Is it normal for Americans to be part of a social club?
Posted by bare_books@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 101 comments
I was listening to an episode of The Rest is History podcast and the host (admittedly British) as a side comment to the subject mentioned how Americans love being in social clubs. The subject was in relation to the 1920s (so a long time ago) but given that a lot of universities still have sororities/fraternities etc., is it an ongoing part of American culture to be part of a social club either within school, work or the local community?
SdenRed@reddit
Churches are a social club.
Having_A_Day@reddit
Lots are, some are still places for worship where the social aspects are secondary.
But church membership is on the decline too. Partially because so many American churches are nothing but money making schemes and/or social clubs.
Team503@reddit
Religiosity has been dropping for decades in the US, and most developed nations as well. Churches are closing around the country.
The whys are quite complex, but mostly just boil down to education and lack of indoctrination.
Having_A_Day@reddit
There are plenty of unchurched people of faith in the US, I can't speak for ither developed nations.
And a whole lot of "spiritual not religious".
Education certainly plays a part in seeing through the smokescreen a lot (maybe even most) American churches put up around activities ranging from anti-Christian teachings to money grabbing to theopolitical power grabbing to physical, emotional and sexual abuse.
And a lot of educated people have BIG questions about Paul and Paulianism.
Round-Lab73@reddit
Churches are dying
Illustrious_Sort4386@reddit
used to be more common. There is a theory that since americans are no longer as involved in clubs and community organizations they have become more politically polarized. Read Bowling alone.
Social media and reddit have largely replaced a lot of these clubs
Opening-Bandicoot859@reddit
I've actually gone bowling alone. It was more fun, haha.
Darkdragoon324@reddit
You don't have to wait for a bunch of other people to take their turns lol.
From_Deep_Space@reddit
I wasn't bowling because I like knocking pins over with balls. The only reason I have ever gone bowling was to spend time with people. . . and dollar beer wednesdays
Darkdragoon324@reddit
I don't think i've even been bowling since high school. There was an alley really close to the school, so sometimes we went for gym class. Most of my other friends weren't really into it, so I hardly ever went outside of that.
Silver-Bobcat672@reddit
And you always win, no matter how bad your score is.
Impulse2915@reddit
Funnily the premise of the title was that while individuals or individual parties going bowling had increased, membership in bowling leagues was going down
googlemcfoogle@reddit
I think that's more "bowling with the kids" than "bowling alone" honestly. I feel like bowling is more of a thing people do with their whole family nowadays compared to when bowling leagues had better membership
Impulse2915@reddit
Oh for sure and that's what meant. Bowling alleys noticed this drop off because, while they were seeing more traffic in the sense of bowlers with families/friends, revenue was dropping because bowling league members tended to pay more when they played.
charcoal_kestrel@reddit
Bowling Alone is mostly about the decline in community collective efficacy with the decline of major 20th century forms of civic life like fraternal lodges and bowling leagues that often formed the core of collective efforts. To the best of my recollection, it doesn't discuss political polarization, which was just a fairly minor phenomenon when it was published in 2000. (The last quarter of the 20th century saw greater alignment between ideology and party, at least among white voters, but that's "sorting" not polarization. Polarization is for there to be fewer moderates and for people to hate the political outgroup and that trend is more of a 21st century thing.)
The main theory in the literature about the decline of fraternal lodges is they served to organize early forms of life insurance and health insurance for their members and this became unimportant with both financial product innovation and the welfare state. An additional theory is that feminism and civil rights law made it harder to maintain single sex associations.
Opening-Bandicoot859@reddit
Yeah, not to get off topic, but the polarization really ramped up after the 2000 election. It cooled off quite a bit when 9/11 happened, but that was short lived.
Anyway, I'd probably join a fraternal club if there was one near me. I could see myself being a moose or a grand poobah, lol.
_NEW_HORIZONS_@reddit
It started in the '90s with Newt Gingrich and his leadership in the House. The "Contract with America" was basically a promise not to compromise.
