Not all conspiracies are secret. This can make it a lot easier for historians. But some are bound to ask "how can it be?" The answer is simple: in any conflict, it's important to accurately gauge the strength of one's opposition. Conversely, it's prudent to throw off the enemy's estimates of one's own strength.
When Erwin Rommel arrived with his panzers in North Afrika (sorry - I forget the name of the town), he held a parade. Every panzer passed through town... and doubled back around and passed through again... and again... and again. Why waste so much precious fuel? Why have the troops waste time when they could be deploying or resting? The crafty Field Marshall knew British spies were present, and they'd be watching the parade, counting panzers.
You may have heard that evolutionism was introduced, and it won the day on scientific merit. One by one, scientist after scientist became convinced.... blah blah baloney! Evolutionism had been plodding along for decades, convincing next to nobody who wasn't a borderline atheist. How'd they turn it around? It was politics. One by one, evolutionists were placed in all key positions - first in England, and later in other technologically advanced countries, as they continually praised Darwin for making it happen.
The X Club is the best known of the groups. This is a case where one needs to follow the link, because their activities cannot easily be summarized.
Even reading that article, one doesn't get the full story. The article on the ringleader,
Thomas Henry Huxley, tells even more details.
The names of the members are all links to articles, and it can take quite a while to get the picture.
The X Club included a banker and a politician. They had an extended network of connections in government, industry, and science. Before long, they were deciding who'd receive what award and who'd hold what office in several of the major scientific societies. They extended their network to France & the U.S. and that's all the further I can say without more research. They also promoted "
Higher Criticism" and happily supported churches which claimed one can be a "Christian" without believing the Bible.
I'm guessing it'll turn up that the organizations they fostered in France & the U.S. resembled the parent organization, but I honestly haven't got that far yet. I never was a speed-reader.
Keep in mind, none of this is secret. Once they got established, they became very open about it. Then, just as now, they wanted it well-understood that anyone getting in their way would have a very difficult time. I'm doing my best, but I confess I may be overestimating their influence - just as they intended.
I have high hopes for an educational discussion.
