DeMolay is fun. DeMolay is and can be most anything you would like it to be. We have sports, dances, all sorts of competitions in all sorts of areas and it's the largest fraternal (fraternity) organization for young men in the world.
We do almost everything and anything. We have dances, parties, and picnics. We play most sports from basketball to softball to volleyball. Members also learn how to conduct business meetings and how to perform the rituals,plays, and speeches that set DeMolay apart from other fraternities.
DeMolay was started in 1919, and since that time over 4 million young men just like us have joined. Today there are about 1500 chapters, located in the United States, Canada and sixteen other countries.
Young men, age 12-21, who like to have fun at great activities and to learn things that will prepare them for the future.
To join DeMolay, you must be a young man between the ages of twelve and twenty-one; believe in a supreme being; be a person of good character and good reputation; and submit a membership application to a DeMolay chapter.
It varies from Chapter to Chapter but there is only a one time membership fee. We do have to pay for some of the activities we do but that's to be expected.
Most of the Chapters meet in Masonic buildings. Each chapter has its own meeting schedule. When you contact the chapter closest to you, they will advise you of their meeting schedule. It is at these meeting where members are initiated, updates are given and preparations are made for future events.
You cannot attend an official meeting until you join, but you are more than welcome to attend any of our other public functions.
DeMolay is an organization for young men, but there are girls at some of our activities. There are other organizations, for young ladies, similar to DeMolay, and sponsored by the Masonic Family, such as the Rainbow Girls.
What sets us apart from the other young men's groups is that we have a feeling of "brotherhood" that comes from belonging to our fraternity. DeMolay will provide you with many lasting experiences.
Ever since DeMolay began in 1919, all of its members have gone through the same initiation ceremonies. When you join you will go through the same one that all DeMolays went through, including John Wayne, Walt Disney, Walter Cronkite, and Dan Rather.
To be a DeMolay you must go through two ceremonies, which we call "degrees". The first is the Initiatory Degree where the Seven Cardinal Virtues (Precepts) of a DeMolay are explained to you by the members of the chapter. The second degree is the DeMolay Degree. It is a play about the trial of Jacques DeMolay. The story of Jacques DeMolay teaches the importance of fidelity and toleration, as he was faithful unto death to the trust reposed in him.
They are the basic principles that we feel help us to be better people. They are:
- Filial Love (Love of Parents)
- Reverence for Sacred Things (Respect for things you feel are important, or for things others feel are important.)
- Courtesy
- Comradeship (Friendship)
- Fidelity (Being true to your friends and beliefs)
- Cleanness
- Patriotism
No. DeMolay is not a religious group, DeMolay teaches no religion but expects each member to profess a belief in a Supreme Being and be tolerant in your opinion of others.
A fraternity is an organization whose members have a special bond with one another regardless of age or position. It is a brotherhood built on common interests.
While we have secret signs, words and modes of recognition, we have no secrets from the world so far as our central purposes are concerned.
The only thing that someone might consider secret about DeMolay are our passwords, signs, and handshakes. This is our way, like all fraternities, to make being a member really special.
Jacques DeMolay lived around the 14th century in France, during the time of the great Crusades. He was the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, which was the fraternity of Crusaders in France. He was a Knight and a leader of men who stood up for the less fortunate and was true and faithful to his cause and his friends until death.