Illuminati is evil or good?

The Order of the Illuminati was not a Masonic body, though it adopted certain Masonic degrees and used the lodge system as a vehicle to propagate its own system 12. Its original design under Adam Weishaupt aimed at human perfectibility and the elevation of the human race through natural religion 12. Over time, however, its objectives developed toward political revolution and the overthrow of established church and state authorities 2.

In direct relation to Freemasonry, the Illuminati exercised no beneficial influence while active, nor did its dissolution directly alter Masonic practice 1. Albert C. Mackey nevertheless characterizes the Illuminati as a profound misfortune for European Freemasonry because of the lasting public reaction it produced 1. Hostile writers such as John Robison and the Abbé Barruel conflated Weishaupt's organization with the Craft, giving rise to persistent anti-Masonic theories that accused all Freemasons of hidden political and anti-Christian conspiracies 123.

Arthur Edward Waite emphasizes that Freemasonry itself was neither revolutionary nor subversive simply because Illuminism attempted to turn Masonic lodges to its own ends 2. While the Illuminati sought political upheaval, mainstream Craft Masonry maintained its established character, requiring members to remain peaceable subjects obedient to the civil law 23.