Gnosticism is the belief that salvation comes through knowledge alone. Practices are astrotheology and learning about the origin of all religions. It is not a religion, but rather, a thought or practice, like Buddhism. Very few gnostics exist today, as conversion to Islam and the Albigensian Crusade (1209–1229) greatly reduced the remaining number of Gnostics throughout the Middle Ages, though a few Mandaean communities still exist.
