Morality of Greek Life?

  • Thread starter Thread starter HabemusFrancis
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

HabemusFrancis

Guest
Is it permissible to be part of a fraternity/sorority according to Catholic teaching?

I know the Church has not issued any statement, and I could see why one could be part of one, technically, without wounding their relationship with God.

Nonetheless, I think this is a very debateable question.

I was part of a fraternity when I was in college, only for about a year and 1/2 though. It is actually one of the few of my college experiences for which I feel shame and regret.

Nothing really terrible happened in it, ( unlike the many news stories you hear about) but it was the closest thing to a cult I have been part of, with a bunch of talk of “only taking the finest gentlemen” people saying being part of it was the “best part of their lives” and people who don’t seek to be part of a fraternity “aren’t real men”. Some of this and comments like it were said in jest, but at the same time I knew they must have believed them to be true if they said them at all.

This may cause concern for some here, but I was initiated into it inside of a Masonic temple. No, we did not bathe in virgin’s blood, sacrifice animals, nor did we say or engage in anything remotely blasphemous. I just know that the Catholic Church is…leery of anything masonic.

I can’t speak for all frats, ( or “fraternities” as the “bros” will insist you refer to them as), but I just thought there was a very negative atmosphere that permeated it. It encouraged clannishness, excluding others, group think, petty/small minded thinking, and punishment/coercian for those who disagreed/spoke out about things they did not like. I need to stress though, nothing illegal went on.

However, I had to leave eventually. I just thought the whole thing was too negative, unreasonable, and somewhat exploitive ( in what they demanded in terms of money/time) to really justify being part of it any longer.

After I left, I did some research which informed of the unfortunate realities of Greek Life. Apparently there is a very high rate of alcohol abuse/sexual assault, and the organizations themselves have become target defendents in lawsuits which involve sexual assault, physical assualt, slip and fall accidents, hazing and alchol abuse.

What do you all think of the morality of Greek life? Have any of you been involved in Greek life? I know there is no offical Church teaching on them, but I get the sense they do more bad than good, and I believe are somewhat tied to Freemasonry.

Any thoughts, comments?

Disclaimer: If I had ever stated even a paragraph of my above post in a Frat meeting, it would be regarded as heresy and blasphemy of the highest order.

They made it clear (After I joined) that they weren’t just a “club” and I could never truly leave it. Not sure what kind of trip they were on honestly:shrug:
 
Frats are lame. They’re lame for some of the reasons you mention. Yours sounds kinda weirder than most. But they’re all lame, except maybe some service frats. I hope people of all faiths, not just Catholics, can come together recognizing that frats are lame.

Together, we can let the world grow as apathetic to them as we are!

After lunch
 
There are Christian Frats though, what about them?

With that said, those are earthly things and in the end, we shouldn’t put too much weight on them.
 
Just like any other group you choose to associate with, it’s ultimately about your personal level of involvement and what you choose to do. I was in a sorority from my freshman year through my graduation. I drank, yes, to the level I chose to. Sometimes that was too much, sometimes it wasn’t. Same as being out with friends now. No one ever forced me to or pressured me to (though, I understand this is way different for the fraternities).

I was initiated inside of a church, but it was merely a location and had no association with the denomination whatsoever.

I think if one decides to engage in immoral behavior, they will do so whether they are Greek or not. So, having said that, I think that it is quite possible to maintain morality and still be in a fraternal organization.
 
I do not think fraternity/sorority have the highest morality. I do consider them cult-ish. The chants, the symbols and the secrecy. I do not know what you have to do to pledge. I would not be surprised their is demonic influence involved.
 
Demonic Influnece? Heavens to Betsy:eek:!!

I suppose it’s possible I was influenced by demons, now that I think of it.

I spent an entire 24 hour day in a masonic lodge btw. It was replete with strange symbols, an eye in the center of a pyramid, scenes of ancient Babyloninan/ Egyptian court life etc.

I believe the Masons think that their storied history goes back to Egypt and Alexander the Great:rolleyes:.

Why is Freemasonry so bad? Whenever I’ve tried to research it I’ve stopped because it seems just really boring more than anyhting:confused::confused:

I think Greek life is basically an “entry level” course to freemasonry. The secrecy, the handshakes, the oaths, and just the sheer age of these organizations all suggest a link to freemasonry.

Could it be that the higher up in the frat you go, the more occult practices (i.e invocations to Baal, Moloch etc.) you get involved in? Maybe.

The amount of misogyny, binge drinking, and self absorbed arrogance that goes on in these groups might suggest demons.

I recently threw out my “beginners guide” to my frat, since I have been reading more about cursed items. Hope I get graces for doing so:thumbsup:!
 
I was part of a Fraternity as a pledge. Greek Life is overrated and is mostly offensive to Greek culture. I happen to be Greek and those “brothers” and “sisters” give Greeks and Greek Life a very bad name. I left Alpha Kappa Lambda because some of the people there were bullies, some students trying to force alcohol at me, and a couple were doing drugs at a party while possibly smuggling alcohol into the student dorms.

The morality for Greek Life is usually very bad. It’s an “Anything Goes” environment.

Take into mind that there may be some Fraternities that act in a very mature manner and not do bad stuff. But Greek Life ain’t worth anyone’s time. Use the time and be with God, He’s better than living a college lifestyle based on pretending to be Greek.
 
Secrecy does not = cult. Knights of Columbus and Columbian Squires, both regarded as Catholic “fraternities/brotherhoods” are filled with secrecy.

In the Greek life, yes, there is immorality, binge drinking, fornication, maybe drug use, etc. But, sadly, immorality and “anything goes” is the picture of campus life as a whole, and does not mean one is more apt to do such things if involved in a fraternity or sorority.

We didn’t do anything weird in our initiation. Yes, a secret handshake. Demonic/cultish? Probably not. Heck, I had a secret handshake with my BFF when we were 9. Girls do that kind of thing long before they know anything about cults. There are always groups of little girls forming circles of friends and doing secret things. IME, sororities are nothing more than the more “grown up” version of this. The immorality occurs tertiary to the Greek affiliation.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top