HonestLemon25@reddit
Probably one of the saddest losses of American culture. Nobody is social or friendly anymore.
GobbyHopalong@reddit
Reddit is social media.
Illustrious_Sort4386@reddit
i never said it wasnt
tupelobound@reddit
Some categorize it that way, and it shares some features, but it primarily doesn’t function in the same way that most social media platforms do.
NoCard753@reddit
How so?
Ok_Watercress_7801@reddit
See also: Join or Die, 2023
LimeMargarita@reddit
Everyone should read the original Bowling Alone essay!
I haven't read the book, but I studied the essay the book is based off of in college, and I think about it often. I highly recommend it!
Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam, 1995 essay PDF
GovernorGeneralPraji@reddit
I can’t speak to life in urban communities, but in rural communities, groups like the Moose Lodge, the Elks, the Shriners, the Masons, or the VFW are are still very much a part of everyday life here. They typically do a lot of good charity work on top of having nice lounges.
teebrown@reddit
True, I grew up rural and I always remembered the Lions club being a big thing. Mostly older people but still had many events and sponsored other groups like the scouts
maddjaxmaddly@reddit
They’re mostly older folks though so I think they’re all starting to struggle with membership.
brokenman82@reddit
I have a friend that’s a free mason and based on his pictures he’s he youngest member by about 20 years
pook_a_dook@reddit
I live in Seattle and there’s a VFW, Moose, and Eagles hall within 5 miles of me. They’re always trying to recruit younger folks at community events like farmers markets and street fairs.
GovernorGeneralPraji@reddit
I’ve been to a few events at the Elks. They always have good food and cheap drinks.
lfxlPassionz@reddit
There are clubs in school but outside of school it's mostly just a rich people thing.
Responsible_Ask3976@reddit
Yup, my boyfriend recently got accepted to DAC so now we just go twice a week or more, it's been fun!
TeamShonuff@reddit
DeSoto Athletic Club?
Responsible_Ask3976@reddit
Detroit Athletic Club!
TeamShonuff@reddit
Even better!
Responsible_Ask3976@reddit
Thanks yeah! It's pretty gorgeous! Lots of networking for my boyfriend to do too
zoppaTheDim@reddit
No
In the 70s it was fifty percent. It is now down to ten percent, which is pretty much what the UK is at as well.
Quite frankly, the sixties ended or curtailed the fraternity system on a lot of campuses and shifts in the drinking age killed them even more.
Organizations for adults have dwindled as well, as many of them were only popular due to liquor laws. Even the old ethnic societies are largely gone at this point, the picnic grounds sold for development, the old social halls torn down.
Under sixty, I know a guy in the Freemasons, a few Eagles, and one Elk. The Mason is sixty and joined because his Dad was one, He is the youngest guy there. The eagles have similar stories, it is a family thing. The Elk is under thirty, but basically joined because he ended up in an isolated town and wanted a place to drink where he wouldn’t need to get in fights with guys who’d been laid off from the plant he was running.
readbackcorrect@reddit
more common sense in previous generations. My grandparents all belonged to Kiwanis, bridge clubs, Lions Clubs, and Junior League. Except for bridge clubs, the other clubs have community service missions, but social events are big parts of that.
MajesticBread9147@reddit
Social clubs are common in highschool and undergrad university.
There's also stuff like adult co-ed sports leagues that aren't competitive at all and just for fun, bars often host stuff like trivia nights which are organized and such.
Hoopajoops@reddit
Not super common, but there are quite a few out there for people that are interested. I joined a local hiking group when I lived in Colorado and was hundreds of miles away from any friends or family
Outlaw_Josie_Snails@reddit
It depends on where you live.
Many states have The American Legion, the Shriners/Free Masons, the Elks, the Moose Lodges, the Eagle Lodges, VFWs, and similar organizations.
We have yacht, sail, and boat clubs.
We have heritage clubs: Sons of Italy / Italian-American Clubs, Ancient Order of Hibernians, German-American and Polish-American Clubs.
