2022 Lecture – A Tale of Two Lodges: Weberian Types and an Analytical Model of Canadian Masonic Involvement in the 21st Century

Prof. J. Scott Kenney
Department of Sociology, Memorial University, St. John’s, Newfoundland

J. Scott Kenney is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He holds a B.A (Hons) and LLB from Dalhousie and an MA and Ph.D from McMaster University.

Professor Kenney is the author of Brought to Light: Contemporary Freemasonry, Meaning, and Society as well as Canadian Victims of Crime: Critical Insights. His interests include law and criminal justice, deviance, victimology, social theory, the sociology of health, social psychology and emotions. His prior research includes studies of gender, self, coping and agency among families of homicide victims; reviews of the unintended consequences inherent in clients’ encounters with victim service programs; and analysis of the interactional dynamics of restorative justice sessions. He is currently involved in studies of “illegitimate pain,” the sociology of genealogy, as well as the construction of meaning among contemporary Freemasons. Also having been involved in Freemasonry for over two decades, Dr. Kenney has served in many capacities, most notably on the Board of general Purposes (2012-2014) and as Grand Librarian of the Grand Lodge of Newfoundland and Labrador (2014-2017).

Lecture Summary

Drawing upon interviews with 121 contemporary Freemasons in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, along with qualitative data from a documentary film and fieldwork, this lecture develops an empirically informed, analytical set of ideal types that illustrate key factors affecting the extent of member involvement in the Masonic order today. Specifically, drawing from my book Brought to Light: Contemporary Freemasonry, Meaning, and Society (2016), I review what these data reveal in relation to social atmosphere, organizational features, and a host of other matters to ultimately develop a set of Weberian ideal types separating lodges that facilitate ongoing member involvement from those that do not. It is hoped that attending to this model will assist Grand Lodges seeking to develop policies to encourage and maintain Masonic membership in the challenging social landscape of the 21st century.