Shriners International, also commonly known as TheShriners, is a society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA.[1] It is an appendant body to Freemasonry.
Shriners International company describes itself as a fraternity based on fun, fellowship, and the Masonic principles of brotherly love, relief, and truth. There are approximately 350,000 members from 196 temples (chapters) in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Bolivia, Mexico, the Republic of Panama, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Europe, and Australia. The organization is best known for the Shriners Hospitals for Children that it administers, and the red fezzes that members wear.
The organization was previously known as "Shriners North America". The name was changed in 2010 across North America, Central America, South America, Europe, and Southeast Asia.[2]
Despite its Orientalist theme, the Shrine is a men's fraternity, connected to neither Arab culture nor Islam. Its only religious requirement is indirect: all Shriners must be Masons (with the exception being in the State of Arkansas)[8] and petitioners to Freemasonry must profess a belief in a Supreme Being. To further minimize confusion with religion, the use of the words "temple" and "mosque" to describe Shriners' buildings has been replaced by "Shrine Center", although some individual local chapters are still called Temples.
Until 2000, before being eligible for membership in the Shrine, a Mason had to complete either the Scottish Rite or York Rite systems,[9] but now any Master Mason can join.[10]
While there are plenty of activities for Shriners and their wives, there are two organizations tied to the Shrine that are for women only: The Ladies' Oriental Shrine and the Daughters of the Nile. They both support the Shriners Hospitals and promote sociability, and 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, marriage, or adoption.
The Ladies Oriental Shrine of North America was founded in 1903 in Wheeling, West Virginia,[11] and the Daughters of the Nile was founded in 1913 in Seattle, Washington.[12] The latter organization has locals called "Temples". 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.[13]
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shriners
