From a mentoring perspective, cliques are one of the few things that can quietly damage a lodge without anyone ever raising their voice. They rarely show up in minutes, they don’t get a line item on the agenda, and they can sit right next to impeccable ritual and excellent charitable work… like a hairline crack in a beautiful ashlar.
Let’s define “clique” properly before we start blaming the furniture.
A clique is not the same as friendship. Friendship is natural and good. A clique is when friendship becomes a boundary marker: an inner circle that (intentionally or unintentionally) signals “not you.” Sometimes the clique is real: gatekeeping information, controlling who gets included, monopolising roles, hoarding influence. Other times it’s perceived: a new Brother walks in, sees five long-standing mates laughing together, and his nervous system writes the story for him: “I don’t belong here.”
Perceived or real, the effect can be the same: quiet withdrawal, reduced attendance, disengagement, and in the worst cases a Brother leaving not because Masonry failed him, but because he never got a fair shot at belonging.
Why cliques form (and why they’re so sneaky)
Most cliques aren’t formed by villains twirling moustaches in the South. They form because humans are humans.
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Familiarity is comforting
After a long day, people gravitate to what’s easy. Same seats. Same companions. Same post-meeting pint. That comfort is innocent, but to a newcomer it can look like a closed club within a club. -
Lodge culture has “invisible rules”
Every lodge has unwritten customs: where people sit, who speaks when, what “good” looks like, how officer progression really works, who to ask for what. If those rules are only accessible through proximity to the inner circle, the lodge accidentally becomes a social maze with hidden doors. -
Status and scarcity
Officer roles, honours, invitations, trips, even informal influence: these are scarce resources. Scarcity tends to produce politics. Politics tends to produce factions. Factions tend to produce cliques. -
The mentorship vacuum
Where formal mentoring is weak or inconsistent, new Brethren learn by orbiting whoever will accept them. That’s when social gravity takes over: one group becomes “the lodge” and others become “the outskirts.”
What cliques do to a lodge (the real damage)
Cliques don’t usually explode. They erode.
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They break the promise of the Initiation
A candidate is brought in with language about brotherhood, equality, and belonging. If his lived experience is cold shoulders, inside jokes, and “you’re not in the WhatsApp,” his brain marks the whole thing as hypocrisy. Not because the ritual is false, but because the social reality contradicts it. -
They create a two-tier lodge
Tier one gets information early, gets asked first, gets the nod, gets the encouragement, gets the benefit of the doubt.
Tier two finds out late, gets asked last, gets overlooked, gets judged on thin evidence.
Even when no one intends this, the pattern is what people remember. -
They poison officer development
When progression feels like “who you know” rather than “how you serve,” good men stop stepping forward. Or they step forward with the wrong fuel: resentment, performative loyalty, or politics. None of those are Masonic building materials. -
They weaken retention
New Brethren rarely leave over one awkward evening. They leave after ten small signals that say, “You are tolerated, not needed.” Humans will endure confusion; they won’t endure exclusion. -
They invite cynicism
Nothing kills the romance of Masonry faster than the suspicion that the lodge is a social hierarchy wearing an apron.
Real cliques vs perceived cliques: treat both as real enough
A mentoring mistake is to dismiss perceptions.
If a Brother perceives a clique, his experience is real. It affects whether he speaks, returns, volunteers, and trusts. Mentoring isn’t just about facts; it’s about the inner weather of a man in a new environment.
At the same time, some cliques are genuinely operational: controlling decisions informally, blocking new voices, or treating the lodge as personal territory. That requires firmer leadership, not just nicer handshakes.
The mentor’s role: become an antidote, not an observer
Mentors are cultural engineers. You’re not just guiding one new Brother; you’re helping the lodge keep its shape.
Past Masters: keepers of the flame, not gatekeepers of the room
Past Masters are one of the greatest assets a lodge has. You carry memory, continuity, standards, and the calm competence that stops a meeting becoming a circus with aprons. You also carry something else, whether you asked for it or not: social gravity. People look to you, orbit you, copy you. Which means Past Masters can unintentionally become the nucleus of a clique even when their intentions are pure.
