The Illuminati is a secret society. We’ve seen Nicholas Cage defend the Declaration of Independence against them, Tom Hanks stops an Illuminati attempt to destroy the Vatican, and numerous others defend the globe from clandestine machinations masterminded by the centuries-old collective. The hidden and anti-government attitude of the Illuminati adds to the mystique, and you’ll be hard pushed to find a school textbook that covers them. Is the Illuminati genuine, and does it still exist today?
WHAT EXACTLY ARE THE ILLUMINATI? In the year 1776, the globe was changing dramatically. The United States was nearing the end of the Civil War and about to sign the Declaration of Independence, while a quiet war was happening in Bavaria, Germany. The Catholic Church dominated over all matters in the country, just like it did in many other countries at the time, leading with traditional creationist ideals. These were, however, the years of the Scientific Revolution, when scientists attempted to comprehend the natural world in order to comprehend God’s mind. The Church intended to combine scientific concepts into an overall Catholic narrative, therefore science and religion were inextricably linked.
Adam Weishaupt, a notable freethinker, and law professor challenged the Church’s ultimate authority and had progressive ideas on sex equality in education; he believed that women should be educated and treated equally and that the Church’s repression of free thinking was a problem. Weishaupt immediately knew that if he went public with his critiques of the Church, he would face a backlash from a group of rationalist freethinkers.
So, on May 1, 1776, Weishaupt and four other members created a secret organization with the goal of forming a progressive group of freethinkers who would “enlighten” people from biases and free them from the perceived shackles of religion. Some claim the Illuminati was formed specifically to challenge religion and promote Weishaupt’s rationalist viewpoints in its stead, while others claim it was merely to promote equality and freedom of opinion in society.
The society quickly spread across Europe, especially after a prominent German diplomat became involved and began recruiting from the Freemasons, an organization that Weishaupt admired. After a few years, governments became aware of such a large society, and Weishaupt’s radical views led to his expulsion from the University of Ingolstadt and the outlawing of all illegal societies in 1784; the Illuminati has later declared a branch of the illegal Freemasonry organization and outlawed in 1785. Shortly after, Weishaupt left Bavaria.
The government, led by King Carl Theodore of Bavaria, began hunting out and prosecuting members of the Illuminati, and in 1787, membership in the organisation was became punishable by death. This announcement is seen as the ultimate blow to the secret organization, which has been plagued by internal dissension and public suspicion.
DO THE ILLUMINATI EXIST ANYMORE? Regardless of what you’ve been taught, there is no proof that the original order still exists, nor that any modern groups have any links to the original group. A series of publications were released in 1797 and 1798 that claimed the Illuminati had survived the purge and were involved in the French Revolution. The works sparked widespread public worry about the hidden Illuminati’s survival and operations and eventually morphed into anti-Masonic rhetoric, which faded away.
Many modern organisations claim to have ties to the ancient Illuminati, however, these claims are unfounded and are most likely a hoax to gain membership. Conspiracy theorists, on the other hand, continue to speculate about what the organisation may be doing if it still exists — is it now attempting to take world power? Are they linked to the also-secret Rothschild worldwide conglomerate, which appears to control everything? Did they use surveillance drones to replace all of the birds? Perhaps we’ll never find out.