In south Philadelphia (Philly), we have Mummers clubs. We also have some private eating and social clubs.
flndouce@reddit
A lot of social clubs allow smoking. Gives smokers a place to have a drink and a cigarette.
nebraskajone@reddit
Lots of churches have social get togethers afterwards
UnfortunateSyzygy@reddit
Mostly a rich person thing. Us poors don't have time/money for that stuff.
And in a lot of the US, the social position occupied elsewhere by social clubs is filled by church. Most churches have clubs within the church that put on events, meet often, and not all of it is based on Bible stuff. Like I heard of a local church book club reading "Project Hail Mary" together because even though the author has explicitly said it isn't a Christian book, I guess it sounds churchy and there are no boobs or swears in it?
Bigger the church, the more similar to these old social groups they are. My grandad is Mormon and also has dementia (he's 88). He's introduced me to multiple brothers of the church as "Brother Hank/Dale/Bill/Boomhauer, now he's gonna wash me and dress me for my burial when I die." Im not religious at all, but that always strikes me hard. I don't believe in an afterlife, but there's something deep about the kind of trust you have to have in someone who has pledged to make your corpse presentable. And for that notion to be one of the few current timeline ideas that he ALWAYS remembers, even when I have to remind him that yes, Missy (my mom) DID have a baby, 41 years ago, and said baby is me. (He always recognizes me as someone he knows, but mom and I look A LOT alike, which is confusing bc I dress entirely differently/have a nose piercing; which is something mom would never do, so occasionally it'll take him a minute or two.)
That's a friend to the end and a few steps beyond. OFC grandad has done the same in the past, as did Grandma (who also had church sisters who tended to her body when she passed). It's a very moving idea. Not moving enough for me to want to be in a church, or really any org that would do the same for me ; I want to donate my decrepit ass body to science -- ain't nobody want my diabetic ass organs. But still.
ASHTR0NAUT@reddit
As others have mentioned, it's not as common of thing as it once was. I made this my new years resolution awhile back and joined two social clubs in my area.
Impulse2915@reddit
It is, but membership in social clubs peaked right after World War 2 and have been declining every since. An influential Sociologist cataloged this in his book "Bowling Alone" in the 90s, and recently had a Netflix documentary called "Join or Die" that discusses this phenomenon.
Anecdotally, I was a Boy Scout growing up, I was in a college fraternity, and I'm currently in a few clubs in my community. And, something I've noticed, is that Gen Z seems (relative to Boomers, Gen X, and Millenials) to be very interested in joining clubs.
That being said, Americans are joiners, and many of the facets of American culture that Tocqueville remarked upon in Democracy in America is still alive and well today.
Impulse2915@reddit
To add to this, just because I'm a bit of a nerd on the subject, we're seeing a relative decline in things like this to the 20th century, but in the 18th and 19th century proportional numbers were far lower. The first noticeable bump in membership in social organizations happened during the "Gilded" Age.
Also, "social clubs" is any sort of social gathering. lately the most prominent are political associations, the kind that band together for a particular issue/party, to protest, or otherwise.
thetokyofiles@reddit
I agree with others that it seems to not be as prevalent previous generations. But anecdotally I see it still having some legs - where I live, for instance, running clubs seem to be fairly popular.
Financial_Emphasis25@reddit
I’ve noticed my upper class boss’s wives tend to be in clubs because they don’t work so they use their free time to volunteer at these clubs. Some clubs help with the local art museums, animal shelters, homeless, etc. While others are the “city” Women’s Club, and of course, their local country club. I think clubs were more common when most women didn’t work and they had more free time while their kids were in school, plus men also socialized together at local men’s clubs while these have mostly gone out of style for the majority of people.
Repulsive_Repeat_337@reddit
I've been a member of the Knights of Columbus for over 30 years. I actually show up about once every 2 years.
firerosearien@reddit
My athletic hobby-related club basically serves as a social club for me, without the elitism.
