What Are the Order of the Eastern Star and DeMolay?

The Order of the Eastern Star and DeMolay are not lodges of Freemasonry, but both are bound to it by their membership rules. A man can join the Eastern Star only as a Master Mason. A boy joins DeMolay with a Mason as his sponsor, and its adult officers must be Masons.

Key Points

• General Grand Chapter (1): “any man wishing to join the Order of the Eastern Star must be a Master Mason in good standing.”
• Since October 2024, Resolution 42 lets a woman join without a Masonic relative if she is sponsored by a sister and a brother of the order (1).
• DeMolay (2) accepts “a young man who has passed his twelfth birthday but has not reached his twenty-first birthday,” who “Must be sponsored by a Mason.”
• DeMolay’s voting members “Must be a Mason in good standing” (2).

The Order of the Eastern Star

The General Grand Chapter was established in November 1876 (1). Before October 2024, those eligible were “Affiliated Master Masons in good standing and any female relatives” of such Masons, and certain adult members of Rainbow for Girls and Job’s Daughters (1). Resolution 42 added “Women sponsored by a sister and brother who are members of the Order.” (1)

The letter says the rule for men did not change: “If a male petitioner is not a Master Mason, he cannot join Eastern Star. And if a male member of Eastern Star is suspended from his Lodge … then he is also automatically suspended from Eastern Star. In other words, membership in Freemasonry is a prerequisite for any man wishing to join Eastern Star.” (1)

DeMolay

DeMolay International has several classes of members. The active members are young men from 12 to 21, who “Must be recommended by two members of the Order, or a Senior DeMolay, or a Mason” and “Must be sponsored by a Mason.” (2) The voting members must be at least thirty, with exceptions for officers, and “Must be a Mason in good standing.” An adult advisor may be a parent, but “To be Chairman, a registered adult advisor must be a Mason in good standing.” (2)

Why It Matters for Christians

The church documents rarely name these orders. The 1993 Southern Baptist report commends “the Eastern Star sponsorship of Masonic Homes for the Aged” among Masonic charities (3). The Orthodox Presbyterian report of 1942 lists “the Order of the Eastern Star” among orders “in many ways similar to their earlier prototype, the Masonic order” (4). See What Do Churches Say About Freemasonry?.

Frequently Asked Questions

What About the Shriners?

The Shriners are another Masonic-related body. Their own website could not be reached to confirm their current membership rule, so this page does not state it.