So here’s the mentoring reality: Past Masters don’t just influence ritual and governance. You influence belonging.
Past Masters should be champions of open process. If something matters, it should be discussed through the proper lodge channels, with the Wardens, officers, and Brethren able to hear it, contribute, and learn. Keep private chats for friendship, not for governance
The easiest PM trap is commentary: quietly judging how the new officers are doing, comparing them to “how we did it,” and offering corrections in a way that lands as discouragement. Mentoring means being a support beam, not a heckler. Correct privately, calmly, and with kindness. Praise publicly, specifically, and often. When you speak, make it build confidence, not shrink it.
Here are practical, non-theoretical interventions that actually work.
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Seat the lodge like you mean inclusion
Encourage light “rotation” at festive board and social tables. Not military precision, just gentle mixing. A simple norm helps: “If you see a new Brother, don’t let him sit alone. If you have your usual spot, consider moving once a month.” -
Translate the lodge’s invisible rules
A mentor should proactively explain:
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how officer progression works in that lodge
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how social events are organised
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who to contact for what
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what the lodge values (and what it merely tolerates)
If information only flows through the inner circle, it creates an inner circle.
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Create multiple paths into belonging
Not every man bonds through the same doorway. Some connect through ritual. Some through charity. Some through learning. Some through practical work (stewarding, setup, visiting). Make sure there are several on-ramps, and that each has a welcoming guide. -
Watch for “micro-exclusions”
These are the tiny things that look harmless but accumulate:
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talking across a new Brother instead of with him
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group photos where the newest lads are always at the edge
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private jokes explained to nobody
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decisions made “in the bar” before they’re discussed properly
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constant references to old lodge dramas like everyone was there
The mentor can gently interrupt these patterns with warmth, not scolding. “Bring him in on that story.” “Let’s not assume everyone knows this bit.”
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Run “open circle” moments
Once in a while, create an intentional five-minute window at social time: “Let’s make sure we’ve all spoken to someone we don’t usually speak to.” Make it light, not preachy. Make it a lodge habit. Humans follow permissions. -
Keep mentoring visible and normal
If mentoring is a secret side-project, cliques win by default. The lodge should routinely hear mentoring language: welcoming, checking in, inviting, explaining. When inclusion becomes part of the lodge’s self-image, the social gravity shifts. -
Ensure opportunities are announced, not whispered
Charity roles, visits, assisting at ceremonies, committee tasks, learning sessions: announce them openly. Use a consistent channel. Make “how to get involved” obvious. Scarcity becomes less political when access is fair. -
Promote a culture of “many friendships, one lodge”
A lodge should not be one big friend group; that’s unrealistic. It should be a place where many friendships can form without becoming barriers. The goal isn’t to stop close bonds. It’s to stop bonds becoming borders.
Leadership responsibilities (because mentoring alone can’t carry it)
If cliques are entrenched, mentors need backup.
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The Master sets the tone by who he approaches first, who he praises, who he consults, and who he invites to participate.
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Wardens and Deacons can model inclusion through small courtesies: introductions, explanations, and invitations.
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Secretaries and DCs can reduce “inner circle knowledge” by making processes transparent: timelines, roles, expectations, and communication.
A lodge doesn’t become inclusive by wishing. It becomes inclusive by design, repetition, and leadership modelling.
A Masonic frame: the lodge as a moral workshop
Here’s the philosophical punchline.
A clique is basically the profane impulse to turn a sacred space into a territory. It’s the ego trying to reclaim the lodge for status, comfort, or control. Masonry, at its best, is training us out of that. It’s a system for refining the self so the group can be stronger.
If a lodge lets cliques rule, the lodge becomes a mirror of the outside world: tribal, status-driven, suspicious. If a lodge actively dissolves cliques, it becomes what it claims to be: a place where men meet on the level, and that’s not just poetry, it’s behaviour.
That’s why this matters. It’s not a “social issue.” It’s a Masonic issue.
Do you have more to add or corrections?
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