Hidden Knowledge, Hidden Powers: Esotericism and Conspiracy Culture

Abstract

The relation between esotericism and conspiracy theory takes many forms. However, the scholarly literature has focused mainly on conspiracy theories about esoteric societies. This is understandable. Leafing through the literature of conspiracy culture one may often be struck by the prominence given to esoteric societies in these alternative versions of history. Many websites of conspiracy theory pay an enormous amount of attention to “occult” groups, some imaginary, others well known. Seemingly small and powerless societies like the Ordo Templi Orientis may be presented as the polar opposite. Societies long defunct according to academic historiography may be presented as driving forces in history, the crowning example being the Bavarian secret society Illuminati, theories about which have grown only more expansive since the order's demise in the 1780s. Such theories are often viewed as quaint expressions of fundamentalist outrage against unorthodox and largely unknown expressions of religion. They may, however, be related to more than fundamentalisms and become anything but quaint. Both recently, such as during the Satanism scare, and more distantly, in the aftermath of the French Revolution, conspiratorial versions of history and society have acquired prominence. In such cases fear and outrage may reach the level of moral panic. These occasions of collective action have “mainstreamed” certain theories for a limited period of time, and have sparked both public and academic interest in conspiracy theories about esoteric societies. This is why we know so much, relatively speaking, about them.