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Conspiracy Theorists In Pop Culture

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The Freemasons, the largest fraternal organization in the world, has a deep rooted history that dates back many centuries. “There are approximately 5 million members worldwide, mostly in the United States and other English-speaking countries (re).” Freemasonry vastly spread throughout Europe, eventually spreading the the United States. Masonry was the basis and foundation on which America was built upon. Many Presidents of the United States were also considered to be Masons. The Illuminati, similar to the Masonry, is also a secret society. Many conspiracy theorists in pop culture today are highly interested in the history and the Illuminati’s existence. Freemasonry has a highly intensive background, has many ties to the foundation of America, …show more content…
They established a set of unique rules to form a proper trade union that was mutually beneficial. Since the masons travelled freely, the “masons were considered ‘free of any city’ and thus became known as the Freemasons (book).” They would gather at quarters or lodges to live, do business and socialize with other masons. The Freemasons were a diverse group of different levels of skill. They developed signs and symbols to identify levels of hierarchy and skill. “Recent scholarship has placed the historical emergence of Freemasonry either in England or Scotland between 1600 and 1717 (U.S).” Early history of the masons has not been completely discovered because of the “fragmentariness of the early records of Masonic meetings, many of which may have been destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 …show more content…
“In 1776, in Bavaria, Germany, Adam Weishaupt, a German professor inspired by the ideas of French philosophy, namely secularism and rational thought decided to form an organization to protect those beliefs (buzz).” As a child, Weishaupt had a restless mind and was always interested the various enlightenment thinkers. During the time period, Bavaria was conservative and majority were catholic so “Weishaupt was not the only one who believed that the monarchy and the church were repressing freedom of thought (geo).” Weishaupt was convinced that religious ideas were no longer adequate to govern modern Europe so he sought new ideas. Freemasonry was rapidly spreading throughout Europe, offering an alternative for enlightenment thinker who believed in freedom and liberty. Although Weishaupt had considered joining the Freemasons, “instead he formed a secret group of his own, he called it the Order of the Illuminati (buzz).” On May 1, 1776, the Illuminati met for the first time and established order in a forest near Ingolstadt. “The order’s membership had three levels: novice, minervals, and illuminated minervals (geo).” Minervals referred to the goddess of wisdom, Minerva and it symbolized spreading knowledge and illuminating people about a new world. The Illuminati “focused on the goals of self knowledge, self improvement, social reform, and free thought (buzz).” This new

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