relocate to big projects e.g. a castle. They would stay long enough that the lack of trust was a problem, but not long enough to properly overcome it.
End result, they started vouching for each other. A local groups would vouch for the newcomers. They would introduce them and stop them getting ripped off.
Furthermore, stonemasonry was a dangerous trade. It was easy for a mason to be killed far from home. They clubbed together to support the families of members, as well as the disabled.
Wrap this up in Christianity based traditions and you have the masonic free masons. An early cooperative support and social networking group.
No idea what your dad’s like, but I reckon we in the secular west are write off rituals way too easily. They can have lots of value - silly fun not least of all, but also community building and meaning-making.
Uh, it’s very interesting if you’re into allegorical reinterpretations of universal deism and some esoteric rituals. But, yeah, the dinners are pretty much the highlight.
Yeah lots of meh in that kind of thing in my experience.