TOLERANCE 9I3This was done so quickly that it surprised both him and me.
As I excused myself and started to walk away, I glanced down at the
Masonic pin that I wore on my own vest, then took another look at
his Knights of Columbus pin, and wondered why a couple of trinkets
such as these could dig such a deep chasm between men who knew
nothing of each other.
COMMENTARY
Although most readers today will have some familiarity with Masonic
Lodges and the Knights of Columbus, their role in American society has
changed considerably in the time since Napoleon Hill wrote this anec-
dote. A brief overview of the two organizations will help to put his story
into perspective.
The Masons are a fraternal organization (some say a secret society)
that began in Europe and adopted the name and tools of ancient archi-
tects and builders as symbolic of their beliefs. Although the exact date of
origin of Freemasonry is unknown, the significant time as it pertains to
Hill's story dates to the eighteenth-century Age of Enlightenment. While its
membership was Catholic in the beginning, by the late 1600s Masonry
required of its members only that they believe in a Supreme Being, to be
worshiped as the individual saw fit. They also embraced public education;
the separation of church and state; equality of all men, including the clergy,
under the law; and other goals of the Enlightenment. These ideas were in
direct opposition to the beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church of the day.
Further, the Craft, as Freemasonry is also called, had secret vows and
rituals, a practice that was forbidden by the Church because of the belief
that nothing could be held secret from the confessional. Between 1738
and 1902 there were twenty-one papal bulls condemning Freemasonry.
By the time Hill was writing his story, Masonic Lodges in America
were largely perceived as strongholds of pro-American Protestantism. In
many cases this equated with anti-Catholicism, and it was believed by