No two rumors about the Illuminati are ever alike.

Depending on who is asked, the Illuminati are secret fraternity of international politicians, members of the Hollywood elite or a defunct order of rouge Freemasons.

These conspiracies and dozens of others will be addressed as part of the University Board’s “The History of the Illuminati” lecture at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the 7th Street Underground of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Angie Bradley, the lectures coordinator for the University Board, said she wondered for a while whether or not the Illuminati portrayed in Dan Brown’s novels “The DaVinci Code” and “Angels and Demons” had any truth to them.

Bradley said she eventually realized that other people had a similar curiosity and began planning a lecture to address them.

“The Dan Brown novels portray the Illuminati as something they may not have been,” Bradley said. “You may find out some of the rumors are true.”

Bradley said she had serious doubts about the validity of the Illuminati’s alleged ties to celebrities and politicians.

“Rumors that Beyoncé and people like that are in the Illuminati is kind of ridiculous,” Bradley said. “To be honest, I think a lot people just make things up.”

In order to dispel rumors and assert the facts, Bradley reached out to Gustavo Albear, an assistant professor of secondary education and foundations.

Albear is a high-ranking member of the Freemasons, a group known for keeping its own rituals and secrets often associated with the Illuminati.

“I understand the fictional principles that Dan Brown came up with to sell books,” Albear said. “I’ll try to (separate) the fact from the fiction.”

Albear said people who believe the Illuminati are in fact social puppet masters who control the day-to-day lives of the populace have given up on hard facts for an easy-to-understand fantasy from authors.

Albear said a question and answer session will follow his lecture, but also noted that his membership in the Masonic order means he cannot answer certain questions about his group.

“As a mason, I’ve taken an oath to not divulge certain information from the craft,” Albear said. “Once I do finish the history (of Masons and Illuminati), I’ll answer the questions I can within the constraints of my Masonic obligation.”

Bradley said Albear’s knowledge of the Illuminati should not be taken as a sign that he is a member of the group.

“He’s not in the Illuminati,” she said.

Albear said the heart of the confusion surrounding the true nature of the Illuminati is the fact that an author like Brown, who brought the group to public attention, has no obligation to give an accurate depiction of the secret sect, only an interesting one.

“Writers don’t have restrictions on what they write,” Albear said. “He’s building a story, he’s not building fact.”

Andrew Crivilare can be reached at 581-2812 or ajcrivilare@eiu.edu.