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‘Did I hit a nerve?’

No and while I can’t say exactly who is or isn’t a Freemason without meeting them. I think I can perhaps give you a bit of my thoughts, (not all my own but in agreement) on multiculturalism as it pertains to Freemasonry.

I don’t think that we should treat multiculturalism as an unalloyed good, but we should also realize that our nation was founded on multiculturalism, in two important ways. First, the premise of federalism is precisely that multiple states, which the Framers envisioned as often having substantial differences in culture, should be able to retain their cultures — including, incidentally, the legal rules that flow from those cultures. (Within states, home rule by localities has had a similar, though lesser, mission.)

Second, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights contemplate a country with considerable range of religious views and even religious cultures. Many of the Founding-era American denominations were distinct cultural groups, such as Quakers, including groups that lived in relatively homogeneous enclaves.

These aren’t just multiculturalist values. They are foundational American values. And throughout American history, they have been (or at least could be) seen as serving at least several different goals.

Freemasonry is an organization of men based on the “fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man,” using builders’ tools as symbols to teach basic moral truths generally accepted by persons of good will. Their motto is “morality in which all men agree, that is, to be good men and true.” It is religious in that a belief in a Supreme Being and in the immortality of the soul are the two prime requirements for membership, but it is nonsectarian in that no religious test is used.1 The purpose of Freemasonry is to enable men to meet in harmony, to promote friendship, and to be charitable. Its basic ideals are that all persons are the children of one God, that all persons are related to each other, and that the best way to worship God is to be of service to people. The thought of it being some evil conspiracy is promulgated mainly by those who have been denied membership or have a gullible ignorance of it.