Darkdragoon324@reddit
In school I guess, I can't think of a single person I know now that belongs to any type of formal club. If they do anything socially with a group, it's usually just a big group of friends who like to hike or rick climb or some other outdoor activity.
There are like, online meetup groups to help people meet others who share their interests and plan activities. Either you fall off going, or you just become friends with people and ditch the online element at some point. I don't know how many of those keep functioning in a club-like manner for very long.
Mushrooming247@reddit
Other than in college, with sororities and fraternities, they only exist for men in the US.
Most of the men I know are in some club where they can hang out and make friends and drink without ladies allowed, the Masons, Knights of Columbus, Elks, Moose lodge, or just the local VFW or golf club. (For younger men it will be adult little league, or a pickleball or frisbee league.)
American men do love their social clubs.
GhostOfJamesStrang@reddit
Yes. Very much.
trelene@reddit
How are you defining social club? When you say social club, especially in association with the 1920s I'm thinking organizations like the Elks, or the Rotary Club, or 4-H, and those types of groups are definitely on the wane. But your example is sorority/fraternity, which I probably wouldn't have thought of as a social club. I think the 'club' thing is the issue for me. The only type of currently popular group I can think of with 'club' in the name is a book club, which is definitely social but also a lot less structured than I assume your talking about.
GeorgeWBush2016@reddit
You can't be a part of our social club no more. That much I do know.
zyxwvwxyz@reddit
The most common form of social clubs today are certainly country clubs, which I'm surprised not to see more mentions of. Older and wealthier people, and especially people who like to golf or play tennis, will often be in a country club like this. However, they are quite expensive. Most would require thousands of dollars of dues per year.
Other service organizations like Rotary, Lions, and Optimist are still relevant, though I'd suspect have mostly older membership. Rotary is quite notable for running student exchange programs.
Some other purely social clubs that resemble country clubs but without the gold and tennis are still notable, but I'd suspect it varies by city. For instance, the Alta Club in Salt Lake City seems to still be relevant and known around the city, since I found out about it pretty quickly when researching the city. However, I cannot say I've ever had of a similar social club in Tampa.
Away-Otter@reddit
I belong to a book group and do volunteer work with a local group. Do those count? I don’t personally know anyone in a social club in my suburb, but I have relatives who belong to a country club, and I think the social aspects are maybe as important as the golf? I used to be active in various activities connected to my church but I’ve almost completely stopped that. The church is still there, though, with lots of active people.
kobayashi_maru_fail@reddit
Old folks have their various lodges, and fraternities/sororities are common in college. Alumni are welcome at most Greek orgs, but it’s eyebrow-raising to be hanging out with college kids more than a couple years after graduation. Private golf clubs, high-end athletic clubs, and the rare private drinking club all exist for rich people. And presumably the ultra-rich have their icky private clubs.
vaginawithteeth1@reddit
I’d say it’s fairly common but less then it used to be. I’m a millennial and the only “social club” I’m a member of is a bowling league. My parents on the other hand are boomers and are members of a lot social clubs.. The Elks, the VFW, The Aviglianese, bowling leagues, clubs through church, ect.
kitchengardengal@reddit
In the last 15 years, I've (70f) been on the board of the state Master Gardener Association, President of the county Master Gardener Association, on the board of directors of a regional quilt museum, as well as a mentor in the children's quilt camp, and volunteer for openings and other classes, on the board of the local quilters guild, member of the Civic women's club.
These are all service organizations that help or teach the public. All volunteer work. I assume they are "social organizations", either in that we socialize with one another or we help society. I've never been in a club that doesn't do something for the community. Not sure if this is what OP means?
ATLien_3000@reddit
Depends on your definition of "social club".
In much of the US social clubs began as benevolent societies - precursors to health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance. Mostly catering to particular immigrant or ethnic communities.
The need for communities to organize to do those things themselves, for themselves, has basically gone away even for newly arrived immigrants.
artemisinagayway@reddit
I don’t think most Redditors actually avoid interacting with people lol, it’s just a weird stereotype. Social clubs definitely do exist but most are culty (like the freemasons), for old people or they’re country clubs.
