Gnostic

Gnostic refers to a range of religious ideas and movements from late antiquity that emphasized knowledge as the means of liberation. This knowledge involves insight into the hidden structure of reality, the origin of the world, and the true identity of the self. Gnostic systems often describe the material world as defective or misleading and contrast it with a higher divine realm. Salvation comes through awakening to this hidden truth rather than through law, ritual, or moral effort alone. The term “gnostic” is a modern category used to group diverse texts and communities that share this focus on revelatory knowledge, even though their beliefs and practices vary widely.