SOCIETY. 31 



tions. Most of them rarely go to church, and many of those 

 who go are not communicants. Church membership is not 

 generally supposed to be inconsistent with the round dances, 

 theater-going, or card-playing. The Americans generally are 

 nearly all Protestants by education, but they wear their faith 

 loosely, and lean to indifferentism, if not skepticism. Thegreat 

 majority of the Germans are more skeptical than the Ameri- 

 cans. The Italians and French adhere nominally to the 

 Catholic Church, but show no zeal. The foreign-born Irish 

 have brought their zeal with them, and preserved it pretty 

 well ; but the new generation are affected to a considerable 

 extent with the spirit of indifferentism, and the church, not- 

 withstanding it gains some converts from the Protestant sects, 

 which win none in return, is losing influence relatively, not- 

 withstanding its numerous schools, in which the dogmas of the 

 church are instilled into the minds of the people with great 

 care. Secret associations, mainly benevolent and social in 

 their purposes, occupy a prominent place in California ; and in 

 many of the mining towns the Odd Fellows' and Masonic 

 lodges are more costly and commodious than the churches, 

 and the feeling of attachment to these Brotherhoods is akin 

 to religion. 



The Odd Fellows, the strongest secret order in the State, 

 have 200 lodges and 14,000 members; gain 1,000 members 

 every year ; collect $300,000 of revenue, and spend two-thirds 

 of the sum for the relief of needy members. 



The Free and Accepted Masons have 187 lodges and 10,000 

 members, and gain about 800 annually. 



The Improved Order of Red Men has 40 lodges and 2,600 

 members. 



The Independent Order of Red Men, the Knights of Pythias, 

 the Order of Druids, the Order of Heptasophs, are other asso- 

 ciations, mainly benevolent. 



The Fenian Brotherhood, the Ancient Order of Hibernians, 

 the United Order of American Mechanics, the United Order 



f " OF THE 



(UNIVERSITY 



^v fl. 



