Claim: The goals of the Illuminati are to oppose religious influence and abuse of state power

The Illuminati -LRB- plural of Latin illuminatus , `` enlightened '' -RRB- is a name given to several groups , both real and fictitious . Historically , the name usually refers to the Bavarian Illuminati , an Enlightenment-era secret society founded on 1 May 1776 . The society 's goals were to oppose superstition , obscurantism , religious influence over public life and abuses of state power . `` The order of the day , '' they wrote in their general statutes , `` is to put an end to the machinations of the purveyors of injustice , to control them without dominating them '' . The Illuminati -- along with Freemasonry and other secret societies -- were outlawed through edict , by the Bavarian ruler , Charles Theodore , with the encouragement of the Roman Catholic Church , in 1784 , 1785 , 1787 and 1790 . In the several years following , the group was vilified by conservative and religious critics who claimed that they continued underground and were responsible for the French Revolution .   Many influential intellectuals and progressive politicians counted themselves as members , including Ferdinand of Brunswick and the diplomat Xavier von Zwack , who was the Order 's second-in-command . It attracted literary men such as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Johann Gottfried Herder and the reigning dukes of Gotha and Weimar .   In subsequent use , `` Illuminati '' refers to various organisations which claim or are purported to have links to the original Bavarian Illuminati or similar secret societies , though these links are unsubstantiated . They are often alleged to conspire to control world affairs , by masterminding events and planting agents in government and corporations , in order to gain political power and influence and to establish a New World Order . Central to some of the most widely known and elaborate conspiracy theories , the Illuminati have been depicted as lurking in the shadows and pulling the strings and levers of power in dozens of novels , films , television shows , comics , video games , and music videos .