Templars Were Tortured Until They Admitted to Crazy Secret Rituals
One of the things associated with the Templars is the idea that they were a secret society with plenty of crazy rituals. The Templars were an order of rules and tradition but none of them went against their religious values. The Templars and especially the Knights followed a strict code that always had honoring their religion at the forefront.
By the 14th century the Templars were so wealthy and influential that they were even loaning money out to Kings. King Phillip IV of France was deeply in debt to the Templars and had no way to repay them. In 1307 Pope Clement V wrote to King Phillip IV to ask him for help regarding criminal charges made by an ousted Templar. Both Pope Clement V and the Templar leaders knew the charges to be false and wanted the help of the King to investigate and disprove the charges.
Instead of helping the investigation to prove the Templars innocent, King Phillip IV decided to use them to start an inquisition against the Templars. He realized that getting the Templars dissolved would be a way to clear to his debt. He started an investigation that supposedly proved the charges true and began pressuring the church to take action against the order. Hundreds of Templars were arrested and tortured until they were willing to admit to numerous offences. They claimed that during initiation ceremonies they were forced to spit on the cross, deny Christ, sodomize other men and worship idols.
None of the claims were made without torture and King Phillip IV did not stop there. He forced the Templars to admit to corruption, fraud and secrecy with their immense amount of wealth. The inquisition against the Templars worked and in November 1307, Pope Clement issued a papal bull to arrest all Templars and seize their assets. In 1310, Pope Clement called for papal hearings to prove the innocence of the Templars but King Phillip IV blocked the attempt. He then threatened the church with military action if the Templars were not disbanded and the Pope agreed. From then on, the bizarre confessions and rituals that the Templars confessed to were associated with the order.