Brixabrak@reddit
Mainstream, no. But some are. Most commenters have identified the most common social clubs. But one I haven't seen mentioned yet are motorcycle clubs. There's some incredible range MCs serve from being charities, social clubs, veteran groups, to 1% (outlaw groups/gangs).
pook_a_dook@reddit
It depends what you mean by social club. Certainly in school there are plenty of clubs and most people are involved in something, especially since being involved is a factor in college admissions. For adults there are country clubs for the rich, there are fraternal orders (elks, moose, eagles, etc) for the middle class, and there are activity groups that are mostly social. Amongst older generations bowling leagues used to be common but most bowling alleys near me went out of business. Amongst younger generations running clubs are more common, where you meet for a run with a group then get a drink after. There’s still book clubs, tabletop gaming groups, etc. One issue in terms of involvement is that since wages have stagnated for a long time, many middle class or lower class working people have no time for involvement in such activities. Also it seems younger generations have more introverted hobbies (possibly a consequence of technology or the pandemic).
Prestigious-Dog-2150@reddit
I don't even know what a "social club" is. I guess I've never belonged to one or known anyone else who did.
unoredtwo@reddit
Elks Club, Rotary, American Legion, etc. in other words, things that very old people do. Which kind of answers OP’s question.
TrueInky@reddit
Americans frequently belong to communities for shared interests for anything from fitness, religion, arts, sciences, public speaking, gardening, gaming, and more, but few would call themselves a “social club.” Still, for many people a major draw to those communities is the social aspect.
Sadimal@reddit
It's highly dependent on the community and what social clubs are around. In my area, we just have a Polish American Club, VFW and Knights of Columbus and Women's Auxiliary. Some firehouses will also have an auxiliary group that's just for socializing.
But overall, social clubs aren't as popular as they were 50 years ago.
It's more common for a group of people to just have a regular hangout spot like a diner or park.
currycurrycurry15@reddit
It used to be. Like my dad was always a part of the neighborhood baseball team, or a local bowling team, my parents went to temple and had friends there, my mom was in a crafting group… they’re still out there but not nearly as popular. I think we could use more of that and less of social media
kati8303@reddit
I can answer for my part of the world (New Orleans) it’s very normal for people to be involved in one more more social clubs in the form of Mardi Gras parade krewes. I’m a member of two MG parade krewes and an Irish one. The MG parade krewes are all very different with how they operate, what they cost, and the social aspect of them. Some it’s just a one day blowout party, the ones I’m involved in are much more social in that our floats are satirical and hand built, so we have to meet multiple times to actively build the floats and costumes, making it a very social thing.
davidm2232@reddit
Things like the Elks Club and Moose Lodge are very common acrossthe country. We also have snowmobiling and atv clubs in rural areas. By lakes, boat clubs are common.
oldpaddyrick@reddit
The most common form would be churches. Country clubs/yacht clubs are a thing too but that’s for rich people. Then there’s like lions/elks/free mason clubs but yeah those are basically just drinking clubs for old dudes.
TaterTotJim@reddit
In some areas it is very popular among all income types. I am a member of several that cost under $50 each per year in western Pennsylvania.
In addition to social clubs we also have hunting or preservation clubs which are basically the same but have gun ranges or private lakes and forest.
False-Cookie3379@reddit
The only people that I know that are still active in them are small business owners and city council members.
Pyewhacket@reddit
No
Midmodstar@reddit
Country clubs are a kind of social club I guess. You could argue gyms are in a way. Especially a YMCA or YWCA.
USNCCitizen@reddit
Only for those wanting to climb the “social ladder”. Not sure that anyone but the ultra rich and conceited care about that now.
she-dont-use-jellyyy@reddit
No lol
Internal_Kangaroo570@reddit
In elementary and middle school I don’t remember there being any clubs, but in high school and college there were alot. I belonged to a few and made some really good friends at the college clubs. They had a club for basically everything - a Chinese cooking club, a Mountain climbing club, a Persian Movie Lovers Club etc.
