(PatriotWise.com) — Over the last several years, the Freemasons have been struggling to deal with the introduction of the transgender movement in the secret society, The Daily Caller reported.
In 2018, the most senior lodge of the Masons, the United Grand Lodge of England, announced that members who are transitioning to women would be permitted to retain their membership to the all-male secret society, while those women transitioning to men would be eligible to join.
However, Mason lodges in the United States, particularly in conservative states like Texas, are clashing with coastal lodges which tend to be more liberal over the United Grand Lodge of England’s decision, according to several members who spoke to the Daily Caller.
In March, the Grand Lodge of Texas issued an opinion defying the United Grand Lodge of England’s 2018 decision, saying that Texas lodges would not allow transgenders since transgenderism conflicts with the membership rules of the Freemasons.
The opinion argued that a biological woman cannot be a Mason, nor can a man who identifies as a woman retain membership or be made a Mason.
But one Mason from Texas told the Daily Caller that despite the Grand Lodge of Texas’ decision, some Texas lodges have multiple transgender members.
According to the Masons who spoke to the Daily Caller, there will be extreme consequences for any lodge that does not follow the United Grand Lodge of England’s directive. If any chapter is deemed illegitimate, it can be barred from Masonic charities, trips, events, and the special dorms on college campuses. What’s more, the chapter may not be recognized as an official lodge.
Given that, one Mason told the Daily Caller that he wouldn’t be surprised if the opinion from the Grand Lodge of Texas gets rescinded in a year or so after the leadership is changed to prevent it from being excommunicated by the Freemasons.
There has been a significant shift in demographics in the Texas Freemasons, as younger, more liberal members replace the older, conservative ones.
One Texas Mason told the Daily Caller that there is much consternation and division over the idea of having gay or transgender Masons given the “diversity within the fraternity.”
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