Hundreds of conspiracy theories about Freemasonry have been described since the late 18th century.[1] Usually, these theories fall into three distinct categories: political (usually involving allegations of control of government, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom), religious (usually involving allegations of anti-Christian or Satanic beliefs or practices), and cultural (usually involving popular entertainment). Many conspiracy theories have connected the Freemasons (and the Knights Templar) with worship of the devil;[2][3] these ideas are based on different interpretations of the doctrines of those organizations.[4]
Of the claims that Freemasonry exerts control over politics, perhaps the best-known example is the New World Order theory, but there are others. These mainly involve aspects and agencies of the United States government, but actual events outside the US (such as the Propaganda Due scandal in Italy) are often used to lend credence to claims.
Another set of theories has to do with Freemasonry and religion, particularly that Freemasonry deals with "the occult".[5] These theories have their beginnings in the Taxil hoax.[6][7] In addition to these, there are various theories that focus on the embedding of symbols in otherwise ordinary items, such as street patterns, national seals, corporate logos, etc.
There are Masonic conspiracy theories dealing with every aspect of society. The majority of these theories are based on one or more of the following assumptions:
That Freemasonry is its own religion, requires belief in a unique Masonic god, and that belief in this Masonic god is contrary to the teachings of various mainstream religions (although usually noted in terms of being specifically contrary to Christian belief)[8]
That the 33rd degree of the Scottish Rite is more than an honorary degree, coupled with the belief that most Freemasons are unaware of hidden or secretive ruling bodies within their organization that govern them, conduct occult ritual, or control various positions of governmental power[9]
That there is a centralized worldwide body that controls all Masonic Grand Lodges, and thus, all of Freemasonry worldwide acts in a unified manner
^Hodapp, Christopher; Alice Von Kannon (2008). Conspiracy Theories & Secret Societies For Dummies. For Dummies. pp. 174, 178. ISBN 978-0-470-18408-0.
^Robinson, John. A Pilgrim's Path: Freemasonry and the Religious Right. M. Evans, 1993. ISBN 0-87131-732-X
^Cite error: The named reference Hodapp2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Addison, Charles G.; David Hatcher Childress (1997). The History of the Knights Templars: The Temple Church and the Temple. Adventures Unlimited Press. pp. 19–20. ISBN 0-932813-40-2.
^Here used to denote a particular range of the occult involving Satanic or anti-Christian beliefs.
^S. Brent Morris, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry (2006), pp. 171-172; ISBN 1-59257-490-4
^Christopher Hodapp, Freemasons for Dummies (2005), pp. 160-161; 298-299; ISBN 0-7645-9796-5
^See, for example, the claims made by William A. Whalen, in his essay The Masonic Religion, available on the ewtn.com website; or the claims made at evangelical truth.com Archived 2016-04-15 at the Wayback Machine.
Hundreds of conspiracytheories about Freemasonry have been described since the late 18th century. Usually, these theories fall into three distinct categories:...
retaining conspiracytheories descended from the Protocols and earlier beliefs of a Jewish world conspiracy. The Judeo-Masonicconspiracytheory asserts...
key parts of masonic ceremonies.[citation needed] This perception of secrecy has led to the creation of many Masonicconspiracytheories. Over the years...
This is a list of notable conspiracytheories. Many conspiracytheories relate to supposed clandestine government plans and elaborate murder plots. They...
political groups, and conspiracy theorists, in particular, those espousing Masonicconspiracytheories or the Judeo-Masonicconspiracytheory. Certain prominent...
Conservative politicians and churchmen adopted from Europe the Judeo-Masonicconspiracytheory to portray the Liberal Party as involved in an international anti-Christian...
"Pizzagate" is a conspiracytheory that went viral during the 2016 United States presidential election cycle, falsely claiming that the New York City...
A Masonic Temple or Masonic Hall is, within Freemasonry, the room or edifice where a Masonic Lodge meets. Masonic Temple may also refer to an abstract...
Bolshevism Jewish question Judeo-Masonicconspiracytheory Kosher tax conspiracytheory New World Order (conspiracytheory) The Protocols of the Elders of...
capability to initiate and advance a newcomer through various stages of Masonic knowledge and experience. In some case a Master Mason can be invited to...
not uniform between Grand Lodges). There are a number of groupings of Masonic jurisdictions which consider themselves regular, and recognise others as...
science fiction, ufology, and conspiracytheories. The idea of reptilians was popularised by David Icke, an anti-semitic conspiracy theorist who claims shapeshifting...
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term...
of a malign conspiracies" [sic], and mentioned chemtrail conspiracytheories as an example. Proponents of the chemtrail conspiracytheory find support...
Masonic abbreviations of technical terms or of official titles are very extensively used in Freemasonry. They serve to abbreviate long or commonly-referenced...
Freemasonry, sometimes known as Blue Lodge Freemasonry, every Masonic lodge elects or appoints Masonic lodge officers to execute the necessary functions of the...
became provincial grand master for Nova Scotia; Philipps founded the first Masonic lodge in Canada at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The Castle Island Virtual...
of conspiracytheory: Event conspiracytheories. This refers to limited and well-defined events. Examples may include such conspiraciestheories as those...
United Grand Lodge of England has featured as the subject of Masonicconspiracytheories; the most persistent of these attempts to link freemasonry to...
was a Masonic lodge, founded in 1877, within the tradition of Continental Freemasonry and under the authority of Grand Orient of Italy. Its Masonic charter...
Conspiracytheories in United States politics are beliefs that a major political situation is the result of secretive collusion by powerful people striving...
phantom time conspiracytheory is a pseudohistorical conspiracytheory first asserted by Heribert Illig in 1991. It hypothesizes a conspiracy by the Holy...
Global Information