oh contrare mes amis. (On the contrary my friends.)
Due to various circumstances I recently took a demit (aka quit) from my Lodge. It took a letter and it was done. No pressure, no grief, no repercussons. They did want to know why but accepted my decision.
I will likely be joining another Lodge in the very near future (my old lodge didn't/doesn't know that) but this crap about not being able to leave is just that ...crap.
The Masons are pseudo religious but can't really be called a cult. No high control, no demand for common belief except in a creator/designer.
Back to the point of the article however, the Mason's will do more for the community than the JW's ever have and certainly won't be harassing the neighbours at 9:30 Saturday/Sunday morning.