You must be a Mason to be a Shriner, but there are very many
members who just pay their yearly fee and are active in the
Shrine.
Shriners International,
also commonly known as The Shriners, is a society established in
1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA. It is an
appendant body to Freemasonry. Shriners International describes
itself as a fraternity based on fun, fellowship, and the Masonic
principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth.
There are approximately
350,000 members from 196 temples (chapters) - the term Temple
has now generally been replaced by Shrine Auditorium or Shrine
Center - in the US, Canada, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, the
Republic of Panama, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Europe, and
Australia. The organization is best known for the Shriners'
Hospitals for Children. Shriners have two claims to fame. One
is acting silly and having parades with outrageous costumes and
vehicles. The other is raising money to provide free medical
care for children.
There are two
organizations tied to the Shrine that are for women only: The
Ladies' Oriental Shrine and the Daughters of the Nile. They both
support the Shriners' Hospitals and promote sociability.
Membership in either organization is open to any woman 18 years
of age and older who is related to a Shriner or Master Mason by
birth, marriage, or adoption.
The origins of
Freemasonry are obscure. The best guess is that it is an
outgrowth of medieval stonemasons’ guilds that began after the
mid-1500s. These men, called “accepted” masons, enjoyed the
ritual and secrecy that in the Middle Ages had been necessary to
transmit the skills of the craft and prevent outsiders.
Eventually there were
no operative masons and Masonry became a kind of fraternity,
retaining such trappings of stonemasonry as the apron worn at
formal functions and the familiar compass-and-square symbol.
From 1740 to 1813 there were a host of Masonic rites, orders,
and degrees created. These new rituals enlarged the scope of
Masonry and encompassed many elaborations, some of which
included elements which had previously been practiced within the
craft. There are many organizations and Orders which form part
of the widespread fraternity of Freemasonry, each having its own
structure and terminology. Collectively these may be referred to
as Masonic bodies, Masonic orders or appendant bodies of
Freemasonry.
The basic unit of
Freemasonry is the Masonic Lodge, which alone can initiate a
Freemason. Such lodges are controlled by a Grand Lodge with
national or regional authority for all lodges within its
territory. A Masonic lodge confers the three masonic degrees of
Entered Apprentice, Fellowcraft (or Fellow Craft), and Master
Mason.
Each Masonic body sets its own membership requirements, which
vary greatly. Membership is sometimes open, and sometimes
invitational. In the United States, the York and Scottish Rites
make petitions available to all Master Masons, but reserve the
right to reject petitioners, while other groups, such as the
Knight Masons, require that one be asked to join by a current
member.
Joseph Smith, the first
Mormon prophet had prior involvement with Freemasonry, and many
of the Mormon secrets closely parallel those of the Masons, as
does the notion of the ceremony’s secrecy itself.
Bottom line, all Shriners are Masons, but not all Masons are
Shriners.
Incidentally, the Knights Templar membership is by invitation
only and candidates are required to be Master Masons.