Many have claimed for Freemasonry a heritage that has been traced to biblical times and involved many historical celebrities. In this acerbic essay, religious scholar Joseph McCabe reveals that this tradition actually commenced with the guilds in the Middle Ages, and that it inevitably attracted the hostility of the Catholic Church because of its populist and atheistic leanings. He also shows that Freemasons were significant players in the struggle for democracy that eroded the power of popes and princes