Outside of schooling though, I don’t really think social clubs are that common among regular people. I have some family members that belong to the Freemasons and the Elks but those are really the only people I know in “social clubs” not school related.
DaBabeBo@reddit
I listen to the pod and know the episode you are referring too. Not sure if it was Tom or Dominic but clubs like Elks and Order of the Water Buffalo used to be very common up until the 1980s I'd guess. Now it's mostly health clubs and groups around specific activities like running together. Not organized in the same ways as the old fraternal orders that the podcast was referring too.
Having_A_Day@reddit
How common it is really depends on where you live and what you consider a social club. But membership is on the decline pretty much everywhere, from the local hosey to the national fraternal orders.
notthebestusername12@reddit
Extroverted Americans love being in social clubs, networking groups, country clubs, etc.
Introverted Americans stay far away from these
TrashCanEnigma@reddit
A social club? Like a country club? A neighborhood association?
I was in a lot of clubs in school, but generally centered around an activity, like book club or theater.
chellebelle0234@reddit
I would say yes but less formally. Not many people under say, 50 or 60 are in the more "formal" clubs like the Elks or VFW or whatever, but it's way more normal to have a regular knitting group or book club or church small group or bowling league or mom's group or whatever that people attend. I think such clubs followed the rest of the "casual-ization" of society.
cornfarm96@reddit
What do you consider a “social club”. My local bar is a members only club of which I’m a member, but other than that, idk.
Opening-Bandicoot859@reddit
Sororities and fraternities are still a thing here. As far as social clubs, a lot of kids are involved in sports teams, extracurricular activities, etc. One of my nephews is on his school's wrestling team and the other joined drama club. They're also involved in the scouts, so yeah, I'd say it's pretty common. Us older folks are too busy working. 🤣
Main_Insect_3144@reddit
The "social" part was probably the fact that they were clandestine drinking clubs during prohibition. We don't really do social clubs here, at least not in the British sense.
lowtdi850@reddit
If you count membership at the golf course then yeah. I don’t do it for the social aspect, I kind of avoid that part. But the discounted golf and free use of the practice facilities are good.
KittyScholar@reddit
Here in New Orleans, social clubs run many of the biggest Mardi Gras parades, so they certainly remain important here
BenDubz@reddit
Yeah, not everyone is obviously do to time but the people I know are part of country clubs (golf, food, hangout, networking) my wife is in a book club, I’m on a board for a community improvement district, friends I know are also in racing clubs that are mostly social. Americans are super outgoing in general so we kinda like hanging out with others with shared interests.
shammy_dammy@reddit
Not really anymore.
GSilky@reddit
They are falling by the wayside quickly. My grandparents were all part of something, Shriners, Eastern Star, AA, Al Anon, whatever, and they all had really good funerals put on by their various organizations, which was a primary historical reason they developed in the first place. Even the Free Masons and Illuminati (as well as most trade unions/guilds) started off as burial societies to ensure a proper funeral an individual widow probably couldn't afford.
Narrow-Durian4837@reddit
I haven't read it, but I believe that the 2000 book Bowling Alone is about how such institutions have declined in America over the years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bowling_Alone
SadExercises420@reddit
What do you mean by social club? My grandparents used to belong to a country club
Low-Caterpillar1262@reddit
No
anneofgraygardens@reddit
I would say it's not unusual, but it's also not super common. There are social clubs like the Elks, but I mentally associate them as a thing old white guys are part of. I'm not sure if many younger people are involved with these groups.
Plus_Carpenter_5579@reddit
It is both uncommon and 'normal'.
Adorable-Award-2975@reddit
Never been in a social club nor even aware of any beyond ethnic clubs really. Think that’s fairly antiquated, and likely was more true of the upper classes of society anyhow.
Longjumping-Oil-7419@reddit
There are extroverts and there are introverts
Joliet-Jake@reddit
Not as common as it used to be.