Manichaeism is a syncretic and dualistic religious philosophy founded and propagated by Manes or Manicheus, a Christian philosopher of the third century, who divides the world simply between Good, or God, and Evil, or the Devil. Matter is intrinsically evil, and spirit, intrinsically good. Many preachers included this concept in their messages intended to spread Christianity during the Second Great Awakening of the 1800s.
