Jesuits, conspiracies, and conspiracy theories

This introductory article explores the thematic affinity linking the Society of Jesus with conspiracies and conspiracy theories. After giving a short overview of the historiography devoted to anti-Jesuitism, it draws attention to how anti-Jesuits vilified the order over the centuries on the basis of alleged conspiracies whose extent varied from the episodic to the all-encompassing and that were imagined and posited in ways that tended to be themselves highly conspiratorial. In this manner, it foregrounds aspects of anti-Jesuitism and conspiracy theories that will recur in the individual contributions to this special issue of the Journal of Jesuit Studies.