Shriners

In 1870, there were several thousand Freemasons in Manhattan, many of whom lunched at the Knickerbocker Cottage at a special table on the second floor. There, the idea of a new fraternity for Masons, stressing fun and fellowship, was discussed. Together, Walter M. Fleming and William J. Florence established a separate fellowship to fulfill those ideals.

William J. Florence

While on tour in Marseille, Florence, an actor, was invited to a party given by an Arab diplomat. The entertainment was a musical comedy. At its conclusion, the guests became members of a secret society. Florence took notes and drawings at his initial viewing and on two other occasions, once in Algiers and once in Cairo. When he returned to New York in 1870, he showed his material to Fleming.[5]

Walter Millard Fleming

Fleming created the ritual, emblem and costumes. Florence and Fleming were initiated August 13, 1870, and they initiated 11 men on June 16, 1871.[6]

The group adopted a Middle Eastern theme and soon established Temple, although the term Temple has now been replaced by Shrine Auditorium or Shrine Center. The first Temple established was Mecca Temple, established at the New York City Masonic Hall on September 26, 1872. Fleming was the first potentate.[7]

In 1875, there were 43 Shriners in the organization. To encourage membership, the Imperial Grand Council of the Ancient Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine for North America was created at the June 6, 1876 meeting of Mecca Temple. Fleming was elected the first imperial potentate. By 1878, there were 425 members in 13 temples in eight states, and by 1888, there were 7,210 members in 48 temples in the United States and Canada. By the Imperial Session held in Washington, D.C. in 1900, there were 55,000 members and 82 Temples.[8]

Women's auxiliaries

Daughters of the Nile at Shriners Hospital for Children – Canada in Montreal in 1948.

The Ladies Oriental Shrine of North America was founded in 1903 in Wheeling, West Virginia,[15] and the Daughters of the Nile was founded in 1913 in Seattle, Washington.[16] Both are for women only and they 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 or marriage. The latter organization has local branches called "Temples", and there were ten of these in 1922. Among the famous members of the Daughters of the Nile was First Lady Florence Harding, wife of Warren G. Harding.[17]

Historically, a Mason had to complete either the Scottish Rite or York Rite systems to be eligible for membership in the Shrine.[20]

In 1991, brick-mason Michael G. Vaughan filed a lawsuit against the Oleika Shrine Temple in Lexington, Kentucky, for hazing practices to which he said he was subjected in his efforts to become a Shriner. In court, Vaughan told jurors that in June 1989, he was blindfolded and received a jolt of electricity that was applied to his bare buttocks as part of the Shriners' initiation rites. He said he was forced to walk on an electric mat that was meant to simulate the hot sands of the Sahara, and that he was knocked unconscious and received other injuries during his initiation.

Vaughan said the initiation left him humiliated and embarrassed, and caused him to suffer anxiety, nightmares, and a sleep disorder.[21] After two hours of deliberation, the jury rejected the claim.[22]

Some of the earliest Shrine Centers often chose a Moorish Revival style for their Temples. Architecturally notable Shriners Temples include: the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles; the former Mecca Temple, now called New York City Center and used primarily as a concert hall; Newark Symphony Hall; the Landmark Theater (formerly The Mosque) in Richmond, Virginia; the Tripoli Shrine Temple in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; the Polly Rosenbaum Building (formerly the El Zaribah Shrine Auditorium) in Phoenix; the Helena Civic Center (Montana) (formerly the Algeria Shrine Temple); Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Mosque in Springfield, Missouri; Murat Shrine Temple (now Old National Center) in Indianapolis; the Fox Theatre (Atlanta, Georgia) which was jointly built between the Atlanta Shriners and movie mogul William Fox; and the Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A Shriner clown

Shriners host the annual East–West Shrine Game, a college football all-star game.

The Shriners originally hosted a golf tournament in association with singer/actor Justin Timberlake, called the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, a PGA Tour golf tournament played in Las Vegas, Nevada.[27] The relationship between Timberlake and the Shriners ended in 2012, when the Shriners reported that Timberlake was interested in being involved with the organization only when television cameras were present.[28] In July 2012, the PGA Tour and Shriners Hospitals for Children announced a five-year title sponsorship extension, carrying the commitment to the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open through 2017.[29] The name was changed to The Shriners Hospitals for Children Open and is played in Las Vegas, Nevada.[30]

Many Shrine Centers also hold a yearly Shrine Circus as a fundraiser.

Once a year, the fraternity meets for the Imperial Session in a North American city.

In 2008, an investigative committee established by the joint boards of the Shriners of North America fraternal organization and the Shriners Hospitals for Children found that Ralph Semb, chairman of the Shriners Hospitals Board of Trustees, had unilaterally tried to fire fund-raising executive Edgar McGonigal. McGonigal had declined to hire a direct-mail company indirectly linked to Gene Bracewell, the imperial treasurer of the fraternal organization. McGonigal said he did not hire the company because of its ties to a financial company that had performed poorly in previous dealings. The committee found that Semb and Bracewell had violated the organizations’ conflict of interest policy and their ethics code and recommended that Semb and Bracewell be reprimanded. The report included accusations of financial improprieties within the organization, including not reporting benefits Shriners leaders received as income and knowingly filing incorrect tax forms for the hospitals. Other Shriners came forward with additional complaints, including the mixing of charitable and noncharitable assets and the disappearance of money raised for the hospitals.[35]

Shriners International has drawn criticism from animal welfare organizations for allowing member clubs to host circuses featuring animals. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has staged protests during circus performances for more than a decade, expressing concern over the poor treatment animals receive in the care of the companies that the Shriners lease from, such as Carson & Barnes.[36][37] The Pittsburg Shrine Circus stopped using animals in 2019, and the Moolah Shrine Circus in Missouri stopped using elephants in 2023.[38][39]

• Iowa Corn Song
• Masonic bodies
• Military Order of the Cootie
• Order of Quetzalcoatl
• Royal Order of Jesters
• "Shriner's Convention", country-and-western novelty song

• Media related to Shriners at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website